Politeknika Txorierri wins Quality Innovation Award 2025 for promoting digital and sustainable vocational training in Africa
The award reinforces Politeknika Txorierri’s position as a benchmark in international cooperation and in promoting digital and sustainable vocational training
The SUSTAIN-IT educational innovation, developed in collaboration with vocational training centres in Africa and Europe, has been recognised in the Innovation in the Education Sector category
Politeknika Txorierri has been recognised in the national phase of the Quality Innovation Award (QIA) 2025 in the Innovation in the education sector category for the European project SUSTAIN-IT, an international initiative that strengthens the teaching and technological capabilities of vocational training in African countries, connecting sustainability, digitalisation and intercontinental cooperation.
The project, coordinated by Politeknika Txorierri and co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme, promotes new learning methodologies based on environmental data, IoT sensors, collaborative projects and challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goals. Its aim is to train vocational training teachers in Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Namibia, adapting European tools to local contexts and generating open training materials for implementation in different educational centres across the continent.
SUSTAIN-IT combines face-to-face training, curriculum development and the creation of digital resources that facilitate innovative teaching practices. It also promotes cooperation networks between African and European centres, reinforcing the role of vocational training as a driver of social transformation and sustainable development.
The award was presented on 17 November at the headquarters of the CSIC-Spanish National Research Council in Madrid, at an event organised by the National Association of Centres for the Promotion of Excellence (CEX), in collaboration with the CSIC and UNIBASQ. Nearly one hundred entries from various autonomous communities were submitted for this edition, which were evaluated by experts in educational innovation, sustainability and management excellence.
The QIA Awards, created in Finland in 2007 and currently held in Europe, Asia and Africa, recognise projects that meet five criteria: novelty, usefulness, user orientation, learning and effectiveness. The winning initiatives in the national phase represent Spain in the international competition, which will be held in 2026.
This recognition positions Politeknika Txorierri as an active agent in the transformation of vocational training, not only in the Basque Country and Europe, but also in environments where technical education can accelerate sustainable development.
‘This recognition highlights years of work on educational innovation projects, both local and international. As a cooperative centre of modest size, we believe that collaboration with universities, companies and other centres is key to promoting more digital, sustainable vocational training with a real impact both within and beyond our borders,’ said Anabel Menica, director of strategy and innovation at Politeknika Txorierri.
