María Peña and Lucía Albisua, winners of the Tecnun Projects competition

Tecnun students Tecnun Peña andLucía Albisuahave been awarded prizes in the Tecnun Projects Competitionfor their research work in the field of sustainability. This initiative recognizes the best Degree Master's Degree Final Projects that provide solutions to environmental, economic, and social challenges, in line with the Basque Country's framework Program 2030.

Transport optimization to reduce daily CO₂ emissions by up to 40%

María Peña presenting her final degree project, "A model-based systemic approach to the reduction of commuting-related CO₂ emissions in Gipuzkoa through the optimization of company bus services."

María Peña, a native of Valencia, graduated on May 31 with a Degree in Industrial Organization Engineering and completed her final Degree project Degree collaboration with the MIT average , MUBIL, and the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa. She currently works as a technology consultant at KPMG, where she advises entities in the financial and insurance sectors.

The research that earned him the award the Final Degree Projects category Degree different tools: a model that optimizes company bus routes to reduce private car use, machine learning techniques to estimate how many employees could replace their cars with buses, and real geospatial data that allows the environmental impact of the routes to be calculated.

This approach emissions reductions to be quantified and offers a scalable solution that can be applied both in Gipuzkoa and in larger territories. According to Peña, "theoretically, this proposal reduce daily CO₂ emissions by up to 40%, which is equivalent to around 400 tons."

In addition to the environmental impact, the project seeks to improve workers' well-being (in line with SDGs 3 and 11) by achieving more balanced travel times and a better work-life balance. Peña acknowledges that this work has served to reinforce his belief that "engineering can and should be at the service of society, sustainability, and the environment."

Relocation and modernization of a smelting plant

Lucía Albisua, author of the Master's Thesis "Feasibility study for a new smelting plant in Bergara"

Lucía Albisua was born in Urretxu, although she has lived in San Sebastián since she began studying Mechanical Engineering Tecnun. A year ago, she completed her master's degree in Industrial Engineering, also at the School, and currently works at IDOM.

His Master's Thesis, winner of the Tecnun Projects 2026 competition, consists of a feasibility study to relocate a smelting plant from the city center to an industrial park. This proposal an analysis of environmental, social, and economic aspects but, beyond this assessment, it proposes specific measures to improve the plant's energy efficiency, reduce emissions, promote the Economics in the area, and foster both digitization and the well-being of its workers. In this way, it presents a proposal and applicable proposal that seeks to integrate sustainability at all levels of the future plant.

Albisua proudly highlights how both the client and herself were committed from the outset to an approach that aspired to excellence both operationally and in terms of sustainability. She also points out that she "has been able to learn a lot and put into practice, in a real and tangible way, the concepts of sustainability that are so often studied theoretically during and outside of her degree course."

Both projects, María Peña's and Lucía Albisua's, contribute to reducing pollution while improving people's well-being. The two Tecnun graduates Tecnun their award September, coinciding with the Tecnun Postgraduate Opening Ceremony.