Health, agriculture, and education: Student innovation wins $1 million

Can you imagine a sanitary pad that can detect cervical cancer or technology that can strengthen crops without chemicals? These solutions, proposed by students, are among the winners of Tec Xignux Challenge 2026. 

The projects both took first place at the competition held on Monterrey campus, receiving between them more than 600,000 pesos. 

This year, the Tec Xignux Challenge awarded 1 million pesos to projects focused on addressing challenges in health, education, agriculture, and sustainability. 

These initiatives, developed by students at Tec de Monterrey, demonstrate how innovation can become a tool for addressing real-world problems and make an impact both within and outside Mexico. 

After a final round of presentations to industry experts and leaders, the judges selected the most outstanding proposals for the 2026 edition. 

In the Discovery category, the winners for proposals in the ideation or exploration phase are: 

First place in the Discovery category and a prize of 120,000 pesos went to Vionyx, a project developing a sanitary pad capable of detecting cervical cancer in a less invasive and less stigmatizing way than traditional methods such as the Pap test. 

According to the team, cervical cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide, and in Mexico alone, more than 4,600 women died from this disease in 2025.  

Their proposal involves using menstrual flow to detect high-risk strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV). While the user is using the towel as usual, reagents built into the device analyze the sample and help identify potential warning signs. 

“We’re not looking to replace the Pap test but rather to increase timely detection in a sustainable way, from home,” explained Emilio Rodríguez Espejel, a mechatronics engineering student. 

During the project, the students surveyed 100 women and found that 9 out of 10 would use Vionyx due to factors such as privacy, comfort, and prevention. 

“Vionyx offers the opportunity to change how millions of women access early detection. Preventing this disease should no longer require fear, pain, or a clinic. It should require the right technology in the hands of those who need it,” said Mariana Hernández Saldívar, a biotechnology engineering student. 

Second place in the Discovery category and a prize of 80,000 pesos went to ReMake, a project that transforms agricultural waste into high-value materials for the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. 

The initiative uses bagasse to feed Tenebrio molitor (mealworm) larvae, from which it extracts high-purity chitosan through enzymatic fermentation and circular economy processes.  

According to the team, this technology reduces chemical use by up to 70 percent compared to traditional production methods. 

Behind the initiative is a multidisciplinary team of eight members who, since 2025, have been working on research, development, incubation programs, and market analysis.   

The project already has insect-rearing facilities in León and Guadalajara, and as part of this process, they identified more than 600 companies that might be interested in adopting their proposal. 

They estimate that a plant the size of three small apartments could produce about 29 kilograms of chitosan per month and prevent the emission of 18 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. 

If this were replicated at ten similar facilities across the country, the environmental benefit would be equivalent to the impact of planting about 50 soccer fields worth of green space each year. 

First place in the Launch category and a prize of 500,000 pesos went to SEPOC, a project that developed electromagnetic stimulation technology to improve seed performance and increase agricultural productivity in a sustainable manner. 

According to data presented by the team, more than 35 percent of the world’s crops face problems associated with the use of agrochemicals, a situation that contributes to agricultural losses estimated at two billion dollars annually and affects the food security of millions of people. 

In light of this situation, SEPOC developed a system capable of treating seeds using electromagnetic pulses, thereby improving their germination capacity and resistance without resorting to chemicals or genetic modifications. 

The following benefits observed by the team stand out: 

According to estimates validated by Climate KIC, for every 100 hectares planted with seeds treated using SEPOC, approximately 22 metric tons of carbon dioxide could be removed from the atmosphere, an impact equivalent to planting approximately 1,100 trees. 

The technology is currently undergoing validation by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as part of its path to market and to expand its reach in the agricultural sector. 

Second place in the Launch category and a prize of 300,000 pesos went to KidTales, an AI-powered educational startup that aims to address one of Mexico’s main educational challenges: the decline in reading habits and low levels of reading comprehension among children. 

According to data presented by the team, children between the ages of 6 and 11 spend an average of 3.2 hours a day in front of screens, which is equivalent to about 49 full days a year. 

At the same time, more than 60 percent of elementary school students in Mexico lack basic reading skills, while the country ranks near the bottom in reading comprehension among the countries assessed by the PISA test. 

In light of this situation, KidTales developed a platform that uses generative artificial intelligence to create personalized stories in which each child becomes the protagonist of their own story. 

The solution tailors content to each student’s age, interests, skills, and learning needs, with the goal of strengthening reading, creativity, and comprehension in a way that is more engaging and relatable for younger generations. 

In addition, the team created KidTales Scholar and KidTales.org, a tool designed for schools and teachers, and a social impact initiative focused on bringing personalized reading to communities with limited access to educational resources, respectively. 

KidTales offers content in several languages, including English, French, and Mandarin Chinese, with the goal of expanding learning opportunities in diverse contexts. 

For Mario Adrián Flores, Vice President of the Monterrey Campus, the purpose of the Tec is to generate knowledge that translates into solutions capable of transforming society. 

“We want to create a new way to develop society, one based on knowledge,” he said. 

He also noted that entrepreneurship allows students from different disciplines to share a common language focused on solving real-world problems. 

“We believe we can write a new chapter in Mexico’s history in terms of innovation and entrepreneurship,” he added. 

The 2026 edition marked a new chapter for this initiative as it officially adopted the name Tec Xignux Challenge. 

It is currently considered the largest sustainable innovation and social entrepreneurship program at Tecnológico de Monterrey, focused on promoting student projects aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN’s 2030 Agenda. 

This year’s edition featured 195 projects from various campuses across the country, 116 in the Discovery category and 79 in the Launch category. 

Following a process of evaluation, mentoring, and validation, 16 teams advanced to the semifinals, where they presented their proposals to industry experts and leaders. 

The grand finale took place on June 4 at the new Eduardo Garza T. Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub on the Monterrey campus, a space designed to foster collaboration, creativity, and the development of innovative solutions to the challenges of the future.