HispaRob ERW2025: Spain’s national robotics meeting brings the European Robotics Week to Valencia
Art, Science and Robotics: Technology at the Service of People
25–26 November 2025 · Las Naves – La Harinera Complex · Valencia
The HispaRob Conference for the European Robotics Week 2025 (ERW2025) was held on 25 and 26 November with outstanding success in terms of attendance and participation. This year’s event also benefited from the Honorary Presidency of Her Majesty Queen Letizia, an institutional endorsement that highlights the social, educational and technological relevance of the conference and of the work carried out by HispaRob in Spain within the framework of the European Robotics Week promoted by euRobotics.
Organised by HispaRob together with Escuela de Ciencia and Valencia Innovation Capital, the conference brought together professionals from the sector, teachers, researchers, companies, students and families at La Harinera and Las Naves. All round tables, talks and practical activities reached full capacity, reflecting the strong interest generated by the programme.
Day 1 · La Harinera (25 November)
The conference opened with an institutional welcome featuring speeches by Jorgina Díaz, President of HispaRob; José Vicente López Company, Director of CEFIRE València; and Paula Llobet, Councillor for Tourism, Innovation and Investment Attraction of the Valencia City Council.
This was followed by the round table “Robotics and Emergencies: From Theory to Practice”, with leading experts from the sector such as Fernando Fernández Aguirre, José Luis Diego, Alfonso García Cerezo and Darío Samaniego, moderated by Daniel Sáez. The session focused on real-life cases of robotic systems deployed in critical operational environments.
In the afternoon, the round table “Art and TechnologIA” explored the intersection of creativity, design and artificial intelligence. Nuria Lloret, Gilles Martín, Johan Kildal and Cristina de Propios took part in the discussion, moderated by Helena Ortiz.
In parallel with the round tables, a STEAM educational fair was held at the Las Naves building and was open to schools and families. Attendees were able to experience first-hand some of the most innovative proposals in educational technology and robotics, presented by organisations such as ALLKNOW Education, Academia de Inventores, Letcraft Educación, Escuela de Ciencia, JOVI and the Universitat Politècnica de València, among others.
The first day concluded with an official networking cocktail sponsored by Orange Empresas, providing a space for exchange between speakers, attendees and participating organisations. Throughout the afternoon, visitors were also able to explore the exhibition area featuring sponsor stands.
Day 2 · Las Naves (26 November)
The second day began with a new institutional welcome by Raquel Ibáñez, CEO of Escuela de Ciencia; Ricardo Muñoz, National Coordinator of the European Robotics Week; and Arturo Castelló, Technical Deputy Director of Valencia Innovation Capital.
This was followed by the opening keynote address delivered by Patricia Heredia, engineer and technology communicator at ValPat STEAM and CEO of MiniVinci. Her talk offered an inspiring reflection on purpose-driven technology, creativity and the transformative role of education.
The first round table on 26 November, “Technology at the Service of People’s Health”, was organised by the HispaRob Medical and Assistive Robotics Group. Participants included Johan Kildal (Tekniker), Santiago Martínez de la Casa (UC3M), David Moreno (Rockbotic / Fundación STEM con Zoe), Fernando Fernández Rebollo (Inrobics) and Pilar Alonso Suárez (TKNIKA), with moderation by Jorgina Díaz, President of HispaRob.
After a coffee break sponsored by Realman Robotics, the round table “Gamification and Virtual Environments in the Classroom” took place, with contributions from Jerónimo García (Letcraft Educación), Francisco Blanes (UPV), Roberto Mediavilla (Iberdrola) and María Tinoco (València Game City), moderated by Javier Campos, President of AVRE.
During the day, the Quality Seal for Educational Robotics was also awarded. In a short ceremony, the coordinator of the Educational Robotics Group, Ricardo Muñoz, presented this distinction to the organisations recognised during 2025: Letcraft Educación and GM Technology.
The final round table of the conference, “The Use of Technology in Classrooms: Regulation or Prohibition?”, brought together different stakeholders from the education system for an open debate with the audience on the integration of technology in today’s education. The panel included José Vicente López Company (CEFIRE), Wladimir López de Zamora (IES Hermanos Amorós), Mª Emilia García Marqués (University of Valencia) and José Luis Calvo (INTEF), and was moderated by Ainhoa Marcos (ODILO).
Practical workshops delivered by organisations from the HispaRob Educational Robotics Group
Throughout the conference, several organisations from the HispaRob Educational Robotics Group ran free, hands-on workshops for all attendees. These activities were offered in two formats. On the one hand, a PechaKucha-style Gymkhana was set up as an open space where participants could rotate between different stations, discover the activities and projects presented by each organisation, and experiment directly with the materials provided. On the other hand, a series of more focused, small-group workshops were held in classrooms, scheduled across different time slots and tailored to different educational levels.
The organisations involved in these activities included Prodel, Microlog, ALLKNOW Education, Letcraft, Academia de Inventores, JOVI, TbKids, Cantera de Empresas, Escuela de Ciencia and GM Technology.
Acknowledgements
The HispaRob ERW2025 Conference was made possible thanks to a strong collective effort. We would like to begin by expressing our special thanks to the hosts of this edition: Escuela de Ciencia and Valencia Innovation Capital. Their commitment, dedication and close involvement throughout every stage of the organisation were key to ensuring that the event was delivered with the quality and warmth highlighted by attendees.
This year’s Honorary Presidency of Her Majesty Queen Letizia provided invaluable institutional support, further reinforcing the educational, social and technological importance of this initiative.
We also wish to thank our sponsors—Iberdrola, Universitat Politècnica de València, Orange Empresas, Realman Robotics, Syn-Tech and GM Technology—whose support was essential in making both the networking spaces and the parallel workshops and activities possible.
Our gratitude extends to all speakers and moderators, who contributed high-quality discussions, professional expertise and thoughtful reflections. We would like to highlight in particular the work of Mª José Sánchez Yago, who took on the role of hosting and guiding both full days of the conference. Her ability to connect topics, maintain the programme’s pace, engage with the audience and sustain the energy of the event from start to finish was instrumental in giving this edition its cohesion, dynamism and distinctive character.
We also thank CEFIRE and all the organisations within the HispaRob Educational Robotics Group, whose collaboration enabled a programme of creative and highly participatory hands-on workshops, once again demonstrating the strength of the educational community linked to robotics and STEAM methodologies.
Our appreciation likewise goes to Ricardo Muñoz, National Coordinator of the European Robotics Week, for continuing to strengthen Spain’s role within this initiative promoted by euRobotics, and to Jorgina Díaz, President of HispaRob, for her ongoing leadership and commitment.
Finally, we thank all attendees for filling every room, workshop and activity with questions, ideas and enthusiasm. The response from teachers, families, students, researchers and professionals clearly demonstrates the strong interest in a form of technology that inspires, educates and connects.
See you at ERW2026!