QS Reimagine Education: Tec receives Education “Oscar” for 4th year

Tec de Monterrey has been recognized for the fourth consecutive year at the QS Reimagine Education Awards, also known as the “Oscars” of education worldwide.

It won gold in the Innovation in Business Education category for pedagogical work as part of the nationwide Entrepreneurship degree in the latest edition of these awards.

“Due to their impact and participants, these awards are considered the ‘Oscars’ of education within academia,” said Ján Rehák, National Director of the Tec’s Entrepreneurship program.

The prize is organized by British ranking organization Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), producer of the QS World University Rankings.

Awards are given in 17 different categories, which include: E-learning, Sustainability Education, and AI in Education.

Redesigning an education program

Professors Ján Rehák and Víctor Jiménez from the Queretaro campus headed the “Entrepreneurship Program Innovation Project: Leveraging Technology to Foster Entrepreneurship.”

This project is based on the transformative educational experience of the Entrepreneurship degree with an innovative approach emphasizing practicality and constant support for students throughout their degree program.

According to Rehák, the innovative part they infused into the Entrepreneurship program was a holistic approach that integrated different projects.

“The focus on both multi-semester projects and collaborations with external companies helped students experience emerging technologies.”

The project is based on 6 pillars:

• Challenge-based learning: Knowledge applied to real-life situations.
• Cross-cutting competencies: Knowledge in practice through a multi-semester project.
• Partnership with businesses: Collaboration with emerging companies.
• Mentoring and networking: Receiving mentoring and forming a crucial network. 
• Emerging technologies: Blockchain and artificial intelligence laboratories and applications.
• Global and national ecosystem: Extensive entrepreneurship ecosystem that generates opportunities.

“The scalable nature of our program has the potential to revolutionize education by empowering students to become more competitive and successful,” said Víctor Jiménez, Director of the Entrepreneurship program.

Although both professors presented the project, this is an effort by over 50 people, in which program directors, professors, department directors, the Eugenio Garza Lagüera Institute of Entrepreneurship, and the Business School collaborated.

“This comprehensive training model has transformed the lives of 600 aspiring entrepreneurs on 9 campuses in Mexico,” added Ján Rehák.

Similarly, professors Romain Pouzou, Eduardo Juárez, and Carolina Rodríguez from the Queretaro campus and Elvira Rincón and Martha Núñez from the Monterrey campus were finalists in the contest and also took part in the learning sessions and talks.

“In the innovation hype cycle, we’re at a point where we must open up spaces for conversation to raise awareness about the future we want to build,” said Professor Rodríguez.

“This event is the opportunity to visualize the best of educational innovation worldwide. It’s a source of inspiration for seeking to revolutionize the teaching-learning process,” added Professor Pouzou.

The 2023 QS Reimagine Education Awards

This recognition is awarded by international ranking organization Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), which publishes the QS World University Rankings, one of the lists of the best universities in the world. 

The most outstanding educational projects in the international arena received awards at the 10th anniversary edition held in December at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.

“Due to their impact and participants, these awards are considered the ‘Oscars’ of education within academia.” - Ján Rehák.

These awards are given to projects that achieve outstanding standards of innovation, scalability, efficiency, and originality.

Projects participated in one of 17 categories organized thematically, as well as in global and regional categories and by subject area. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded by category.

Over 1,200 educational projects from 72 countries participated in the 2023 awards, with the winners of the global award receiving funding of 50,000 dollars.

“The value (of the award) is the prestige. It’s especially valuable for the institution to receive an award from QS at an international level, and it also motivates us a lot as teachers and tells us we’re on the right track,” concluded Víctor Jiménez.

Previous awards

- 2022 Awards

Ján Rehák and Víctor Jiménez won bronze in the Innovation in Business Education category, which they were awarded for redesigning the Tec’s Entrepreneurship Degree Program (LDE), through the “Entrepreneurship Program Innovation Project: The Experience Journey.”

- 2021 Awards

Projects from Tec de Monterrey won gold, silver, and bronze in different categories.

Arturo Molina and Jhonatthan Miranda headed the “Education 4.0 Platform to Foster Innovation and Entrepreneurship for All” project, which won first place in the “Nurturing Employability” category.

Manuel Macías García headed the “Remote, Cyber-Physical and Virtual Platforms for Engineering Training” project, which won silver in the E-learning category.

Professors Ján Rehák and Romain Pouzou, from the Queretaro campus, headed the “Transversal Entrepreneurship through Comprehensive and Immersive Experiences” project, which won them bronze in the Management Education category.

- 2020 Awards

The project "Hologram Professor humanizes and brings accessibility to the distance education experience" won the silver medal in the QS Reimagine Education 2020 competition.

Furthermore, this same project, known as the Hologram Effect Professor, also received recognition in the competition with the People's Choice Award, being the most voted during the global call.

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