Sponsored by Tecnológico de Monterrey
Every student, at one time or another, dreams of changing the world. Whether it’s a dream such as winning the battle against climate change, or maybe writing a beautiful novel, the thought of one day accomplishing something amazing can often be the only thing keeping you going through early morning lectures and late nights spent in the library.
Some universities will always be better suited for these dreamers than others. In northern Mexico, not far from the US border, researchers at Tecnológico de Monterrey are proving they have what it takes to dream big and change the future of their country.
Tecnológico de Monterrey has prided itself on the transformative research that occurs within its buildings for years, with the university receiving over 17,000 academic citations between 2012 and 2017. Now, that focus on research is being taken even further through the annual ‘Projects That Transform Mexico’ initiative.
What’s it about?
Projects That Transform México is an initiative aiming to identify the research and innovation projects making a positive change for Mexico, either because they solve important problems in Mexican society or innovate aspects of Mexican life.
To participate in the initiative, a project must meet several criteria, including the participation of graduate students in the team, the existence of a robust experimental prototype and proof it will have a demonstrable impact in areas such as health, education, sustainable development, quality of life and economic development.
Videos on all of this year’s projects can be found here, or keep reading for more information on this year’s projects:
Biodegradable packaging to preserve environment and reduce waste
Plastic pollution is a really hot topic right now and researchers Hugo Mújica and Aurora Valdéz, from Tecnológico de Monterrey, think they have an answer. They’ve developed a system capable of turning the peel from different fruits like orange, grapefruit and mango into a film that can substitute the traditional synthetic polymer films and packages currently used on many products. They hope their project will reduce and control waste and reduce the damage done to the environment by plastics.
Improving eyesight with biopharmaceuticals
The research team integrated by Judith Zavala, Jorge Valdez and Víctor Manuel Treviño, from Tecnológico de Monterrey Medicine School, are working on a biopharmaceutical which will prevent the rare growth of ocular conjunctiva, an eye condition which is currently only treatable with surgery. This group of Mexican experts have made important improvements in the development of an alternative procedure using the “Siempre Viva” plant.
Cutting down on food waste
Every single year in México, 20.4 million tons of food are wasted. This project, entitled Zero Loss, is led by Tecnológico de Monterrey researcher Silverio García Lara and aims to use innovative strategies including intelligent containers, post-harvest technologies and climate information services to assure and increase the productivity in a sustainable way.
Remote laps for students
Manuel Macías is the leader of this Tecnológico de Monterrey project, which aims to improve distance education through the creation of three remote labs. These labs assure access to physical resources no matter where the students are.
Managing water resources
Our final project from this year is an initiative of Tecnológico de Monterrey, Femsa Foundation, and the Inter-American Development Bank, and aims to provide consulting and education in how to sustainably manage and use water resources.
For more information about these projects and how the university is aiming to transform lives through its research, click here.
Tecnológico de Monterrey is ranked within the top 200 in the world in the latest QS World University Rankings and was the top university in Mexico in the 2018 edition of the QS Graduate Employability Rankings. To learn more about the university, click here.
