The Tec program that promotes global leadership with a human touch

The Eugenio Garza Sada Global Leadership Program is an initiative that seeks to encourage young people from the Tec de Monterrey community to become leaders with a human touch who aim to transform their environment.

With a presence on the Monterrey, Sonora Norte, Guadalajara, Aguascalientes, Mexico City, State of Mexico, Santa Fe, Querétaro, Toluca, and Puebla campuses, the program is also known as EGS Global.

Fernando Macías, national leader of EGS Global, pointed out how this initiative puts students at the center and acts to enhance their talents and individual profiles to serve society through cross-cutting leadership.

“It’s a proposal that encourages students to be mindful of what they do every day and invites them to find a true purpose that guides them beyond the professional realm,” said Macías.

“This is an opportunity for them to reinvent themselves in different ways and in different areas of their lives while ensuring that their impact, lessons learned, and community extend beyond just themselves,” said Andrea García, National Coordinator of EGS Global.

Creating leaders with empathetic responsibility

Described by García as the flagship leadership program of LiFE (Student Leadership and Education at the Tec), EGS Global emerged as a project under the leadership of Dr. Henry Kasonde Musoma and Tec graduate Sofía López Cantú.

Musoma, current Director of Student Leadership and National Director of the program, started this initiative in 2021 as a pioneering multi-dimensional leadership project.

Today, the seed he planted has grown into a program bearing the name of the Tec de Monterrey founder.

“The program was born as a proposal intentionally aimed at developing leadership from a humanistic perspectivethat could be put into practice both within the Tec community and beyond it, in cities, communities, and neighborhoods,” said Macías.

“Basically, it’s about how we take emerging leaders and provide them a path for development so they can continue to do so in a positive way that impacts their environment and themselves,” he added.

“We take emerging leaders and provide them a path for development so that they can continue to do so in a positive way that impacts their environment” - Fernando Macías

This process, Macías and García emphasized, involves a year-long support program that includes mentorship sessions and dialogue with international guests, Tec professors, graduates, and peer-to-peer interactions.

As such, the first semester of the experience is geared towards students working on personal development and self-reflection while fostering interdisciplinary collaboration under the guidance of mentors.

The second semester focuses on growing the community and defining how to collaborate with their city by generating social projects.

“The idea is to begin by caring for yourself, understanding who you are, and defining your identity before reaching out to help others,” the national leader said.

Dandelions impacting their communities

All students who begin their journey in the program are called dandelions, an identity that alludes to the type of student profile selected and their potential.

“It’s a flower that can grow in diverse ecosystems, even in tough places like concrete, representing the students’ ability to thrive in challenging environments,” the coordinator explained.

“It also refers to the fact that when you blow on a dandelion, its seeds fly away and disperse, symbolizing the desire for the participants to take flight and spread out, carrying with them the knowledge and experiences they’ve gained.”

That being the case, the goal is for students to make an impact in the second phase whereby the dandelions (individually or in teams) develop a project or venture that serves the community.

With the purpose of monitoring the projects and their impact, Macías said that program participants must meet efficiency and impact indicators to measure the success of their initiatives by the end of their cycle.

The leader said that this ensures projects are not only viable but also address the real needs of the communities they serve.

This process begins with a selection procedure, in which the new class of students is announced at the end.

To date, there have been 476 dandelions who have impacted more than 152,000 people.

Putting down the roots of long-lasting networks

Macías and García mentioned that although the dandelions are no longer active participants once they finish their time in the program, this does not mean that they disconnect from the community.

Instead, they have the opportunity to become facilitators by supporting group dialogue sessions and acting as mentors for new dandelions.

“As a facilitator, even while still a student, you begin to hold group sessions which are these Socratic spaces with the students where the main focus is to ask questions,” explained Macías.

“The mentors also become incredibly valuable, providing support for projects ranging from: How do I create a social initiative? How do I define the problem? How can I validate this proposed solution?” he added.

While these roles have defined the program so far, the upcoming class will have a third role that will include Tec graduates exclusively, allowing them to become part of this coaching network.

“Now they’ll receive training and education to enhance their development as dandelions, enabling them to support new dandelions as their coaches, providing personalized guidance throughout their journey,” the leader said.

Humility and empathetic responsibility, the EGS Global legacy

While EGS Global is a program oriented towards humanistic leadership, Macías and García agreed that part of what endures after the experience are the other skills that are strengthened.

Humility, empathetic engagement, and conscious responsibility are some of the pillars nurtured and strengthened not only throughout the program but also during the selection process.

“One of the basic issues we begin with when working with candidates is that we cannot develop a skill they don’t already possess. We can nurture and strengthen them, but we cannot create them from nothing.

“Therefore, the profile of those who join and complete the program includes these skills, and one of the most important is humility (...) being humble in the sense of acknowledging both their strengths and their areas for growth,” said Macías.

However, this does not mean that new skills are not acquired, as the coordinator says that much of the program teaches not only how to solve problems but also how to innovate when addressing them.

If you are an undergraduate or graduate student and are interested in being part of the fifth class, the EGS Global team invites you to participate in the call for applications, which will remain open until April 20, 2025.

Application requirements:

• You must be a Tec de Monterrey undergraduate or graduate student enrolled at one of the participating campuses during the next two semesters (Aug–Dec 2025 and Feb–Jun 2026).
• Participating campuses: Monterrey, Sonora Norte, Guadalajara, Aguascalientes, Mexico City, State of Mexico, Santa Fe, Querétaro, Toluca, and Puebla.
•  
• You must not participate in an international exchange program or transfer to a different campus during the next two semesters (Aug–Dec 2025 and Feb–Jun 2026).
• You must be able to dedicate 14 hours a week to the program’s activities.

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