Mexico City, Mexico, November 13, 2023. Universidad Panamericana and the ILAN Foundation held the the best of innovation and entrepreneurship in Mexico, during a ceremony held in the auditorium of our university.during a ceremony held in the auditorium of our university.
The ILAN Foundation's mission is to promote innovation to improve people's lives and its vision is to make Latin America a highly innovative region that works under the model of the innovation triangle, made up of three sectors: government, academia and business.
The ceremony was attended by the president of the foundation, Isaac Assa Farca; its general director, Rina Gitler; the rector of the Panamericana campus Mexico, Dr. Santiago García Álvarez; and the director of institutional development of Panamericana, Salvador Beltrán del Río.
UP: entrepreneurial community
In his message, Dr. Santiago García highlighted the increase registered by the institution in recent years in initiatives related to innovation and entrepreneurship."The truth is that we have been very pleased to see how the Pan-American community is beginning to generate many initiatives and these are reaching a good point," he said.
He also pointed out: "Now that I have seen the projects, the truth is that all three have a very interesting social sense. It is a charm of the current generations that vision of social transformation that, at the same time, combines creativity, with innovation, with something that really contributes to society".
Empowering innovation
For her part, Rina Gitler told the students present: "I see in you faith and hope. All my life I have educated my daughters to be proactive and not just to occupy a chair in this world, to go out and want to eat the world; that is what ILAN intends, that through innovation we can enhance all your projects".
He further stated, "Innovation is the force that drives progress and the projects we will see today are proof of the potential that lies in each of you."
Be part of the change
Isaac Assa then recounted a lesson his father passed on to him after taking him to a soccer match when he was a teenager. After the match was over, his father asked him what he had learned and young Issac replied with various emotions at the exciting spectacle, but his dad replied, "No, we were just in a place with over 100,000 people, 100,000 critics, but few were playing. In life, be a player."
In this way he said to those present: "in life young people, be players, not critics, you have to play, get ahead, if you want a change, do it, be part of the change".
Innovation: a transforming force
Subsequently, the director of the career of Innovation and Design EngineeringDr. Carlos Soberanes, took the podium to speak about the importance of the awarded projects: "innovation is not simply an economic engine or a surprising element, it is a force that enriches people's quality of life and transforms the way we live (...), who has the capacity to generate this change, you, the young people".
After this reflection, he invited the students to keep going: "Keep dreaming big, never stop entrepreneurship, promote and make a difference. Congratulations to all and go ahead, young entrepreneurs, the future is in your hands, let's make it count".
Manuel González, a student at the Panamericana campus Aguascalientes and representative of Misión Colibrí, the winning project in 2022, shared his experience of traveling to Israel as part of the prize for the previous edition: "This trip was very enriching, as an entrepreneur it allows you to expand your vision a little more about an environment that is completely dedicated to technological innovation and startups".
ILAN 2023 Award Winners
This year's winning projects were:
-Lotus
Members: Diana Sofía Derat, Carla Michelle Márquez, Carlos Adolfo Umaña.
Lotus is a serious video game, designed as a tool for the development and acquisition of emotional intelligence skills, aimed at young people between 15 and 18 years old. Beyond entertainment, this video game is deliberately designed to generate emotional reactions and challenge the player.
-Retazzo
Members: Pablo Mario Fuentes, Samuel Lopez, Hanna Larios and Jimena Reyes.
Project dedicated to recovering waste from the leather industry to reintegrate it into a circular market through a vision of generating zero waste and promoting the sustainable use of leather.
Retazzo acts as a maquila supplier and manufacturer of its own products through different alliances. This ecological approach also seeks to promote a fair and equitable market for the people who work in this industry.
-Perkins Jr.
Representative: Aram Sánchez Rodríguez.
Inspired by the fact that in Mexico there are 1.5 million visually impaired people but only a very small percentage of them know the Braille system, Perkins Jr. seeks to promote the learning of this system through a playful device .
The long-term goal is that a series of games can be made for people learning the RaiDi system.
Find out more about how Panamericana supports entrepreneurship and innovation at: https://www.up.edu.mx/vida-panamericana-centros-centro-de-emprendimiento/
