Between January 26 and 28, the conference “Insights for the Future of Education 2026” took place in Mexico. It was organized by the Institute for the Future of Education (IFE) at Tecnológico de Monterrey and served as a global dialogue space on the challenges and opportunities facing education in contexts of deep uncertainty and change.
Within this framework, our Executive Director, Mirian Vilela, delivered the keynote address “Rethinking the Purpose of Education in Times of Uncertainty and Profound Change.” Her presentation emphasized Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as an indispensable approach to responding to current socio-environmental challenges, as well as the need to promote an ethic of care inspired by the principles of the Earth Charter.
These themes, which are central to the work of our UNESCO Chair in ESD, invite us to rethink education not only as a process of knowledge transmission, but as a transformative experience that fosters planetary consciousness, shared responsibility, and an understanding of the interdependence among major global challenges.
In addition, Mirian Vilela participated in the dialogue “Educating for Complexity: Participatory Methodologies and Global Values to Address Socio-Environmental Crises,” alongside Luis Mingo Nyssen (CECADESU, SEMARNAT), moderated by Dr. Luis Fernández Carril, Academic Manager of Sustainability at Tecnológico de Monterrey. The exchange highlighted the importance of participatory and values-based educational approaches to address the complexity of today’s world.
A particularly relevant moment was the presentation by the Rector of Tecnológico de Monterrey, Juan Pablo Murra, who shared the institution’s experience in aligning university purpose, academic transformation, and management with sustainability. In particular, the Ruta Azul was highlighted— a strategy developed by the Tec around six lines of action: culture at the center, mitigation, adaptation, education, research, and engagement.
This approach positions Tecnológico de Monterrey as a reference in higher education committed to being a model of sustainability, in line with the main educational agendas promoted by UNESCO.
The Institute for the Future of Education at Tec, the organizer of the event, is an open and collaborative platform created to imagine and adapt to the future of education and to address five major challenges facing education: Quality, Relevance, Access, Inclusion, and Efficiency. Through this, it “establishes a platform to generate interdisciplinary research, promote an entrepreneurial spirit, provide educational innovation services, disseminate knowledge, and establish connections with our stakeholders to achieve greater impact”.
Michael Fung, Executive Director of IFE, shared reflections on the Institute’s work over the past five years and its future vision through the presentation “Building Future-Ready Human Capital Development Ecosystems.” More information is available HERE.
