On February 25, 2026, the Atlantic Onboard Internships (AOBI), developed within the European TWINNEDbySTARS project, was recently invited to take part in the 3rd edition of the Talento Sostenible Awards (2025–26) in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain. These awards, organised by Fundación Líneas Romero and the Chamber of Commerce of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, highlight initiatives that foster talent, innovation and entrepreneurship with a strong social responsibility focus in the Canary Islands.

AOBI presented its candidacy as an online platform that connects talent with the nautical tourism sector in the outermost Atlantic regions of the Canary Islands, the Azores, Madeira and Martinique. Its aim is to help shift conventional tourism towards a model based on citizen science and academic tourism, where participants collect critical data on issues such as microplastics and marine acoustics while developing the green skills needed for the Blue Economy.

On this occasion, AOBI did not take home the award, but the event proved highly valuable. The invitation to Talento Sostenible offered an opportunity to present the initiative’s contribution to sustainable development in the Canary Islands and its alignment with the regional RIS3 strategy, positioning the archipelago as a driving force for marine knowledge in Macaronesia.

From the TWINNEDBySTARS project, we would like to congratulate the winners and thank the organisers for their continued commitment to recognising sustainable talent. Initiatives like these help weave the networks needed for talent and sustainability to move forward together.

​More information on the awards and participating projects is available at: www.premiostalentosostenible.com.