Real-World Challenge-Based Learning: Why the Reach Alliance Model Is The Paradigm of 21st-Century Education

Author: Jorge Membrillo-Hernández, Tecnológico de Monterrey

In response to Professor Julius Mugwagwa’s provocative paper, “Wicked Interdependences and Relational Futures in Education and Innovation: Why the Reach Alliance Is Ready,” I wholeheartedly agree with his central proposition: the Reach Alliance is indeed the model for teaching and research in the 21st century.^[1] Professor Mugwagwa astutely notes that the Reach Alliance’s significance lies in the institutional logic it represents, anticipating a future where universities serve as platforms for collaborative problem solving rather than mere repositories of knowledge. From my perspective as a researcher at the Institute for the Future of Education at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, this institutional logic is not only necessary but urgently required. In our Socially Oriented Interdisciplinary STEM Education research group, we firmly believe future-ready skills must be developed through active, Challenge-Based Learning (CBL). Our experiences adapting our educational model to the Reach Alliance’s goals demonstrate that combining CBL with Reach’s mission creates an unparalleled engine for developing both disciplinary and soft skills.

Mugwagwa argues that our contemporary world is characterized by “wicked interdependences,” which are complex configurations of actors, institutions, technologies, resources, and values. These interdependences generate challenges, such as public health insecurity and climate change, that resist disciplinary and geographically bounded approaches. Traditional university curricula, which separate teaching, research, and societal engagement, are ill-equipped to address these issues. At Tecnológico de Monterrey, our CBL framework is explicitly designed to dismantle these silos, making it exceptionally well-suited to solving real-world challenges. By taking students out of the traditional classroom and into the field, we cultivate what Mugwagwa calls “relational capabilities”: the capacity to connect actors, align interests, facilitate learning, and sustain collaborative action across boundaries.

This alignment between the Reach Alliance and active learning methodologies is vividly illustrated in our recent research report on dengue fever. Mugwagwa points out that the Reach Alliance shifts attention away from viewing innovation solely as invention and instead focuses on it as delivery, adaptation, and inclusion for those who are geographically remote or socially marginalized. The dengue fever crisis is a prime example of a wicked interdependence, presenting a dangerous public health threat that requires solutions beyond a simple biomedical fix. Through the Reach Alliance framework, our interdisciplinary teams investigated alternative solutions to effectively reach populations in difficult-to-access areas. This project required students and researchers to move beyond theoretical knowledge and engage in collaborative problem solving. By doing so, they learned that overcoming barriers to impact involves navigating institutional fragmentation and adapting solutions to highly specific local contexts.^[2]

Furthermore, the Reach Alliance model emphasizes that communities must be treated as partners in knowledge co-production rather than merely as research subjects. This principle was central to our second Reach Alliance report, which focused on the role of new generations in preserving Xochimilco’s world heritage status.^[3] Xochimilco is a place of profound Mexican identity, renowned for its chinampas, among the most productive agricultural systems in human history. However, the region risks losing this beautiful tradition as older generations pass away without passing on their knowledge.

Through our socially oriented STEM approach, our researchers engaged directly with the very old chinamperos who still maintain these ancient agricultural practices. This encounter required our students to exercise empathy, intercultural engagement, and deep listening, human capacities that Mugwagwa identifies as critical for a “relational future.” We worked alongside these elders to document their practices and to establish a manual for future generations, taking concrete steps to prevent the loss of this invaluable knowledge. This project perfectly encapsulates how the Reach Alliance collapses the distinctions between teaching, research, and societal engagement. It provided our students with a “disorienting dilemma” that required them to navigate ambiguity and build trust across generational and cultural divides.

Ultimately, the future of higher education cannot be confined to producing and transmitting disciplinary knowledge. The educational challenge of the 21st century involves cultivating the capabilities needed to navigate uncertainty and complex societal transformations. We take the Reach Alliance seriously at Tecnológico de Monterrey, and we continuously work to improve our educational models to strengthen these vital competencies. Our integration of Challenge-Based Learning with the Reach Alliance ethos proves that when students are challenged to deliver inclusive innovations to the “hard to reach,” they develop a profound sense of agency.

To answer Professor Mugwagwa’s invitation: Yes, the Reach Alliance is far more than a prototype for the emerging university; it is a vital moral imperative. If we are to equip the next generation to inherit a world of wicked interdependencies, our institutions can no longer stand as isolated towers of theoretical knowledge. They must become living engines of societal transformation. By anchoring our educational models in the realities of the hardest to reach, from the ancient canals of Xochimilco to remote communities battling infectious diseases, we transform our students into active guardians of both human dignity and global heritage. The Reach Alliance paradigm proves that the true measure of academic excellence is not the information we hoard, but the communities we uplift. When we fuse rigorous science with profound human empathy, we do more than graduate proficient engineers — we forge the relational leaders who will boldly and compassionately redesign our shared future.

“If we are to equip the next generation to inherit a world of wicked interdependencies, our institutions can no longer stand as isolated towers of theoretical knowledge. They must become living engines of societal transformation.”

– Jorge Membrillo-Hernández, Tecnológico de Monterrey

References

[1] Julius Mugwagwa, “Wicked Interdependences and Relational Futures in Education and Innovation: Why the Reach Alliance Is Ready,” Reach Alliance Faculty Mentor “Provocation,” Toronto, Summer 2026.

[2] Pamela Guzmán-Coronel, Danna Paulina Navarro-Mora, Aitor Emilio Rodríguez-Reyes, Emilio Romero-González, and Jorge Membrillo-Hernández, “Searching for a Solution to Contain the Increasingly Dangerous Dengue Fever,” Reach Alliance, October 2025, <https://reachalliance.org/reports/in-search-of-an-intelligent-solution-to-contain-the-increasingly-dangerous-dengue-fever/>.

[3] Ana Saraí Espadas Martínez, Sandra Abigail Franco Ramirez, Carlos Patricio Heredia Ledezma, Jennyfer-Lizet Monroy-Saavedra, and Jorge Membrillo-Hernández, “Global Heritage, Local Voice: Community-Led Pathways for Preserving Xochimilco,”Reach Alliance, September 2026 <https://reachalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/FINAL-Global-Heritage-Local-Voices-Community-Led-Pathways-for-Preserving-Xochimilco.pdf>.

About the Faculty Mentor Paper Series

This paper is part of the Reach Alliance’s second faculty reflection series, Is Reach the Model for Teaching and Research in the 21st Century?, in response to Julius Mugwagwa’s “Wicked Interdependences and Relational Futures in Education and Innovation: Why Reach Alliance is Ready.” Featuring contributions from leading faculty scholars across the Reach Alliance global academic consortium, the series opens a timely dialogue on the future of higher education, research, and innovation. Developed as part of Reach’s commitment to advancing research-to-impact and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, these reflections aim to engage higher education professionals in the emerging discussions around new models of teaching and learning, knowledge creation, and societal impact.