New Economy Skills Unlocking the Human Advantage 2025

CASE STUDY 3 Tec21 at Tecnológico de Monterrey: learning by doing – together Context: The Mexico-based Tecnológico de Monterrey redesigned undergraduate education through the educational model Tec21, a national reform that moves beyond lectures to challenge-based learning. The goal is to comprehensively prepare students for the workforce and to be agents of transformation in their regions, equipping them not only with academic knowledge but also with the critical human- centric skills needed to solve real problems in society and the economy. More than 50% of the curriculum now centres on real-world challenges co-created with industry, government and community partners. The model combines hands-on development with competency-based assessment and portable digital credentials so students can demonstrate what they can do, not only what they know. Approach: The University embeds a competency-based system, including human-centric skills, throughout the curriculum. Institutional rubrics place sub-competencies on four levels and are applied to performance tasks such as challenge deliverables, simulations, pitches and lab work. Peer and self-assessment capture teamwork and reflective practice. Digital portfolios and learning analytics compile evidence of both outcomes and decision-making processes, enabling comparable, fair feedback across cohorts and informing continuous improvement. Students work in multidisciplinary blocks (5, 10 or 15 weeks, depending on the competences that are being developed) where teams tackle authentic problems, e.g. redesigning a sustainability strategy or creating a social innovation for a non-governmental organization (NGO). Faculty teams and over 3,000 external partners jointly design challenges to ensure relevance and diversity of perspectives. Alongside disciplinary knowledge, learners practice transversal human-centric skills such as self-awareness and self- management, social intelligence, reasoning for complexity, digital transformation, innovative and entrepreneurial mindset, ethical and civic engagement, and communication, all of which are strengthened through meaningful international experiences. Technology is integrated as an instrument that increases learning gain, creating flexibility and amplifying collaboration and self-management in the development of competencies through digital learning experiences such as immersive simulations, access to complex scenarios in virtual worlds and the use of AI to address different disciplines. Verifiable digital badges are created and integrated with student records and a competency transcript. Credentials are globally verifiable and shareable on professional platforms, giving employers transparent evidence of how competencies were developed and applied in authentic contexts. Results: Graduates leave with portfolios and credentials that showcase human-centric strengths alongside technical work, improving mobility and early-career readiness. Students graduate with skills in using innovative technologies such as AI and extended reality, but also with competencies enriched by experiences based on these technologies; for example, with the use of adaptive technologies and methodologies, research shows more than 15 points in learning gains in more than 1,500 students. Partners report graduates integrate more smoothly into organizational contexts, bringing strong communication, teamwork, resilience and ethical reasoning. The combination of challenge artefacts, rubric levels and digital badges offers a clearer hiring signal than grades alone and shortens onboarding to productive contribution. Institutional indicators show employability within three months, rising from 81% to 89%, with retention and graduation efficiency at historic highs. By making purposeful learning a structural component of its learning ecosystem, and by connecting development, assessment and credentialling into one life cycle, higher education is turned into a scalable engine for adaptability, innovation and shared value creation. New Economy Skills: Unlocking the Human Advantage 33