Odón Solar, a Spanish nonprofit with a mission to generate clean energy, lacked a strong digital presence.

Like many nonprofits, it didn’t have the resources to build a professional website on its own.

Two students, Constanza Diaz and Axcel Paucar Garcia, needed an internship to complete their master’s studies in user experience (UX) design. 

Working together with the Spanish nonprofit, they combined those two needs into a live WordPress.com website.

Matching student designers with a nonprofit client 

Teachers in Spain have told us the same thing for a while: it’s hard to find internships that leave students with a finished project for their portfolios. Recent changes to vocational education in Spain have only increased demand for placements.

At the same time, nonprofits like Odón Solar are exactly the kind of organization that needs a professional website and can least afford one. 

WordPress.com, working with WordPress Credits, UDIT’s Master’s in UX program, and Economistas sin Fronteras, set out to connect the two through a single project.

Two interns, Constanza and Axcel, working with mentor Mariano Sarmiento spent 125 hours on the project: research, content architecture, UX design, stakeholder conversations with Odón Solar, and the build itself on WordPress.com.

From collaboration to a live site

The students designed the site in Figma, working closely with Odón Solar at every step — the kind of direct, back-and-forth client relationship a classroom project rarely offers.

For the build, the team fed those Figma files into Studio Code, WordPress Studio’s AI agent for WordPress, and prompted it to iterate on the details without the need for coding experience.

The students also wrote up the whole process into a service blueprint, recording the roles, responsibilities, deliverables, and decisions so the next team doesn’t have to start from scratch.

“It far exceeds our expectations, and we’re very happy with the result — but above all, with the process. We’ve learned a great deal, and we hope the program continues, because it is an incredible opportunity for everyone involved.” — Odón Solar

A website for the nonprofit, experience for the students 

Odón Solar got a site it can use to reach the people it serves. The students got a portfolio piece, a real client relationship, exposure to the WordPress community, and the internship hours their qualification required. 

Mentors and agencies found a way to develop talent and spot potential recruits before students even graduate.

This is a practical example of how WordPress.com connects students, mentors, and organizations that need each other. 

Constanza Diaz described the experience: “Seeing the website go live turned it into a real tool for the community. I was also struck by how welcoming the WordPress community is, and I hope to keep contributing to open source through impactful design.”

Bring WordPress.com to your classroom

Give your students a place to put their skills into practice. 

Through WordPress.com Education, eligible students can get the Student Plan free for their first year.

Educators can apply on behalf of their class. Once approved, each student can activate their own Student Plan, build a site they own, and use the plan free for their first year.