Mexico City, November 13, 2023.— The Universidad Panamericana and the ILAN Foundation held the awards ceremony honoring the best in innovation and entrepreneurship in Mexicoduring a ceremony held in our university’s auditorium.
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 operates under the innovation triangle model, comprising three sectors: government, academia, and business.
In attendance at the ceremony were the foundation’s president, Isaac Assa Farca; its executive director, Rina Gitler; the president of the Panamericana University’s Mexico campus, Dr. Santiago García Álvarez; and the director of institutional development at Panamericana University, Salvador Beltrán del Río, M.A.
UP: Entrepreneurial Community
In his remarks, Dr. Santiago García highlighted the increase in innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives at the institution in recent years. “The truth is that we’ve been very pleased to see how the Panamericana community is beginning to generate so many initiatives, and these are coming to fruition,” he said.
He also noted: “Now that I’ve seen the projects, the truth is that all three have a really interesting social purpose. That vision of social transformation—which combines creativity and innovation with something that truly contributes to society—is a wonderful trait of today’s generations.”
Fostering Innovation
For her part, Rina Gitler told the students in attendance: “I see faith and hope in you. All my life, I have raised my daughters to be proactive and not just take up space in this world, but to go out and take on the world—which is what ILAN aims to do: through innovation, we can empower all of your projects.”
He also stated: “Innovation is the driving force behind progress, and the projects we’ll see today are proof of the potential that lies within each of you.”
Be part of the change
Isaac Assa then shared a lesson his father taught him after taking him to a soccer game when he was a teenager. When the game ended, his father asked him what he had learned, and the young Isaac replied, expressing various emotions about the thrilling spectacle, but his father responded: “No, we were just in a place with more than 100,000 people—100,000 critics—but only a few were actually playing. In life, be a player.”
He then said to those present: “In life, young people, be players, not critics. You have to take action, move forward. If you want change, make it happen—be part of the change.”
Innovation: A Transformative Force
Subsequently, the director of the Innovation and Design Engineering, Dr. Carlos Soberanes, took the stage to speak about the importance of the award-winning projects:“Innovation is not simply an economic driver or a surprising element; it is a force that enriches people’s quality of life and transforms the way we live (…), who has the ability to bring about this change? You, the young people.”
After sharing these thoughts, he encouraged the students to keep moving forward: “Keep dreaming big, never stop taking initiative, making a difference, and making your mark. Congratulations to all of you, and keep going, young entrepreneurs—the future is in your hands; let’s make it count.”
Next, Manuel González, a student at the Panamericana University’s Aguascalientes campus and representative of Misión Colibrí—the winning project in 2022—shared his experience traveling to Israel as part of the prize from the previous year’s competition: “This trip was very enriching. As an entrepreneur, it allows you to broaden your perspective a bit more on an environment that is fully dedicated to technological innovation and startups.”
2023 ILAN 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 developing and acquiring emotional intelligence skills, aimed at young people ages 15 to 18. Beyond entertainment, this video game is deliberately designed to foster emotional responses and challenge the player.
-Retazzo
Members: Pablo Mario Fuentes, Samuel López, Hanna Larios, and Jimena Reyes.
A project dedicated to recovering waste from the leather industry and reintegrating it into a circular economy, with the goal of achieving zero waste and promoting the sustainable use of leather.
Retazzo serves as a contract manufacturer and producer of its own products through various partnerships. This eco-friendly approach also seeks to promote a fair and equitable market for the people working in this industry.
-Perkins Jr.
Representative: Aram Sánchez Rodríguez.
Inspired by the fact that there are 1.5 million people with visual impairments in Mexico, but only a very small percentage of them are familiar with the Braille system, Perkins Jr. aims to promote the learning of this system through a playful device.
The long-term goal is to develop a series of games for people who are learning the RaiDi system.
Learn more about how the Pan-American Highway supports entrepreneurship and innovation at: https://www.up.edu.mx/vida-panamericana-centros-centro-de-emprendimiento/
