Taclinkg climate change requires global collaboration fueled by local solutions. With this conviction, every year the Egis Foundation organizes the Team Up for Climate! international innovation challenge, which in 2025 brought together more than 1,200 young university students of 107 nationalities to seek local solutions to various environmental problems. Among the 15 projects selected to advance to the next stage, two Latin American initiatives stand out for their ability to generate real environmental and economic impact in their communities.
From Colombia and Peru, the university teams Media Mind and Renacer 2025 are showing that technical knowledge, combined with strong local roots and social commitment, can transform territories affected by desertification and soil degradation into productive and resilient ecosystems.
Bridging Global Knowledge and Local Action
Since 2022, the Egis Foundation has been promoting Team Up for Climate!, an International Student Innovation Challenge that channels the creativity and commitment of young people from around the world in the face of major environmental challenges. This year, the focus was on three critical phenomena: droughts, floods and crop failure, challenges that require innovative responses deeply connected to the territories.
The 15 finalist teams that advanced to the second phase are now immersed in an intensive five-week mentoring process, with workshops given by Makesense, specific technical mentoring and collaborative activities that strengthen their proposal and community. A unique feature of this international climate innovation network is that it is made up not only of external partners, but also of Egis' expert collaborators from around the world, who join as volunteer mentors. This participation reflects the Egis Group's genuine commitment to sharing knowledge, supporting new generations and building sustainable solutions from the local level.
At the end of this phase, the teams present their projects to an international jury in a virtual session. The three winners will receive the following prizes:
- 1st place:
- Study trip to Paris, 2 days of meetings with associations, academics and professionals to further develop the project.
- Coaching sessions on project management and finance.
- Participation in a photo exhibition at the Photoclimat 2025 festival.
- Personal prize of €1,000 per team member.
- Boost award of €7,000 (conditional after 6 to 8 months of development). This support is awarded to teams that have started to implement their project, connecting with key partners and completing at least two actions of their plan.
- Face-to-face award ceremony in Paris in October.
- 2nd place:
- Specialized coaching.
- Participation in Photoclimat 2025.
- Personal prize of 750 € per team member.
- Boost prize of 4,000 € (conditional after 6 to 8 months of development).
- Virtual participation in the award ceremony.
- 3rd place (selected by Egis employees):
- Specialized coaching.
- Participation in Photoclimat 2025.
- Personal prize of 500 € per team member.
- Boost prize of 3,000 € (conditional after 6 to 8 months of development).
- Virtual participation in the award ceremony.
Colombia: Restoring the Land, Cultivating the Future
In the mountainous region of Santa Elena, a farming community near Medellín, soil degradation is threatening to erase generations of agricultural tradition and livelihoods. Once fertile lands now suffer from erosion, nutrient depletion, and poor crop yields.
In response, Media Mind, a team of students from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) and Universidad EAFIT, proposed a regenerative approach: healing the land through community-led action.
Their project blends regenerative agriculture, circular economy principles, and rural education, through initiatives such as:
- Community composting centers that turn organic waste into natural fertilizer
- A community seed bank to preserve local species and promote agricultural self-sufficiency
- Reforestation with native trees using sustainable fertilizers
Their vision goes beyond soil restoration—it’s about rebuilding the relationship between people and their land, with a model that can be replicated in other rural communities.
Peru: Teaching the Land to Reawaken
In northern Peru, entire regions are battling a quiet but devastating threat: desertification. Soil is drying out, rainfall is becoming increasingly erratic, and land overuse is leaving livestock-reliant families with fewer and fewer resources to survive. But one group of students is determined to change that.
The Renacer 2025 team—made up of students from SERMAS, the Latin American Technological University Online, and the María Rosario Araoz Pinto Institute—offers a holistic proposal that reconnects communities with the natural rhythms and resilience of the soil.
Their approach includes:
- Adapted agroecological management to restore soil fertility with low costs and high impact
- Water conservation techniques and strategic reforestation, essential for dry regions
- Training for livestock families to adopt long-term sustainable practices without relying on outside resources
Renacer 2025 represents the power of grassroots education to reshape rural futures, putting local communities at the heart of the solution.
In every revived plot of land and every drop of saved water, there’s a shared promise: never to abandon the land—or those who live from it.
LATAM as a Driving Force for Climate Solutions from the Ground Up
The advancement of Media Mind and Renacer 2025 to the next phase of the challenge highlights Latin America's essential role in developing transformative responses to the climate crisis. Beyond environmental urgency, these projects address structural challenges such as access to water, food security and economic equity, generating more equitable and resilient ecosystems that not only face current challenges, but are also better prepared to adapt and thrive in the face of climate change impacts.
The Egis Foundation—the philanthropic arm of the Egis Group, a global company specializing in engineering, consulting, and sustainable infrastructure—serves as a bridge between global expertise and local innovation, empowering young people as key agents of sustainable transformation.
Because as long as there are hands willing to sow, there is still much to transform.