Global Achievement: Winning DigiEduHack with AI-based educational app

Students from the Tec’s Puebla campus have won the global finals of DigiEduHack with a web application powered by artificial intelligence designed to promote social mobility through education in vulnerable communities.

In just 48 hours, they developed Pathwise, a project that won the Beginners category at the regional competition held on the Puebla campus, where they had to present it to a panel of judges, in addition to building the prototype. They then advanced to the global final, where they also won.

The DigiEduHack challenge is a European Commission initiative aimed at fostering innovation, collaboration, and creativity, as well as driving positive change in digital education.

The winning team consists of:

• Maximilien Tragarz, an Engineering Physics student
• Ana Patricia Figueroa, a Business Intelligence student
• Karla Alemán, a Business Intelligence student
• Adolfo Navarrete, a Business Intelligence student
• Itzelene Valladares, a Computer Systems Engineering student 

“The initial problem focused on how to decentralize education so that children and low-income individuals could gain access to various opportunities.

“They talked about cultural and social barriers because many people don’t have the chance to learn about opportunities outside their vulnerable circumstances,” said Maximilien Tragarz.

At the end of June, the team will represent the Tec in Brussels to present their solution to the European Commission.

Pathways: A path to decentralizing education

The team’s idea for Pathwise emerged during the regional challenge after hearing about the problem that needed to be solved: how to decentralize education so that low-income individuals can gain access to more opportunities.

They began by brainstorming to determine which direction to take and which technology to use.

“We spent the first two hours brainstorming ideas, and then we started eliminating the ones we wouldn’t have time for or that wouldn’t be useful for that particular problem. Then we started working on the Pathwise prototype,” said Adolfo Navarrete.

Pathwise is a web application designed to create an “integrated ecosystem” that enables young people in vulnerable situations to enhance their résumés, get involved in their local communities, and increase their opportunities for social mobility.

“To provide access to opportunities for social mobility, it incorporates an artificial intelligence tool that gathers documents and open-source resources from the internet, compiles them, and creates various learning formats, such as podcasts, videos, and images.

“A roadmap connects to the AI assistant to explore certain topics, and then Pathwise expands into a hyperlocal social network so that young people in local communities can come together to collaborate on entrepreneurial projects and volunteer initiatives,” Maximilien added.

It uses a PWA (Progressive Web App) so that content can be downloaded and used offline, optimized for rural communities with limited access to technology.

“It incorporates an artificial intelligence tool that gathers documents and open-source resources.” – Maximilien Tragarz

According to the students, one of the main challenges in developing Pathwise was narrowing down the idea and eliminating anything they wouldn’t be able to accomplish within the 48-hour duration of the challenge.

“It was a long and difficult process. At first, we had trouble with the concept. We wanted to do too many things at once, and we didn’t have enough time to do them all because we wanted to incorporate gamification.

“There were a lot of things we needed to look into. We had to be realistic because we had to get organized, prepare the pitch, and agree on what we were going to present,” said Ana Figueroa.

In the end, good organization and teamwork led to victory in the regional round and then the global round.

“It was also really cool to work as a team because everything was so well organized, and the best part is that we finished the project, just an hour before the deadline, but the important thing is that we got it done,” recalled Itzelene Valladares.

For her part, Leticia Tellería, Entrepreneurship Leader on the Puebla campus, shared that the Tec will offer an incubation program to help students continue developing their initiatives through the Institute of Entrepreneurship.

“Through the institute, we’re offering the Science and Technology-Based Incubation Program, which is specifically designed for projects that require a technological development approach to create impactful solutions,” she explained.

As part of their efforts to continue developing the program, the team participated last January in IFE Conference 2026, Tec de Monterrey’s educational innovation conference.

“We had the opportunity to set up a booth for a few hours so that interested people could stop by and ask us about the project.

“We also attended the conference to see how education is evolving and adapting to the new tools available today,” said Karla Alemán.

They highlighted the opportunity to delve into topics related to educational innovation, which will be useful for their prototype..

About DigiEduHack

DigiEduHack has been held at Tec de Monterrey since 2019, and this marks the fourth time a team from the institution has won the global competition, and the third time in a row.

This challenge is a joint effort between the Eugenio Garza Lagüera Institute of Entrepreneurship, the Entrepreneurship Department of the Business School, and the Institute for the Future of Education.

“More than 200 students and numerous faculty members participated, and this represents a strong collaboration between the Institute of Entrepreneurship, the Business School, particularly the Department of Entrepreneurship, and the Institute for the Future of Education.

“At the end of June, this team will represent us in Brussels. I hope everyone can make it. They’ll be presenting this winning solution to the European Commission,” said Ján Rehák, National Director of the Entrepreneurship Program.

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