Microsoft and Tec de Monterrey consider synergies in educational tech

Microsoft executives have visited Tec’s Monterrey campus to tour the institution and discuss the future of higher education and the use of technology in education.

“The Tec identifies technology as one of its primary drivers for innovation, and having valuable partners like Microsoft is a catalyst for this commitment,” said Carles Abarca, the Tec’s Vice President of Digital Transformation.

Michael Fung, Director of the Institute for the Future of Education, said that they talked with Microsoft during the visit about establishing a partnership to raise awareness for using artificial intelligence (AI) in education throughout Latin America.

“Our goal is to lead the development of open technology platforms and the formation of a global community to advance the collective knowledge and responsible use of AI in education, learning, and research.”

Bruce Thompson, Director of Education for the Americas at Microsoft, visited the Monterrey campus and met with the institution’s directors, including Feniosky Peña-Mora, the Tec’s Executive Vice President of Research and Dean of its School of Engineering and Sciences.

Thompson was accompanied by Mariana Maggio, Director of Educational Programs for Latin America; Rogelio García, Director for Education and State Governments; Alejandra Cortés, Infrastructure Solutions Specialist; and Belen Pinto, Senior Academic Account Manager at Microsoft.

Collaboration on technology and AI use

During their visit to the Monterrey campus, the Microsoft team spoke with leaders of the Tec community.

Carmen Reyes, Director of Software Engineering at the Tec, was one of them, who said:

“This visit strengthens our commitment to technological and educational innovation, as well as highlighting our interest in establishing a mutual collaboration aimed at the application of advanced technologies, especially those based on artificial intelligence.”

She added that this approach aims to develop high-impact solutions, particularly emphasizing benefits to academic and research environments and driving their transformation and value generation.

According to Carles Abarca, the Microsoft executives’ visit consolidates the relationship between the Tec and the technology company.

“The agreements we have reached will soon allow us to announce news of great importance for the educational community of the Tec and Latin America in general.”

“Tec identifies technology as one of its primary drivers for innovation, and having valuable partners like Microsoft is a catalyst for this commitment.” - Carles Abarca

To this point, Feniosky Peña-Mora said that the visit by Microsoft America’s leaders would strengthen this partnership and allow it to continue creating ties in the construction of new technological developments for the welfare of society, the planet, and industry.

During the Microsoft leaders’ visit, students from the Monterrey campus who are Tec Ambassadors gave a guided tour to the technology company representatives.

They visited different spaces such as the Rector’s Building, the Library, Punto Blanco, and Mostla, where the Tec community can work collaboratively, use technology, and even reflect and meditate.

Tec and Microsoft, partners in educational innovation

The Microsoft leader also met with Tec professors, discussing everything from educational tools to data managementwith the academics.

Thompson advised embracing technology with a vision of innovation and creativity, encouraging educators to modify both their methods and evaluation criteria.

“Instead of banning them from using AIs such as ChatGPT, let’s find a way to challenge students to use them, so that we’re not evaluating the answer that AI throws at them but the process of getting there.”

He added that, “technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), is here to help us, to make us smarter and better both in our jobs and in society.”

The Microsoft team also complimented the work of Tec professors such as Yolanda Martinez from the Computer Science Department, for their approach to teaching without neglecting technology.

This Tec professor has worked on generating prompts (instructions) to use AI in education.

“Prompting is a fundamental skill when using AI. Students are not only taught the concepts through in-class exercises but also how to create effective prompts and how to explain how they got there,” explained Martinez.

Common goal: creating competitive and responsible graduates

According to Thompson, Microsoft and Tecnológico de Monterrey share a vision of training professionals who are not only competitive and skilled but also responsible.

The executive agreed on the importance of using technology to upskill and reskill graduates, professors, and researchers while maintaining ethical guidelines for using tools such as AI.

“It’s not just about having safety protocols in place around AI, but fostering a cultural change in educational institutions, which is something we’re working on together with the Tec.”

“We nurture each other and depend on each other far beyond creating good professionals in the labor market. It’s about training professionals who will impact our society for the better.”

Other Tec executives who also talked with Thompson were as follows: Victor Gutiérrez, Vice President of Learning for the Future; Elsa Fernández, Director of Digital Ecosystem and Experience; Jorge Blando, Vice President of Continuing Education; and Héctor Núñez, Vice President of Education for Development.

READ ALSO: