Five students from universities in Germany, Estonia, Italy and the Netherlands are doing internships in villages of Navarra in the framework of KiNESIS, a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Commission. It is coordinated in Navarra by the researchers Ruth Breeze and Ana María Fernández Vallejo, from the group 'Public discourse' of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra. The Observatorio de la Realidad Social del department de Derechos Sociales del Gobierno de Navarra, directed by Luis Campos Iturralde, is also partner. 

European internships seek tofoster the partnership of young researchers and affected communities in order to find possible solutions. Specifically, Oliver KarolyiOliver Karolyi, a Marketing student at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands), has mapped the impact on Navarra of the Aragonese route of the Camino de Santiago. 

Consiglia Marchese, of the Master's Degree of Languages and Intercultural Communication of the University of Naples L'Orientale (Italy), has started from the work of Karolyi to put in internship strategies that allow to take advantage of the Way from the economic and cultural point of view. He has defined possible tourist markets for the Aragonese-Navarre route.   

Maureen Shisia, from the Master's Degree of Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Tallinn (Estonia), has investigated the economic impact that this route could have on people and businesses and how it can help to combat depopulation.

Muhammad Nasir student from the same Master's Degree as Shisia, has collaborated with the Fitero City Council and local businesses to rethink the "Fitero brand" (health, cultural heritage, gastronomy and sport). 

And Sabrina Stieber, who is studying a Degree at management management assistant European at Harz University of Applied Sciences (Germany), has been researching the integration of industry in rural areas. She has put the focus on how factories affect the population and the measures companies can take to reduce pollution and communicate better with the surrounding community. 

Consulting for small companies in Campania

In addition, four other students from the University of Navarra are doing internships in Terre Dell'Ufita (Campania, Italy) through project KiNESIS. Mariana Cely Uribe, from Business Administration and Management (ADE), is developing alternative points of sale, especially in the digital field, for small companies. Andre Toscano Aramillo, also from ADE; and Paola Buonanno and Luca Scavuzzo, ISSA students, are at Frigento. The latter two also cooperate with small companies; she reviews their export strategies and distribution channels and he reviews their communication and marketing strategies. 

The knowledge Alliance for Social Innovation in Areas at Risk of Depopulation (KNowledge for Social Innovation in Shrinking Villages) -KiNESIS- is a three-year project (2021-2023). It addresses depopulation with new, innovative and multidisciplinary approaches, which are applied in the teaching and learning. To do so, it relies on the creation of a network of exchange, flow and co-creation of knowledge locally and globally.