Introduction
The UNITEC 2025 Technology Innovation Award for Social Development has recognized six young entrepreneurs whose projects tackle social and environmental challenges. These include waste recycling into eco-friendly construction materials, combating bovine mastitis, real-time sign language translation, green fertilizers, and using artificial intelligence for early detection of eye and lung diseases.
The Award and Its Significance
Now in its 12th edition, the award received 212 applications from over 28 higher education institutions across 20 Mexican states. The award highlights projects that address social issues, with more than 60% of Latin American young entrepreneurs motivated to solve social problems.
Gabriela Martínez, Rector of UNITEC, emphasized the importance of education and entrepreneurship in transforming society during the award ceremony held at the Cuitláhuac campus. She highlighted that in uncertain times, “we need young entrepreneurs more than ever who not only think of a solution but also consider empathy and solidarity.”
Winning Projects
The 2025 UNITEC award encompasses biotechnological solutions, inclusive applications, medical diagnostic tools, and sustainable technologies, divided into two categories: prototype and project.
Winners join a list of 50 previously honored projects and will receive personalized advice, business training, leadership skills development, and technological scaling support. They also receive financial rewards to strengthen and expand their projects, with prototype businesses receiving 30,000 pesos and project-based initiatives getting 100,000 pesos.
Prototype Category Winners:
- Sinfono: An innovative and intuitive app that translates Mexican Sign Language (LSM) into text and voice using a smartphone camera, without additional accessories.
- MastiREB: A biotechnological solution that combats bovine mastitis with a non-antibiotic intramammary infusion based on recombinant proteins. It eliminates bacteria specifically, reduces milk waste, and shortens the withdrawal period. A safe, sustainable, and effective solution for the dairy industry.
- Baga-Fib: Transforms agave bagasse, a waste product from the mezcal industry, into eco-friendly and environmentally friendly construction materials. These materials stand out for their thermal and acoustic insulation, as well as increased strength compared to conventional materials.
Project Category Winners:
- Ecovermis: A biotechnological process innovatively produces an eco-friendly liquid fertilizer from organisms capable of degrading waste, including plastics. These organisms transform plastics into nutrient-rich excrement beneficial for soil and plant growth.
- EpyDiagnosis: An AI-based tool that optimizes early diagnosis of lung cancer. It uses a convolutional neural network trained on local medical images to analyze LD-CT scans and detect lesions in seconds. This technology reduces radiological interpretation time and facilitates early detection, increasing survival chances.
- SightTech: An AI-driven platform revolutionizing early detection of visual diseases like diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of irreversible blindness in Mexico. It analyzes eye fundus images to identify early signs of various pathologies and generates automated, accessible reports. Its technology enables timely diagnoses and effective vision prevention.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the UNITEC 2025 Technology Innovation Award for Social Development? It recognizes projects addressing social issues with innovative solutions.
- How many young entrepreneurs won the award in 2025? Six winners were recognized for their impactful projects.
- What categories did the award cover? The award encompassed biotechnological solutions, inclusive applications, medical diagnostic tools, and sustainable technologies in prototype and project categories.
- What rewards did the winners receive? Winners received personalized advice, business training, leadership skills development, technological scaling support, and financial rewards to strengthen their projects.
