MIAMI, May 8, 2026 – Miami Dade College (MDC) recently partnered with Santander to host a student hackathon designed to provide hands-on experience within its digital banking platform, Openbank. The event brought together 45 students from the College’s School of Engineering, Technology and Design (EnTec), who collaborated in teams to work directly within Openbank to develop new digital banking engagement concepts.
Throughout the hackathon, students applied their skills in a real-world digital banking environment, collaborating to design and prototype new ideas that enhance the customer experience. After completing their solutions, teams presented their findings to a panel of judges comprised of Santander leaders, including Cenk Bulbul, chief marketing officer for Santander Bank and head of marketing for Openbank; Stacey Nash, head of operations for Santander US and Openbank and Ronaldo Rondinelli, head of Santander Universities in the U.S. They also participated in a panel discussion and Q&A about careers in the industry and emerging trends in digital banking. Winning teams received prizes such as F1 tickets and electronics, along with mentoring opportunities.
This initiative reflects a shared commitment between Santander and MDC to bridge classroom learning with real-world application, equipping students with the skills and exposure needed to succeed. Through its broader efforts, including Santander Open Academy, Santander supports lifelong learning by providing access to courses, scholarships, and training that enable people to improve their employability by acquiring and updating the professional skills and competencies most in demand in the labor market. Santander has also committed $600,000 to MDC to support educational access and entrepreneurship initiatives.
“This hackathon is a powerful example of how we’re connecting education with real-world innovation,” Bulbul said. “By giving students the opportunity to engage with real digital banking challenges, we’re helping build the skills and confidence needed for the future of our industry. Through initiatives like Santander Open Academy, we’re expanding access to these learning opportunities, empowering the next generation and supporting current professionals as they grow and advance their careers.”
The hackathon is one of many ways Santander continues to support MDC through investments in scholarships and career readiness programs. It also reflects MDC’s ongoing focus on experiential learning, as this marked the second hackathon hosted by the College in April, with the first focused on cybersecurity. These initiatives underscore MDC’s broader commitment to providing practical learning opportunities.
“Our hackathons are an amazing avenue to provide students with direct exposure to the tools and technologies shaping today’s financial industry,” said Manuel Perez, dean of MDC’s EnTec. “By working hands-on with a global institution like Santander, our students gain practical experience and build skill sets employers are actively seeking.”
For more information about programs within MDC’s School of Engineering, Technology and Design, visit: www.mdc.edu/entec/
To learn more about Santander and its impact on education through university partnerships, visit www.santander.com/universities.
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About Miami Dade College
Miami Dade College is the most diverse institution in the nation, with students from 167 countries and 63 languages represented. Its eight campuses and outreach centers offer more than 300 pathways, including associate and bachelor’s degrees, certifications, and apprenticeships. MDC is home to nationally recognized programs and centers, such as the Miami Culinary Institute, The Idea Center, AI Centers, and New World School of the Arts. The College’s rich cultural programming includes the Miami Book Fair, Miami Film Festival, Freedom Tower, Live Arts Miami, Koubek Center, and MOAD. Since its founding in 1960, MDC has welcomed more than 2.5 million students. Approximately 125,000 students are currently enrolled. Visit mdc.edu to learn more.
About the Miami Dade College Foundation
Founded in 1965, Miami Dade College Foundation raises essential private funds to support scholarships, academic programs and support services so MDC students have the opportunity to pursue their dreams. MDC Foundation also supports world-class arts and cultural programming at MDC that enriches the community. In 2023-2024, MDC Foundation distributed nearly $25 million to benefits the students and programs of MDC. Known as Democracy’s College, MDC changes lives through accessible, high-quality teaching and learning experiences that prepare students for tomorrow’s workforce. MDC is the nation’s most diverse institution of higher education with an enrollment of more than 125,000 students and more than two million alumni. It is also the nation’s top producer of Associate in Arts and Science degrees, and awards more degrees to minorities than any other college or university in the country. For more information visit mdcfoundation.com.
Santander Holdings USA, Inc. (SHUSA) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Madrid-based Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN) (Santander), recognized as one of the world’s most admired companies by Fortune Magazine in 2026, with approximately 176 million customers in the United States, Europe and Latin America. SHUSA is the intermediate holding company for Santander’s five growing businesses in the United States. Santander’s U.S. presence consists of auto lending, retail and digital banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management businesses, with a combined total of approximately 11,000 employees, 4.4 million customers, and assets of $165 billion in the fiscal year ended 2025. In the U.S. market, Santander is recognized as a top-10 auto lender and a top-10 multifamily bank lender and servicer, and operates one of the fastest growing digital banks, Openbank by Santander, as a division of Santander Bank, N.A. For more information about Santander US, please visit www.santanderus.com.
Banco Santander is firmly committed to progress of people and businesses, with a pioneering and consolidated focus on education, employability and entrepreneurship, developed over 30 years and setting it apart from other financial institutions worldwide. The bank has allocated more than €2.5 billion and supported over 8.3 million people and businesses. It has been recognized, for the third time, as one of the companies making the greatest contribution to changing the world for the better, according to Fortune magazine’s 2025 “Change the World” list (www.santander.com/universities).