Adeje has received a group of students and professors from Wesleyan University, in Illinois (United States), led by the young Victoria Ballesteros, a native of the southern municipality, who is studying in Central America and who has been the architect of the visit.
“We have learned a lot and I think that everyone has taken away the message that here, in Adeje and Tenerife, we have the conditions to attract investment and generate opportunities for growth and knowledge”, commented Ballesteros, who has intervened on two occasions in the UN to defend projects and ideas aimed at protecting the environment.
The students, who study different disciplines, including political science, the environment, physics, biology, chemistry, commerce and sports, have had the collaboration of the City Council’s technical staff, who have participated in guided tours on a trip that responds to a part of their academic curriculum with the aim of learning subjects related to innovation and entrepreneurship in different areas of the planet.
In addition to enjoying the Adejero coastline, the university students got to know the Adeje Productive Forest, which covers an area of more than 30,000 meters and will gather 25,000 plant, fruit, ornamental, aromatic, medicinal and culinary species.
They also visited the Barranco del Infierno and the Tenerife Top Training facilities, where they met the Italian swimming team that has been training in Adeje for several weeks. There was also no lack of the traditional visit of historical and patrimonial content to the urban area of Adeje, where they visited the most emblematic places.
Technological Institute
The university group also held a meeting with business executives and received an informative talk on the municipality’s tourism sector. Students studying science careers made a visit to the Technological Institute of Renewable Energies (ITER).
“They were impressed, we were able to see the supercomputer that didn’t even stop at the energy zero that the Island suffered. They also showed us the area of gene research, renewable energy and bioclimatic houses,” explained Victoria Ballesteros, who was surprised with the technological potential of ITER: “I myself was unaware of many of the things that were explained to us and I think that in Tenerife we are not aware of the commitment to innovation on the Island and relating it to tourism is a way for many investors to become interested and see a business opportunity.
The interest in sustainable energy was also met by learning about the local Adeje Verde project, one of the large sustainable initiatives promoted by the City Council with which it is intended to promote the creation of energy communities through the placement of community solar panels.
“Many of my colleagues were very happy because they are studying this topic, but they had not had the opportunity to see circular projects in reality. Like the Productive Forest, they were very impressed,” said the student from Adejera.
The visit of the university students was not limited to the municipality of Adeje. The group also traveled to La Laguna and the Teide National Park, where they were able to enjoy the spectacle of the stars, facilitated by the zero light pollution in the area.
Victoria Ballesteros commented that both her classmates and the teachers who accompanied them have been “very surprised by the visit, so much so that they are already planning to return to the island with their families.”
