67 Zelestra in Spain

Team 66 Poster

Team Reflection

Our Aim2Flourish journey started with our very first team meeting in early October. As a group we were all a little shy but all eager to meet with our new teammates from across the world. After going through all of our proposals, we decided on our company, Zelestra. Zelestra is a renewable energy provider that offers renewable energy products to clients around the globe. The main focus of the company is to make decarbonization the new standard, but doing so ethically and with great care for the quality of their product. We decided to go for this company not only for their alignment with the SDGs but also the fact that we were able to interview their head of sustainability. Going into the interview we were all eager to learn more about how the company operates from an inside perspective. Our interviewee was very well versed and happy to explain to us all about what makes up a sustainable business. His care in explaining felt like it was a inward reflection into how the company cares about how they carry out business. He emphasized how in every step of the business practice the company prioritizes quality and transparency. This was really impactful for us to see how a company operates sustainably not only for their own benefit but for the socially greater good because they really care.

Throughout our time researching the company, the renewable energy sector, and especially after the interview, we gained insight on real life applications of sustainability. We had previously been aware of sustainability as a general concept because of our classes and the increased popularity of sustainability and “green washing” in many large corporations, however, as a group we had some knowledge gaps on how sustainability could be applied internally. Our interviewee helped explain how sustainability can be implemented in each link of the value chain of the company’s products. We had originally assumed that Zelestra was a sustainable company solely based on the product they offer; renewable energy production plants, but really we learned how sustainability is much more than just meeting sector requirements.

What our courses have been teaching us is related to the development of economies, more specifically globalization, trade, and development which can all be looked at from a more sustainable perspective. Through the cross cultural collaboration we experienced, we took in different views of sustainability and noticed how different cultures look at development differently. This dynamic of discussing and understanding can serve as an example of how globalization works since it is a process of interdependence. As we collaborated to come up with a unified project, we each implemented teachings we believed in to find a solution we all agreed upon. Overall, we learned the importance of being open minded and learning from each other in order to develop, and this is something we believe nations should do.

Lessons about understanding the different challenges countries have faced throughout history aided our team work the most because the understanding on those topics enriched our team discussions. Through being more aware, we got to look at different views, solve problems if any, and come to a unified idea in the end. The theoretical discussions from class guided our discussions, while collaborating ensured good communication. Through this, our group became more globally aware not only academically but in practice as well.

A lot of how our work was conducted was through understanding what each team member was comfortable with doing. While we all made sure to be knowledgeable and helpful on every aspect of the task, we each did some part of the project more than others. For example, if one member was not as confident in speaking, we let them listen in to the interview instead of asking questions. If one member felt that their writing skills were not the best, we made them do something more graphical or we helped them out extra. Before submissions, we also made sure everyone agreed on what was written and gave comments when we felt somethings needed to be changed. Language and communication is a challenge everyone faces so it was very important for us to understand and respect each other. Discussing before conducting the project was very helpful for us to delegate the tasks so we felt more confident with our output.

Finally, what worked for us was the reminder to be flexible and sensitive. We may sometimes forget that not everyone learned the same way so it was important to stay open minded. When we adapted to each others viewpoints, our work turned out to be more coherent, and we found this to be a great practice. What did not work for us was having the expectation to all work together at the same time. With our time differences, communicating was not the easiest because when one pair was free, the other pair might not have been. This led to gaining trust in relying that we will each get our assigned parts finished when necessary. Overall it was a great experience for us and in the future, the Aim2Flourish assignment will definitely have a positive impact on our outlook towards our careers. It was very inspiring to interview an individual who shows the importance of sustainable practice not only in business but in all activities in our day-to-day lives. Looking to the future, We think this impact will hopeful one day act as a reminder for us to stay true to our values and remind us how important it is to make ethical decisions in business, even if it costs more to do so, because in the long run that will be the most sustainable way to succeed.

Personal Reflections

Randy Alaric Juremi 

Working with a different cultural team has been a very challenging and fun experience for me. I liked the challenge and opportunity to talk fully in English, improving my communication skills, and critical thinking. Even though we pull it off, at the start it’s a bit difficult to communicate and understand each other given the different time zones and personal lives, but challenges like these help me grow as a person to be more adaptable and thoughtful especially among my group members. Doing weekly meetings is fun, we didn’t talk much, mainly just about our work. But it’s still exciting to discuss a project with people from the other side of the world. Overall this opportunity has taught me a lot of things, even though it was a short time, I enjoyed working on this project with my group mates that participated. We did great doing our part given the circumstances, and I hope the best for all of them.

Constanza Castella

Overall, I was really happy with the team I was placed in and everything I have gained personally from this collaborative project. The cross-cultural dynamic was not a challenge but rather a positive aspect, as it was really interesting to hear the opinions and new perspectives from people on the other side on the world. Despite some setbacks with contacting our team mates from South Africa, the remaining members of our group came together to finish the work and take on more responsibilities. I was really lucky to have a team where everyone pulled their weight and teammates who were always happy to collaborate. Personally, this project has really opened my eyes to the behind-the-scenes of what it takes to not only run an innovative business, but to do responsibly, prioritizing sustainability in all steps of development and production. I have learned so much working with my team, a lot of knowledge that I will be carrying with me into my academic and professional career.

Erin Delos Santos

Aim2Flourish has been a great opportunity for me to be more flexible and adaptable. Being in a virtual team is not the easiest experience due to the conflicting schedules of each member, but that makes succeeding in this task more rewarding. It is very refreshing for me to get perspectives from other people because it reminds me how culture and different beliefs shapes our understanding on various topics. Other than my buddy from class, our other group members were from a university in Indonesia so time was our biggest obstacle. Although we had to reschedule our virtual meetings some times, I did not encounter any problems in communication and conflicting views. I have lived in the Philippines all my life before moving to Spain for university, and as someone from a neighboring country by Indonesia, it was comforting to agree and understand the reasonings of all my teammates. Overall, I am very happy that I got the chance to collaborate with some brilliant students to see how sustainability matters for each of us. Although the process was not perfect and I could not get to know my group mates from South Africa, there is a lot I have learned about collaboration that I will continue to implement over time.