Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV), in collaboration with Microsoft Spain and the Madrid City Council, through the memoriademadrid Digital Library, hosted the finals of the 8th edition of the Minecraft Education Tournament, an initiative that combines technology, educational innovation, historical storytelling, and digital content creation for elementary school students.
The tournament, organized by UFV's
The initiative strengthens the partnership between UFV and Microsoft Spain regarding the use of Minecraft Education as an educational tool and helps university students connect with professional fields related to educational technology, video game design, and the creation of interactive experiences with a social impact.
In this edition, UFV students Miguel Ángel Bellido, Paula Carballo, and Jaime Alcázar, under the guidance of Professor Alejandro Montiel, have developed the video game “The Legend of the Two Sisters.” The experience allows elementary school students to immerse themselves in 17th-century Madrid through curriculum-based content, historical narrative, exploration, and problem-solving.
The project has been supported by the memoriademadrid Digital Library, which has made it possible to integrate historical heritage, municipal records, and cultural outreach into an interactive learning environment. Student Paula Carballo highlights the value of this collaboration: “Thanks to memoriademadrid, our mission this year has been to rescue, preserve, and share the legends we don’t know. It’s important to know where we come from. And one of the things we’re most proud of is having been able to incorporate music from that era.”
This musical integration was created in 8-bit format, an approach that has made it possible to combine cultural heritage, the language of video games, and an educational experience tailored to elementary school students.
Gilberto Pedrerira, department head at memoriademadrid, reflects on what it has been like to participate in this educational project: “It has been an exciting milestone and an innovative way to fulfill our mission of preserving and promoting Madrid’s cultural heritage.”
The Minecraft Education Tournament is an example of collaboration between a university, a technology company, and government. UFV contributes the creative and academic talent of its students; Microsoft Spain provides the technology platform and its educational innovation ecosystem; and the Madrid City Council, through memoriademadrid, offers access to historical and documentary content that enriches the learning experience.
Minecraft Education is a game-based learning platform used in education to develop skills such as creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, coding, problem-solving, and STEM learning. According to data from Minecraft Education, more than 40,000 school systems in 140 countries use the tool to achieve their educational goals. ** Pedro Moreno**, Head of Pre-University Education at Microsoft Education, explains it this way: “Seeing how, year after year, they design worlds that combine creativity, history, and learning demonstrates the potential of Minecraft Education as a top-tier educational tool for fostering the talent and preparing these young people to face the challenges of the future. We are proud to accompany UFV on this journey and *continue building, together, new ways of teaching* and learning.”
Belén Mainer, director of Bachelor's Degree Video Game Design and Storytelling at UFV, has highlighted the benefits of this type of resource: “Gaming serves as a tool for developing imagination, programming skills, and social relationships, becoming a technological version of traditional play where students learn through play.”
The Minecraft world developed by UFV students will be published in an open digital repository in .mcworld format. The research, design, and creation work will be made available to the educational community for public use, so that teachers and students can use it as a learning resource.
Alejandro Montiel, a professor at UFV and the project advisor, emphasizes the importance of this milestone: “We have managed to take the project to a new level, enabling our students’ final projects to have a real impact on society and culture.”
The project has been partially funded by national and European grants—MICIU/AEI/ERDF—which reinforces its research, educational, and social impact dimensions. Initiatives like this connect the education students receive at UFV with the real-world challenges of digital creation, educational innovation, and cultural outreach.
