October 2023
HUB MEXICO: A special report from Teach the Future's Hub Mexico from Fabiola Mármol and Deyra Charles, professors at the School of Business at Tec de Monterrey, Monterrey Campus with support of Hub Mexico Director, Alethia Montero.
Introducing Fabiola Mármol and Deyra Charles and Mindture, Hub Mexico's new EdTech project...
Deyra specializes in teacher training and the design of learning experiences for both corporations and local, regional, and international universities. She leads the entrepreneurship circle in the Lean In program and Mujer Fusión Program. She also mentors in the international student entrepreneurship support program, Hult Prize.
Fabiola has extensive experience in education and business, allowing her to collaborate on national and international projects representing Tec de Monterrey. She has received institutional recognition for her contributions to education and her students. Her primary passion is improving education worldwide, which inspired her to contribute to shaping change agents with a focus on children.
Together, we have formed Mindture, which is an EdTech initiative. This means it considers the academic aspect, providing the opportunity to study, analyze, or review teaching/learning processes from a technological perspective. It also addresses the practical side related to technology used in educational contexts.
Recently, we joined Teach the Future Mexico and had a conversation with its director, Alethia Montero. Our first meeting took place on August 2nd, where we discussed our project, which is based on designing futures by motivating children aged 8 to 12 to become aware and take an active role in building their future. Specifically, it aims to develop the skills they will need as professionals 20 years from now.
"65% of children who are currently in the early years of school will work in professions that have not yet been invented." - World Economic Forum (2018).
One of our main actions since August has been conducting validation workshops. The first was held on August 26th this year at CASA NARANJOS, a nonprofit community space of Tec de Monterrey, a private university located in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. We promoted it on social media and in various primary school communities and WhatsApp groups in the city, as well as on Casa Naranjos' social media.
Registration was through a Google form, and we sent confirmation emails with additional instructions for the day. This resulted in the attendance of 8 participants out of the 15 registered, including 6 girls and 2 boys. The age distribution of attendees was as follows: 8 (2), 9 (2), 10 (3), and 11 (1) years old.
During the workshop, children engage in various activities, such as a futures bazaar simulation, designing a scenario for 2040, identifying their superpowers, understanding their past to plan their future, and deciding how to start their journey as futurists, among other aspects.
The main objective of the workshop was to validate different learning methodologies, such as futures design, which will strengthen our Minimum Viable Product (MVP), a gamification-based educational platform. In the long term, we envision this platform as a support for educational formation provided by parents and educational institutions. We want children worldwide to have access to a high-quality education platform that helps them develop skills and build their own future.
This initiative aims to innovate in teaching methods, considering the changing context that presents challenges in shaping sensitive, reflective, creative, responsible, initiative-taking citizens who can collaborate, respect each other, and care for the environment as their way of life.
At the end of this year, we intend to compile a report with the results obtained during these validations to proceed with the development phases of the EdTech project and share the information with future experts who wish to know the results and share experiences. We are thrilled to be part of Teach the Future and actively participate in this community, creating collaborations through participation in events, talks, and potentially offering a workshop or conference. We aim to unite efforts for the education of all children. We want to get to know you and listen to your insights!
—MBA Fabiola Mármol, MEE Deyra Charles MMT
Contact e-mail: mexicoteachthefuture@gmail.com