The Basque Government and the University of Deusto Promote an International Congress to Strengthen Support for High-Capacity Students

• The meeting will take place on 13 and 14 May at the San Mamés stadium.
• The Congress will bring together international specialists, teachers, researchers, and families to advance the identification and accompaniment of high-capacity students.

The Basque Government and the University of Deusto are promoting the first International Congress, “Promoting the Development of High Intellectual Abilities in Inclusive Schools”, to be held on 13 and 14 May in Bilbao.

The presentation of the Congress took place this morning in Bilbao, with the participation of the Minister of Education, Begoña Pedrosa; the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Sport at the University of Deusto, Isabel Rubio; the Director for Diversity and Inclusion of the Basque Government’s Department of Education, Mikel Juaristi; and the head of the High Intellectual Capacity Development Support Unit at the University of Deusto, Myriam Martínez.

Over two days, the Congress will address identification strategies, educational intervention, and the accompaniment of high-capacity students, as well as educational response models oriented towards equity and inclusion. The event will gather education professionals, researchers, families, and institutional representatives in a space for exchange and shared learning.

Within this framework, the programme will offer a broad and updated vision through keynote speeches by international specialists, reflection spaces, and presentations of best practices. The inaugural session will feature Dr Rena Subotnik (Berkeley University), an international authority on talent development, who will analyse the main challenges and opportunities in this field.

Throughout the Congress, key issues such as underachievement in high-capacity students and strategies to prevent it and promote school success will be addressed by Betsy McCoach (University of Connecticut), alongside the evolution and remaining challenges in the educational response, with contributions from the Department of Education and the University of Deusto.

The programme will also focus on educational practice, with a symposium centred on personalised learning and the development of student potential, and a round table dedicated to the role of the family and extracurricular environment in supporting students, incorporating the experience of specialised associations and projects.

The second day will broaden the scope with international contributions on twice-exceptional students, the use of artificial intelligence in educational response, and emotional development as a key element for well-being. Additionally, intervention models and best practices in schools will be presented, showcasing specific experiences applied in the classroom.

The objective is to share knowledge, experiences, and tools that allow for the recognition and development of talent in diverse educational contexts, contributing to progress towards an increasingly inclusive educational system capable of responding to the needs of all students

BOOSTING AN INCREASINGLY VISIBLE REALITY

The Minister of Education framed the celebration of this congress within the need to advance in providing a better response to student diversity and offering each student what they need to develop their full potential. In this sense, she emphasised that this is a field of growing interest for families and schools, which “requires continued knowledge sharing and the construction of useful responses for the educational community, based on evidence and practice”.

For this reason, the Euskadi Congress aspires to establish itself as a reference point for the exchange of scientific knowledge, best educational practices, and experiences, contributing to the improvement of educational care and the strengthening of collaboration between schools, families, and the research community.

Begoña Pedrosa also stressed that “high capacities are part of student diversity, and we must offer every student the opportunities and stimuli they need to develop their potential”, adding that “improving their care means harnessing that talent, offering equal opportunities, and moving towards a fairer educational system adapted to the real diversity of the student body”.

For her part, the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Sport, Isabel Rubio, explained that “we will address the challenges that concern families and teachers: underachievement, analysing why students with great potential do not achieve the expected success; socio-emotional development, which is essential for the child’s personal balance; and twice-exceptionality, to provide answers to those who present high capacities alongside other specific educational support needs”.

OTHER INITIATIVES UNDERWAY IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY

Since 2019, the Basque Government’s Department of Education has been developing a specific line of work in the care of high-capacity students in collaboration with the University of Deusto. This is framed within the Educational Support Plan for Students with High Intellectual Capacities, oriented towards improving early identification and the educational response in schools, as well as strengthening teacher training and collaboration with families.

In this framework, various initiatives have been promoted to advance the better detection of students and the development of tools and guidelines for schools.

Among these actions is Zur-ekin (‘With You’ in English), an accompaniment programme that contributes to early detection and educational monitoring of high-capacity students, offering resources to schools, training for teachers and guidance for families.

Through this sustained line of work, the Basque educational system seeks to identify and develop talent from an early age, guaranteeing an inclusive educational response that allows every student to deploy their full potential.

INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION

The full Congress programme and registration details can be found on the event's official website.