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The International Association of Universities (IAU), a leading organization of higher education institutions created by UNESCO, unveiled the launch of the project, Aiming Higher, November 14, in Puebla, Mexico. This project reflects the drive of institutions around the world to contribute to sustainable societies through the promotion of diversity and ethical innovation.
Through a series of videos, produced by BBC Story Works, the 34-member institutions of the IAU revealed the different ways in which they have materialized their initiatives online with avant-garde transformations in higher education to provide timely, fresh proposals and discoveries in the pursuit of responsible social development.
Being one of the member institutions of Aiming Higher, Tecnológico de Monterrey joins this global network with the startup, Rutopía, created as a project of the Tec21 Educational Model and founded in 2017 by Leslie Pérez, Emiliano Iturriaga, Sebastián Muñoz and Diego Espinoza, alumni of Tec de Monterrey.
Through this new educational model that was implemented this year, innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship are fostered to encourage students to turn their ideas into transformative companies with social commitment.
About Rutopía
Based on rural eco-tourism, the promoter for youth and indigenous communities, Rutopía, offers a lively and useful connection to travelers who are looking for authentic experiences and hosts who want to share the richness of their traditions.
Through its online platform, Rutopia coordinates a unique bio-cultural travel experience that seeks to create a fair and sustainable tourism network. This contributes to the revaluing of the heritage and cultural patrimony of indigenous communities. This Mexican startup has become one of the most innovative initiatives internationally, this year winning the world-social-entrepreneurship award, the Hult Prize. Chosen from more than 20,000 projects, Rutopía was awarded this recognition at the UN’s global headquarters in New York City. This award showcases new companies that emerge from universities to solve social problems and comes with the support of one million dollars for their development. “They are the ones to whom we thank for everything. We are thrilled, we do not earn a million dollars, but this investment allows us to be able to grow Rutopía,” said Emiliano Iturriaga to CONECTA.
Through the series created by IAU and the Aiming Higher initiative, Rutopía and Tecnológico de Monterrey are highlighted in this BBC documentary, where their story is revealed to let the audience know how their project works. This project is an example of how our students’ ideas and potential can grow and become elements that change the world. Our Tec21 Educative Model and our entrepreneurial ecosystem can complement what they put into place themselves, through their talent, resources, and entrepreneurial spirit,” said Rodolfo Rubio, Vice President of Marketing, Communication, and Institutional Image at Tecnológico de Monterrey.
Thus, Rutopía becomes an ideal protagonist of the Tec21 vision, showing in an exemplary way the development of the social entrepreneurship values that the Aiming Higher initiative promotes; it also shows the importance of collaborative work among institutions of higher education to achieve sustainable innovation.
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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 
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