My Experience at AragonSkills 2023

Introduction

During March, between the 21st and 23rd, I had the opportunity to participate in the Aragon Skills 2023 competition, a three-day event where we competed with other students from the autonomous community of Aragon in various categories. In my case, the category was Web Development.

What is Aragon Skills 2023?

Aragon Skills 2023 is an annual competition held in the autonomous community of Aragon, where vocational education students compete in different categories. The goal is to select the best students in each category to represent Aragon in the national Skills competition.

This year was the first time it was held in Huesca, at the Palacio de Congresos. Previously, it was held in Zaragoza, and in this edition, there were a total of 23 categories, each corresponding to a branch of vocational education. My category was Web Development.

How was the competition?

This year’s competition lasted three days. The first day consisted of a 3-hour session in which we were given a set of requirements that we had to meet for the website we had to develop. During this time, we had to focus on the frontend. The second day consisted of 5 hours in which we had to develop the backend of the website, connect it to a database, and integrate it with the frontend. The third day was dedicated to documentation, testing, and deploying the website, with a total of 4 hours for this task.

The First Day

On the first day, those of us coming from other provinces arrived in Huesca around 3:00 PM. We took a bus that picked us up from Torre del Agua in Zaragoza and took us to the Palacio de Congresos, where we received our accreditations. Afterward, we had an hour to set up our workstations, and then we began the 3-hour session. We were given a sample design but had the freedom to design it as we wanted, as long as we met the requirements. The task was to create the interface for an online store, and since we were allowed to use any technologies, we saw how a similar product could be developed in different ways. At 8:00 PM, when the competition for the day ended, we presented our work and took the bus back to the IES Piramide residence, where we would stay for the next few days. Upon arrival, we received our room assignments (two people per room), had dinner, and went to sleep.

The Second Day

The second day, we woke up around 7:30 AM since the bus left at 8:30 AM. We had breakfast and headed to the Palacio. Once there, we set up everything, received the tasks for the day, and got to work. At 1:30 PM, we had a lunch break until 3:30 PM, after which we resumed work until 8:00 PM. We then presented the second day’s work and, like the previous day, returned to the residence.

The Final Day

On the last day, I woke up a little earlier, around 7:00 AM, since we had to pack everything and check out of the rooms. We packed our bags and went down for breakfast. After finishing, I returned to my room, picked up my belongings, returned the keys, and boarded the bus. When we arrived at the Palacio de Congresos, we were given the tasks for the third day and began working. At 1:00 PM, we finished and went to lunch. We had some free time until 5:00 PM when the awards ceremony began, where diplomas and medals were given to the winners of each category. At 7:30 PM, we left Huesca and headed back to Zaragoza.

What Did I Take Away from the Competition?

In addition to the experience of participating in a competition of this scale, I won the third prize in the Web Development category, earning a bronze medal. Moreover, the competition’s sponsor, GFT, gifted each of the top three winners in the Web Development category a laptop.

In conclusion, I believe this was a very valuable experience, as it allowed me to meet new people, learn new things, and see how companies operate. The competition simulated a real work environment, and I had the chance to meet people working in web development companies, which could be helpful in the future.