I was awarded a scholarship to attend and present at the Summit of AI in Latin America (SALA), a leading regional AI event that fosters learning, mentorship, and collaboration between students and industry leaders; there, I presented a poster on a robot I co-developed, inspired by earlier participation in the same initiative.
Selected as a Youth Leader for the forum on “Climate Action and Social Impacts.” The event brought together delegates from over 100 countries, highlighting key recommendations on youth participation in climate governance, sustainable innovation, and ethical action in response to climate change. (October 2025, International level)
It is an immense joy and a blessing to have achieved this success alongside my friends Juan Saeteros Macias, Erick Mendoza Macias, Joshua Cobos Valle, Rolando Mendieta Gomez and Milena Rodriguez Astudillo students at ESPOL.
An event where the best theses are presented, and students showcase their impact on the industry.
We were also featured on national television, which attracted the attention of people interested in becoming early investors in the project.
It is an immense joy and a blessing to have achieved this success alongside my friends Erick Mendoza Macias, Juan Saeteros Macias, Alan Steven Bajaña Granizo, and Daniela Choez Mora, students at ESPOL. I had the honor of leading our team throughout the competition and also of developing a pest detection model with YoloV8 for the modernization of cacao agriculture in Ecuador. We proposed a viable business plan that promotes sustainability, using regenerative agricultural practices and enhancing the well-being of farmers. Our proposal was evaluated based on its feasibility, innovation, economic viability, impact, and shared value, competing alongside other young Ecuadorians in the Nestlé challenge. We obtained $5,000 in seed capital to carry out our idea in 2025 and contribute to strengthening the cacao sector and its supply chain in the country.
Winning Idea:
CacaoHealth Detector
It consists of an autonomous vehicle with computer vision that detects and counts pests in cacao plantations to identify areas of the plantation affected by them. It generates intuitive and accurate reports that help reduce production losses and improve sustainability by using fewer pesticides on the crop.
You can review our presentation slides of the official project at this Link Canva