This Monday 22^nd February of 2016 was carried out, at the Videoconferences Hall of the Technological Innovation Park (PIT) of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS), a press conference to present the 2016 edition of the Cleantech Challenge Mexico call. It is the most important green enterprises competition of the country, which encourages economic development through sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship in matters of clean technologies.

To the event were invited university authorities, researchers, entrepreneurs, startups and people who have identified, produced, used or promoted clean technologies that help to minimize the impact on the environment, technologies with the potential to be adapted as a business idea to be developed with commercial purposes.

Among the attendees to the press conference were university members like José Ramón López Arellano, on his role of PIT-UAS’ General Director and on behalf of the Rector, Juan Eulogio Guerra Liera; Omar Beltrán Zazueta, Director of the Quality Management System; Alep Blancas, belonging to the External Affairs & International Relations Office. Also Rafael Carmona was present, as Technology Director of the enterprise Green Momentum and organiser of the 2016 Cleantech Challenge Mexico.

During his participation, Rafael Carmona detailed: “… in previous years, the participation of Sinaloa state has been scant, and that is part of what we want to change… Surely, with the University’s participation, Sinaloa will have a greater presence [in the Cleantech Challenge Mexico]”.

For his part, the General Director of the PIT-UAS emphasised: “Within the Plan of Institutional Development Consolidation 2017 is expressed, as part of one of its core ideas, the objective of encouraging business and entrepreneurship culture; and with this purpose conversations have been initiated with the faculties, so they can collaborate in different applied projects”. Likewise, he recalled the institutional compromise of consolidating this institution of higher education as a green university.

In this way is recognised the importance of the role the PIT-UAS has in Sinaloa for the incorporation of renewables technologies to daily life, as this university centre for innovation has demonstrated through its project Smart Eco-Park PIT-UAS, which consists of the innovative design and implementation of a building prototype that ingrates models oriented to incorporate both sustainability and the Internet of Things in urban complexes.

To obtain more information about the Cleantech Challenge Mexico, you can visit: http://innovacion.uas.edu.mx/2016/02/22/a-traves-del-pit-participa-la-uas-en-el-cleantech-challenge-mexico-2016/.

Written by Moroni Arellano (Communication and Diffusion, PIT-UAS), translated by Belem Ruiz (Edition and Communication, PIT-UAS).