Technological advances in recent decades have profoundly shaken the ways of teaching and learning. At universities, teachers and students are daily challenged by new devices and demands. Including technological devices in the mediation of knowledge is no longer enough. The search for new educational paradigms is urgent. This is the theme of TecPrize 2018, promoted by the Instituto Tecnológico de Moterrey (Mexico), with support from Banco Santander, which offers prizes of up to 2 million dollars.
O TecPrize is a virtual platform for global competitions that seeks, through open science, innovative solutions to improve higher education. Participating in the initiative are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the National Autonomous University of Mexico (Unam), the University of Glasgow (United Kingdom), the University of Barcelona, the Autonomous University of Buenos Aires, the Catholic University of Chile and now also Unicamp, recently invited to join the Project's Board of Advisors. “It is an excellent opportunity for Unicamp to expand the boundaries of the impact of its activities in generating knowledge and, also, to receive stimuli and incentives from society that can guide our reflection and research”, observed Mariano Laplane, executive director of international relations at Unicamp. According to him, participation in the council will allow the University to contribute and propose future challenges, at local, regional and global levels.
This year's competition will consist of three stages. The first, “10x Learning Prize”, is a science fiction narrative competition, in which participants from all over the world, regardless of age or background, are invited to imagine education in 2049 and tell their story in comics, short stories or short films. -footage. The best short film will receive a prize of 12 thousand dollars and the best short story and the best comic book, 4 thousand each. Works must be submitted by April 27th, at platform.
“We are looking for people interested in generating positive and innovative changes, those who do not fear failure, who see them as learning opportunities, who enjoy challenges and hard work”, highlighted Salvador Alva, president of the Monterrey Technological Institute, for Unam Global, portal news section of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
In the following stages, researchers, entrepreneurs and representatives of the technology industry will be called upon to propose solutions and ways of implementing the challenges that emerge from the stories imagined in the first stage, with prizes between 100 thousand and 2 million dollars.
