Zona Franca of Barcelona launches a new edition of the Feel the ZF Power program

• The fourth edition of this program will include the participation of 4th-year ESO students from Institut Doctor Puigvert and Institut Elisabet, as well as 6th-grade primary students from Escola La Marbella and Escola Poeta Foix.

• The CZFB program, aimed at bringing industrial activity and the 4.0 economy closer to school-aged children and encouraging career vocations, will once again feature learning paths focused on mobility, the 4.0 economy, chemistry, recycling, and logistics.

Barcelona, September 22, 2025.-The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona is launching the 2025–26 edition of the Feel the ZF Power program, an educational initiative that brings the industrial reality of the Zona Franca closer to public schools and high schools in Barcelona. Its goal is to inspire vocations among students aged 10 to 16, especially girls, in order to break down the traditional barriers that have kept many young people away from STEM disciplines.

This year’s edition began this morning with a visit by 6th-grade students from Escola Poeta Foix of Barcelona to the company SERTRAM and to DFactory Barcelona, the internationally renowned 4.0 industry ecosystem. There, they learned about the activities of companies such as Kion Group, Leitat, Malena Group, and Tetravol, among others. In addition to this first itinerary, focused on the 4.0 economy, Feel the ZF Power will offer a mobility-themed itinerary in October with 6th-grade students from Escola La Marbella; a chemistry itinerary in November with 4th-year ESO students from Institut Elisabet; and finally, a recycling and logistics itinerary in 2026 with 4th-year ESO students from Institut Doctor Puigvert.

 Since the pilot program in the 2022–2023 school year, three more editions have been held, reaching a total of 770 students. The program is expected to impact 300 more students throughout the 2025–2026 school year. The project involves an average of 19 collaborating entities per edition and aims, as mentioned earlier, to inspire vocations and raise awareness of the job opportunities offered by the Zona Franca of Barcelona—opportunities that are often unknown to urban students.

The Special Government Delegate to the Consorci Zona Franca Barcelona, Pere Navarro, explained: ‘Gender diversity in STEM teams enhances creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. Including more women from the early stages of education enriches the future of scientific and technological knowledge. That is why, aware of this, the Barcelona Zona Franca Consortium launched the Feel the ZF Power program three years ago.’

For her part, Blanca Sorigué, General Director of the CZFB, commented: ‘If interest is not encouraged from an early age, many girls do not develop STEM skills or aspirations, which limit their academic and professional options. This perpetuates the gender gap in sectors with high demand and better salaries.’ Sorigué adds: ‘Girls who feel capable and supported in STEM have higher academic self-esteem and are more motivated to explore scientific careers. That’s why, three years ago, we launched the Feel the ZF Power program, where boys and girls aged 10 to 16, through visits to companies in our industrial and technological environment, can see for themselves that programming a robot, working with 3D printers, or engaging in technological activities in general is not a matter of gender. In this way, we succeed in inspiring vocations, especially among girls, in this field.’

One of the program’s most notable aspects is the diversity of participating companies, ranging from large tech corporations to small innovative startups. This variety allows students to explore a wide range of STEM applications—from robotics and artificial intelligence to environmental engineering and biotechnology.