Student capstone program debuts in Sonora in 2021


December 17, 2020

Arizona State University unveiled in December a new partnership with Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM), Sonora Norte Campus in Hermosillo, Mexico, on a joint senior capstone project with Norson, a Mexican pork products exporter.

This new collaboration brings together two leading universities to help a major Mexican company solve practical industrial engineering challenges — a move with relevant impact for the Arizona-Sonora region. ASU, ITESM partnership with Norson A new collaboration brings together two leading universities to help Norson, a major Mexican pork products exporter, solve practical industrial engineering challenges — a move with relevant impact for the Arizona-Sonora region. Graphic courtesy Norson

“This capstone is an excellent opportunity for students of both universities to be involved in a binational project linked to a transnational company and to develop disciplinary and soft skills needed to respond to actual and future challenges,” said Maria Rubi Forte Celaya, associate division director of the Engineering and Science School at ITESM.

The first joint capstone team begins January 2021 and ends in December, led by ITESM Professor Luis Fernando Reséndez Maqueda and Joseph Juarez of the ASU School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering faculty.

“We are so glad to have this chance to collaborate and develop a project together with ASU,” Reséndez Maqueda said. “I am sure the outcome of this capstone semester will represent a valuable asset for the students involved.”

Both ITESM and ASU have integrated two semester capstone programs. Students will gain binational experience addressing real-world challenges, with faculty guidance from both universities.

“If we are globally connected, like Sonora and Arizona, and are facing regional challenges, let’s start by harnessing the talent of people from both sides of our megaregion, working side by side and discovering the fruits of this synergy,” said Alejandro Sandoval-Correa, ITESM director of Engineering and Sciences Campus Sonora Norte.

Two ASU students will join six ITESM peers to form one team and jointly conduct their senior year capstone project.

“This initiative demonstrates ASU’s creativity in working with other universities,” said Paola Garcia Hidalgo, director of ASU Mexico and Latin America Initiatives. “The students and the company can make this capstone part of their talent pipeline and career efforts. We are grateful to our Tec partners and to Norson for working with us on this exciting opportunity.”

According to the company homepage, Norson exports fresh, frozen, portioned and cooked pork products to North America and Asia. Their products reach markets in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Vietnam.

“This joint collaboration is an exciting opportunity to solve engineering problems across international borders,” said Joseph Huang, executive director of the Business Engagement Catalyst at ASU. “It brings together the strengths of two universities to solve a company’s needs.”

Tecnológico de Monterrey among Hackathon winners


December 17, 2020

Mexico’s Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) Sonora Norte Campus was one of five global winners during the ASU-Devex Global Student Hackathon, event organizers announced during the Devex World 2020 conference, Dec. 10.

The hackathon is a yearly PLuS Alliance competition featuring international student teams working to address global challenges. This year, Sarah Jones, Arizona State University's hackathon program lead, arranged a partnership with Devex, a media platform for the global development community based in Washington, D.C. Hackathon graphics The Hackathon is a yearly PLuS Alliance competition featuring international student teams working to address global challenges. Download Full Image

Paola Garcia Hidalgo, ASU director of Mexico and Latin America initiatives coordinated efforts with the PLuS Alliance and ASU International Development to invite Mexican universities.

ITESM was one of four Mexican universities participating, and won one of the five overall categories: Future of Development Finance. ITESM students Santiago Aguirre, Francisco Celaya and Santiago Lares won the challenge based on U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

“We congratulate our partner Tecnológico de Monterrey and their students for their winning submission for the challenge where they proposed the development of a cash transfer platform to enable people to transfer monies rapidly and securely through a mobile phone app,” Garcia Hidalgo said. “We also want to recognize our Tecnológico colleagues who led the hackathon in their campus, Alejandro SandovalLuis ReséndezRaul Lizarraras and all of Tecnológico’s Entrepreneurship Institute Eugenio Garza Lagüera.”

The hackathon featured 37 teams from 20 countries across six continents, including Australia, Brazil, Georgia, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, the Philippines and the U.S. The other four winning teams were ASUDe La Salle University in the Philippines; University of São Paulo, Brazil; and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) – Ghana.

Building on the exciting hackathon experience, ASU’s Convergence Lab will host “The Ultimate Student Hack: Saving Tomorrow, Today” at 9 a.m. MST on Jan. 26. The event will bring together students and experts from around the world to discuss how young people can leverage technology to work across borders and disciplines to solve global problems. Registration for the event is ongoing

Jerry Gonzalez

Assistant Director, Media Relations and Strategic Communications