By Dr. Daniel Alberto Jacobo Velázquez

The future of the global economy will not be defined in political forums, but in the direct collaboration between university research laboratories and the production plants of industry. In a global context of accelerated technological disruptions, climate crises, and urgent sustainability demands, the role of engineering and sciences has evolved, moving from being an academic support to becoming the strategic axis of national development.

We have reached a turning point. For academia and for universities with a strong research vocation, academic publication is vital, but it is not the ultimate goal. We need to continue promoting an approach that transfers the value of research from the laboratory to real-life impact. In order to strengthen national capacities and drive the meaningful innovation required to increase competitiveness on the global stage, we must follow the example that has turned top global universities into sources of innovation and development; we must continue forming leaders with a global vision of the future, committed to the challenges humanity faces today in the social, economic, and environmental spheres.

To achieve this purpose, we must continue generating inclusive platforms that materialize this goal. It is crucial to connect talent, technology, and experience to accelerate applied solutions in critical areas.

Applied engineering not only increases the efficiency of companies and attracts foreign investment, but also offers solutions to the most pressing challenges. In this sense, we consider it valuable to propose to all academia that it build synergy with all sectors of society.

It is necessary to recognize that driving innovation is a vital tool, impossible to achieve without the support of technology and science. It is essential to collaborate closely with entrepreneurs, academics, innovators, and specialists from around the world to generate and implement solutions to crucial problems such as water stress, climate change, mobility and smart electromobility in cities, the use of AI in healthcare systems, and the sustainable approach in agricultural activities.

What is most urgent?

We believe that priorities should focus on critical areas that build resilience and competitiveness in the coming decades.

Health and Wellbeing: It is necessary to focus on the application of medical technologies to ensure equitable access to health. This implies promoting prevention and early diagnosis through innovative solutions that allow the country’s health challenges to be addressed proactively and not only reactively.

Sustainability and Environment: It is essential that research promote biotechnology and the development of clean and renewable energies. At the same time, robust models for efficient resource management must be established, and the circular economy should be encouraged, seeking to minimize the environmental impact of productive and urban processes.

Industrial Transformation: It is essential to address this topic not only from advanced manufacturing and the integration of emerging technologies, Artificial Intelligence, and automation in key processes, but also by including research in new materials with superior properties.

Economic Development: To ensure that all generated research translates into tangible value, it is crucial to direct efforts toward effective technology transfer to industry and government. This is essential to catalyze innovation, increase national productivity, and strengthen international value chains.

We must be increasingly multidisciplinary

The magnitude of the challenge requires multidisciplinary teams working in strategic alliance with companies, governments, and communities. At Tecnológico de Monterrey, we seek to materialize this directive, working side by side with industry we call it “Research Link”, and we often organize Research Link Day events. Our goal is unequivocal: the engineering of the future will be built from multidisciplinary research with tangible social, environmental, and fundamentally economic impact.

In our meetings, our researchers not only share scientific advances, but also hold meetings with business leaders of the most important companies, to build collaboration bridges with immediate impact, identify technological needs of the productive sector, and activate open innovation routes between academia and industry.

A case that demonstrates the impact of a collaboration that turns research into real solutions—and that sets the roadmap toward sustainable and resilient industrialization—is the example of the collaboration between Nestlé, the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences of Switzerland, and Tecnológico de Monterrey. This is an example of how science can address global challenges in food sustainability. In a sector responsible for a significant portion of global emissions, the challenge posed is enormous: how can we reduce by half the emissions generated by dairy production?

The proposed solution is a systemic approach that combines innovation in cattle feed formulation, the use of biomolecules that neutralize emissions, optimized manure management, and low-cost technologies for small producers. This initiative simultaneously addresses environmental sustainability, food security, rural poverty, and public health.

Our compass: the imperative of applied engineering

Engineering must abandon the idea of being an isolated discipline. The only viable route toward sustained economic development is one in which research becomes the engine that drives smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable industrialization.

We must reaffirm our commitment to a research model that not only produces knowledge, but activates it to increase the resilience and efficiency of companies, improving the country’s competitiveness and, ultimately, the quality of life of its citizens. Applied engineering is, today, the best investment for the future of humanity.

In a global context marked by climate crises, health challenges, technological disruptions, and urgent sustainability demands, We are committed to a research approach that goes beyond academic publications: projects that change lives, that strengthen national capacities, and that contribute meaningful innovation for the world.

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Dr. Daniel Alberto Jacobo Velázquez is Associate Dean of Research and Scientific Graduate Programs of the School of Engineering and Sciences of Tecnológico de Monterrey.