Students from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) took part in the 31st edition of CADE Universitario, held from May 6 to May 8. The event included conferences, integration activities, and an academic challenge known as Desafío CADE Universitario – Mibanco. PUCP reports that its students were present on all three teams that reached the podium during this competition.
The challenge was centered around the theme “Democracy is key” and asked participants to propose ways to encourage more young people to vote in the second round of elections and do so with information. Teams had less than a day to design transformative proposals and present them through a final video for evaluation.
Ignacio Diez Corzo, a Mining Engineering student whose team won first place with the project “Mi voto vale,” said: “The challenge was double: not only did it involve coming up with an innovative, viable proposal aimed at all young people in the country in very little time, but also figuring out how to exercise leadership within a group where we were all young leaders used to proposing and defending our ideas. We had just a few hours to talk, build the proposal, and record the final video; it was quite an intense process. Everything had to be clear, concise, and applicable, which made the challenge even more demanding.”
Yamil García Quintanilla from Early Childhood Education participated on the second-place team with their project “Roblox democrático.” García Quintanilla said: “It was an intense and exciting process at once. Although there were moments of great stress, support from coaches helped us land our ideas better. In our group there was listening, respect and teamwork; every voice was considered and that allowed us to build a proposal together. We really felt we lived democracy within our team and that our result came from everyone’s contribution.” Andrea Velapatiño Navarro from Law contributed to third-place winner “Antivirus democrático,” which offered verified information for youth voters across Peru’s languages.
Andrea Velapatiño Navarro said: “This is a meeting that connects university leaders who aim to create strategies and social commitment so we can overcome adversities happening in Peru. As a law student I remind you ‘democracy is key,’ not just as rules governing us but as a system depending on each person’s character and action. Because change isn’t waited for—it’s sought after.” Diandra García Rouillon also represented PUCP by joining her team’s win in another activity called “Cadeístas en acción.”
The participation highlights PUCP’s focus on cultural and social wellbeing through educational contributions across Peru according to the official website.
