We are proud to announce that the winner of the Portuguese National Scoop! competition is E.S.P.E., an idea developed by 4 students from Escola Profissional de Espinho, which was selected as the most complete in response to the social needs of Espinho, the city where the school is located!

Seven teams from three VET schools in Aveiro District participated in the competition for electing the best social cooperative idea, which was held in Espinho on the 30^th of June 2022.

After all the groups presented their social cooperative idea, the jury had a difficult task to decide which idea was the best.

The jury consisted of 3 experts in two different fields: Joana Silva, EU projects manager, and César Reis, who has a great experience in managing projects dedicated to social promotion.

The evaluation consisted of the following criteria: (1) consistency of the idea, (2) originality and feasibility of the product on the market, (3) marketing and promotion, (4) financial resources management, (5) contribution to Sustainable Development Goals, (6) social innovation and (7) presentation of the project idea.

Congratulations to all and we wish good luck to our winners in the preparations for the EU Scoop! Competition which will take place in Florence (Italy) in mid-September 2022.

The recruitment process was easy to explain:

1. First, the staff from APSU has elaborated a poster in the three schools announcing the opening of applications to participate in the National Finals, as follows:

Fig. 1 – Poster announcing the National Contest

• Then, after receiving the applications from 7 groups, APSU scheduled the Finals for the 30^th of June, in the Escola Profissional de Espinho’s School Auditorium. An email with the contest rules was sent to all the participating teams;

• In the competition day, after the groups arrived, the Jury was presented, as well as the competition’s rules. After this small introduction, the presentations took place;

• After all groups presented, the final results were presented:

1^st place: E.S.P.E. – Escola Profissional de Espinho, Espinho, Aveiro, Portugal;

2^nd place: Village of Smiles – Escola Profissional de Cortegaça, Ovar, Aveiro, Portugal;

3^rd place: Good Food for All – Escola Profissional de Espinho, Espinho, Aveiro, Portugal.