INCAE held its Sustainability Ideathon 2023

June 12, 2023. In commemoration of Sustainability Week, INCAE's Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development (CLACDS) held Ideathon 2023, which took place from June 5 to 9.

Five groups (nineteen students), took the challenge where they were presented with two sustainability problems that affect the campus, one of the challenges consisted of a new strategy to promote the reduction, reuse and recycling of the Campus and the second in a larger Campus inclusive How to adapt the infrastructure for people with reduced mobility?

During this week, the students had the opportunity to analyze, investigate, and develop an innovative strategy that addressed one of the selected problems and presented an effective and realistic solution, so as to contribute to the sustainability and improvement of our university community.

The winning group was the DiferenteMente team, made up of Marco Tinoco, Cristina Ordóñez and Manuel Menjivar from the MBA Global 2024, who presented their strategy on the reduction, reuse and recycling of the Campus.

"Thinking about how we can improve in general is the beginning of change and it is always positive, hence the challenge is to act. I am happy to have participated, since it was an experience that invites action by generating awareness of the environmental footprint for which each one of us is responsible. Being a good person and professional starts with understanding that we are perfectible"commented Cristina Ordóñez, a member of the winning group. 

This challenge not only gave students the opportunity to showcase their talent and make a positive impact, but it will also allow them to work as a team, foster collaboration, and learn from their peers.

The students presented their proposals and strategies to a panel of experts made up of Andrea Prado and Urs Jager, INCAE Professors, Ericka Bernal, Director of Administration & Finance, and Andrey Elizondo, INCAE Visiting Professor, who analyzed each of the proposals, taking into account counts a series of criteria such as understanding the problem, innovation and creativity, feasibility, impact, sustainability, communication and collaboration.

"With the Ideatón we seek answers from students to the challenges facing the campus from a young perspective, while we integrate sustainable concepts and practices in the decision-making of these future business leaders", commented Ronald Arce, executive director of CLACDS/INCAE.

This activity will help students demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and is an opportunity to make a difference.

For more information you can contact Mauren Esquivel at the mail mauren.esquivel@incae.edu.