Guillermo Torre, Rector of TecSalud and vice president of Research at Tec de Monterrey shared some ideas about research, the need to promote it in Mexico, and Tec’s actions to encourage it.

During the inaugural conference of the Tec Science Summit, Tec de Monterrey’s annual research meeting, Torre pointed out that research is hard but necessary, especially in a country that invests only 0.3% of its GDP in the area.

“I believe that science is a driven engine for innovation and progress. We do not only need researchers but also students who want to do science,” said Torre.

The Tec Science Summit offers activities such as workshops, conferences, and spaces for interaction where some of the Tec de Monterrey research projects are announced.

The importance of research in Mexico

Guillermo Torre shared some data and opinions on the need to promote research in Mexico.

He also pointed out major problems in which research should help, such as boosting the economy, improving people’s quality of life, promoting sustainability, and searching for better medical treatments.

This is especially in a changing world where technology advances, with the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, and predictive technology.

“Science in action” was also one of the themes of Torre’s conference, understood as the need for science to become something concrete and palpable with social impact, which can be promoted by entrepreneurship.

Tec de Monterrey initiatives

The Tec research ecosystem today beholds three major institutes: Institute for the Future of Education, Institute for Obesity Research y Institute of Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing.

There are also currently 32 research groups distributed in the seven Tec schools such as Business, Engineering, and TecSalud, among others; as well as Core Labs that are laboratories such as data science, genomics, and additive manufacturing.

“This is a new ecosystem for research, and we’re totally committed to supporting that”, said Guillermo.

Also during the talk, projects such as Origen were publicized; this initiative seeks to dig into the Mexican genome to generate data that can help in the detection of diseases and the creation of new treatments.

Tec Science Summit takes place from February 28 to March 3 at the Congresses Center on the Tec de Monterrey at Monterrey campus.

TecScience was announced

During the conference, Torre presented the new science communication platform of the Tec de Monterrey: TecScience

This platform includes reports, interviews, and multimedia (graphic and video content) dedicated to publicizing the research carried out by the institution’s community.

The site has a version in Spanish and English, as well as a biweekly podcast, weekly newsletter, and social media accounts.