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Tecnológico de Monterrey and Universidad de los Andes, with the backing of MIT Solve, launched the initiative TPrize, a challenge directed toward enthusiasts who want to solve social problems in their communities. This initiative aims to address educational issues in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Sabrina Seltzer, Director of Open Innovation and EdTech Entrepreneurship, explains that TPrize consists of using the collective intelligence of communities to obtain high-impact solutions for education that transcend the local communities. During the launch of the 2020 Challenge at the International Conference on Educational Innovation (CIIE), teachers from different countries presented the challenges facing their regions in terms of education.
For 2020, the challenge consists of resolving the next question:
How can disadvantaged communities design and participate in skills-based and lifelong learning opportunities to create productive and prosperous livelihoods in the 21st century?
To answer this question, TPrize looks for innovators from around the world who work or intend to expand in Latin America and develop their solutions in the region. The process will continue with the call for submissions, which closes March 31, 2020. The unveiling of the finalists will be held on May 22, and the final will be in June 2020. During the launch of the challenge over the next three months, the proposed solutions can be implemented and accompanied by webinars and design workshops, so that the proposals are strengthened for the nomination.
Subsequently, a committee of judges from different disciplines will select ten finalists, who receive a prize of five thousand dollars and are invited to the final grand event in June 2020. There, five winners will be selected who will receive an additional prize of 10 thousand dollars to move on to the third phase, which lasts for two years. During this phase, the five winners will receive accompaniment and consultancy to help them succeed with their projects in Latin America.
“We want small groups and countries to come up with a solution when the community has a solution to their big problems,” said Salvador Alva, president of Tec de Monterrey. Alva expressed his excitement over the opportunity to provide solutions to big education problems in Latin America and the Caribbean.
About the 2020 Challenge
Skills are the global currency of the 21st century. The ability to acquire new skills throughout life, especially technical, social, and critical thinking skills, is crucial for full and equitable workforce participation.
The skills gap in Latin America and the Caribbean continues to be the widest in the world. Lack of accessible, affordable, high quality, and effective learning opportunities means that two out of every five youth are not in education, employment, or training — with girls from vulnerable households disproportionately represented. At the same time, around 50% of formal Latin American firms cannot find local candidates with the skills they need
TPrize Challenge seeks to find and support tech-based solutions to close the skills gap and promote lifelong learning opportunities across Latin America and the Caribbean. To do so, TPrize is looking for innovators with promising solutions from around the world who are either already working in, or planning to expand to Latin America and the Caribbean, that:
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Deploy new and alternative learning models that broaden pathways for employment and teach entrepreneurial, technical, language and soft skills.
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Provide equitable access to learning and training programs regardless of location, income, or connectivity throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
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Support and build the capacity of formal and informal educators to better prepare Latin American & Caribbean learners of all ages for the jobs of today and tomorrow.
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Utilize data to understand employers’ needs better and better inform policy, resource allocation, and skills of the future.
Prize Funding for the TPrize Challenge
Up to USD 100,000 in prize funding is available for the TPrize Challenge.
DEADLINE TO SUBMIT A SOLUTION: 31 March 2020.
For more information about TPrize and the 2020 Challenge, visit: http://tprize.mx/en/
or https://solve.mit.edu/challenges/TPrize
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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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