Incubadora Talento

Our Talent Incubator is excited to collaborate with the Arqus Alliance in organizing the third edition of the Arqus PhD Week for Careers Outside Academia. This initiative, developed under the framework of the Arqus PhD Pursuit, aims to bridge research and education to prepare early-stage researchers for existing and emerging grand societal challenges, enhance their international competitiveness both inside and outside academia, and contribute to regional and European innovation strategies.

The event will take place in Granada from May 9th to May 12th, 2023, and will bring together 40 PhD candidates and early post-docs from the nine member universities.

Titled “Granada Arqus PhD Week: PhD, and now? Explore new professional opportunities beyond the world of academia,” this 4-day intense training course will bring together over doctoral researchers, recent PhD graduates, and career development experts to explore new professional opportunities beyond academia.

We are proud to announce that Alberto Aragón-Correa, Professor of Management and Co-Director of the Talent Incubator at the University of Granada, will chair the round table discussion titled “The impact of the incorporation of doctoral profiles on organizations and institutions. Companies and organizations testimonies.” During the round table, Professor Aragon-Correa will discuss the initiatives in the Talent Incubator for talented young people and participate in a dialogue with corporate executives to explore the potential of doctoral profiles in organizations.

Aitor Vinos, Senior Advisor of T-Systems and member of the steering committee of the T-Systems-University of Granada Chair of Innovation in Digital Sustainability, will also participate in the round table. He will share his views on how doctoral competencies can be extremely useful in the corporate world and discuss the T-Systems vision for innovation, research, and professional opportunities.

In addition to the round table discussion, the Talent Incubator is excited to announce that the T-Systems Chair of Innovation in Digital Sustainability will host an event to provide a forum for discussion and interaction among doctoral students focusing on sustainability from multiple perspectives.

The T-Systems – University of Granada Chair for Digital Sustainability designs and delivers a course on Sustainable Strategies for employees of the company in Germany.

The headquarters of the multinational T-Systems in Germany annually hosts a program for its employees with high potential for the future. This program includes training and mentoring for a group of employees from various departments, focused on topics of special strategic interest. Different professors from the University of Granada who are also members of the T-Systems – UGR Chair for Digital Sustainability have designed and delivered a course on Environmental Strategy in the 2022-2023 edition of this program for young employees of the company.

The course has been structured and developed entirely by the Chair, incorporating five thematic blocks related to sustainability in businesses and its implications. Specifically, the topics addressed aspects such as the advantages and challenges of environmental innovation in companies, the implications and requirements of the circular economy, the necessary organizational changes for its implementation, or the most effective indicators of sustainable management in the company, among others. This course on Sustainable Strategies was conducted entirely online in this edition, with multiple synchronous sessions for all participants. It is planned that in the future, the experience can be repeated with in-person developments.

The course concluded with the selection of the best final projects presented by the participants. This year’s edition included a case study focused on the global automotive industry, in which some of the sustainability challenges that the industry must address were discussed, and where digital innovations could play a key role.

Photo: Guillaume de Germain on Unsplash

UGR Talent Incubator presents New Programs in collaboration with multinational Leroy Merlin.

The programs that the Talent Incubator is going to organize in collaboration with multinational Leroy Merlin are aimed at final-year students with the best academic record in Bachelor’s degrees from five faculties: Faculty of Sciences, ETS of Computer Science and Telecommunications Engineering, Faculty of Economics and Business, Faculty of Labor Sciences, Faculty of Translation and Interpretation, and a selection of Master’s degree students from those same fields.

These programs aim to connect university students with great potential, with interesting professional trajectories suitable for their profiles (“Business” or “Tech&Data”), offering them high-level training in management skills and soft skills, and an opportunity to start a professional career aimed at high-level positions within the company.

The training program consists of three blocks: participatory seminars with a very innovative methodology based on principles of neuroeducation with accompanying dynamics; a second block with individualized coaching sessions; and mentoring where each student accesses a mentor from the sponsoring company’s management, Leroy Merlin.

The company Leroy Merlin, which belongs to the ADEO Group, a leader in its sector worldwide, sponsors these two programs completely free of charge. After the training period in the seminars, Leroy Merlin will offer participants a professional career plan that begins with a permanent contract to join the company in September and enter internal promotion programs where there are training itineraries for their professional development.

A strong personal brand online is crucial if you want to have a successful business, be a leader, or a freelance professional looking to enhance their services. Developing a strong personal branding is a long-term goal that the participants of the Acceleration Program worked on in this intensive workshop.

The way people and your target audience perceive you determines your personal brand, and that is based on the actions you take in your daily life, both online and offline, personally and professionally.

In the digital realm, having a successful brand means that people follow you, engage with you, interact with you, and trust you. Therefore, the communication strategy that you implement online is key to creating a strong community of followers.

These concepts, among others, were covered in the workshop “The Key to Success: Building a Strong Online Presence”, taught by Daniel Soler, a community manager and expert in communication and networking. Specifically, in the workshop, participants worked on developing their personal brand on LinkedIn, the world’s largest B2B professional social network, where high-quality contacts and numerous job opportunities can be found.

The workshop, sponsored by the multinational company Alight Solutions, took place on Friday, April 21st, from 9:00 to 12:00, at the Faculty of Business at the UGR.

The female participants of the third edition of the Women Talent 4.0 Program improve their communication skills with a workshop on “Keys to Good Communication”.

“Communication is key to professional success.” That’s something we all know, but how to do it is another story…

Controlling nerves, breathing properly in moments of tension when speaking in public, managing the “pulse” of the moment, active listening, avoiding repetitive phrases, making eye contact, smiling, nodding, being aware of non-verbal language, intonation… All of this is what was covered in the intensive 4-hour workshop attended by the women of Talent Mujer, led by Luis Ortega, an expert in communication and negotiation techniques.

Effective communication and transmitting messages correctly, both personally and professionally, is one of the most sought-after competencies by companies today. Adequate communication is a skill that can make a big difference and increase the chances of success in any situation, especially when in leadership roles.

The art of communication also has a positive impact on personal self-esteem and decisively influences how others perceive us, which is why the Program includes this seminar where participants have the opportunity to experience and learn, through dynamic and practical activities, how to enhance this essential competency for their future careers.

The workshop, sponsored by the multinational company Alight Solutions, took place on Thursday, April 20th, from 16:00 to 20:00, at the ODS seminar room at the Escuela de Caminos of the UGR.

The T-Systems-University of Granada Chair in Innnovation in Sustainable Digitalization and the Talent Incubator have developed a leading program for training in sustainable strategies and management.

The participants will be a selected group of  T-Systems employees in Germany. The participant employees are part of a group of talented young individuals whom T-Systems has offered to be in an internal training and mentoring plan to boost their professional careers.

This course is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the relationship between business strategies and the natural environment, with a particular focus on activities connected to digitalization activities. The course will include three intensive days: April, 25^th, 26^th, and 28^th and it will provided online. The contents explore key concepts and frameworks for thinking about sustainability, including the triple bottom line, the circular economy, the environmental performance, and the sustainable business models. Participants will also learn illustrations about the specific environmental challenges faced by the tech industry, including e-waste, energy consumption, and data centers.

Throughout the course, the participant will examine key concepts, updated corporate data about environmental impact, case studies, and real-world examples of companies that have successfully integrated environmental considerations into their business strategies. The participants will also have the opportunity to engage in discussions and exercises that will help them to apply these concepts to their own organizations.

 In addition to providing a solid foundation of knowledge and skills, this course aims to inspire and motivate participants to take action on environmental issues within their own organizations or in operations with customers. By the end of the course, the participants will have a better understanding of the role that businesses can play in creating a more sustainable future and will be equipped with some of the tools and strategies needed to drive sustainable corporate changes.

The participants of the Skills Acceleration Programme improved their communication skills with an intensive workshop on Effective Communication.

Breathing well, controlling nervousness, listening actively, not repeating small words, looking into the eyes, controlling the “pulse” of the moment, smiling, nodding, being aware of non-verbal language, intonation, and so on. …. All this and much more was worked on by the workshop participants, who spent 4 intensive hours with Luis Ortega, an expert in communication and negotiation techniques.

Making good use of communication, knowing how to communicate and transmit correctly, is one of the skills most in demand in companies today. Its use is not only in the professional area, where it is clear that providing adequate communication is a skill that can make a big difference and increase the chances of success in any situation, especially when exercising leadership functions, but also in the personal sphere, effective communication is vital as it helps to understand the other person’s point of view and make our own clearly understood, has a favourable impact on personal self-esteem and has a decisive influence on how we make others feel.

The workshop, sponsored by the multinational company Alight Solutions, took place on Wednesday 23 February, from 16.00 to 20:00 h, in seminar E04 of the Faculty of Business.

CLCs are groups created by and for employees, a safe space for exchanging opinions, supporting specific minorities and creating networking opportunities.

Alberto Aragón, co-director of the Incubator, participated in the meeting organised in Woodlands – Texas by Alight’s Diversity and Inclusion team, last February 17th at 16:00 Spanish time (9:00 AM in Texas time). This meeting included numerous activities and was attended by over 70 Alight employees during the 16th and 17th of February, both in person and online.

This global meeting aimed to reflect the importance of improving the wellbeing of the company’s employees, enhancing and encouraging internal communication strategies, fostering diverse recruitment, developing employee retention policies and evolving strong communities, etc. In this context, the importance of strategic partnerships (such as Alight-Univerty of Granada UGR) was also highlighted.

Colleague Led Communities’ objectives chart

Therefore, the intervention of Professor Aragón, the only European partner who participated in the meeting, was to give visibility to the activities carried out by the UGR Talent Incubator and the close collaboration between the two entities, showing how the Incubator provides top level talent to the Granada office, the main service provider centre in Europe for Alight. Alberto Aragón gave an overview of the existing talent programmes, the action of mentors and professional coaches in tTherefore, the intervention of Professor Aragón, the only European partner at the meeting, was focus on the activities carried out by the UGR Talent Incubator and the collaboration between the UGR and Alight.  He showed how the Incubator provides top level talent to the Granada office, the main service provider centre in Europe for Alight. He gave an overview of the existing talent programmes, the role of mentors and professional coaches in these programmes and explained specific initiatives such as the Supernova Programme (aimed at encouraging vocations at a variety of academic levels, from STEM studies to high school girls), Talento Mujer (a training program aimed at offering advice, training, and professional experience to university students in order to help them develop their careers in the future), Talento Mujer (a training program designed to provide university students with advice, instruction, and professional experience to help them advance their careers in the future. It also aims to provide instruction, professional experience, and advice to university students to help them launch a successful career in digital companies) or the new Inclusive Alumni Lab programme (a project for promoting lifelong learning for young students with learning diversity and high potential, helping them to learn the use of digital tools demanded by firms).

This participation was supported by Raquel Pedregal, inclusion and diversity specialist at Alight, and former alumni of the Incubator. She presented her own personal experience and how this experience has helped her to successfully carry out her current role in the company.

Lola Vidal, co-director of the Talent Incubator, offered a seminar on Leadership at Alight for employees and managers interested in strengthening this ability.

Is a leader born or made? An innate or developed competence? This was the starting point of the workshop and the question with which the meeting ended. A seminar aimed at debating and reflecting on self-knowledge, the power of our identity beliefs, their origin, the ability to change them and the cause of our results.

60 participants attended this event, which lasted more than two hours at the company’s headquarters in Granada and which generated a high level of interest and a second part of this training action that will take place on the 9th of March.

Alight is promoting this type of seminars aimed at developing and promoting positive and quality leadership based on values that allow the organisation to improve its competitive capacity with internal leaders who are examples, models of action, of a culture of collaboration that is developed through their own behaviour.

The activities of the Poli-lingua Project continued with a workshop on the use of the Escape Room as a methodology to develop soft skills.

The workshop was held on 3 February at the Faculty of Economics and Business Studies, and will be given by Alejandro Ortiz Pérez, professor of business organisation at the University of Granada and expert in human resources.

The aim of the scheduled activity was to work on the development of the soft skills of the students participating in the Programme and to improve their ability to face the new forms of selection that are being adopted by the most cutting-edge companies in human resources management. In this workshop, students will learn through the use of the “Escape Room” methodology (an adaptation of a game that consists of a group of players solving enigmas and puzzles of all kinds, in order to unravel a story and finish it before the end of the time available). During the activity, the students saw how to work on different skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication, organisation and time management, among others, which are fundamental for any job and professional sector.

This workshop closed the seminar training part of the “Poli-lingua” programme students and gives way to the beginning of six months of training internships in the company Alight Solutions, which sponsors the whole of this programme for high ability students