Mexican Student Wins World Education Medal for AI Solutions

A teenager from Veracruz is making global headlines for turning artificial intelligence into real-world solutions that help people and the planet.

Valeria Palacios Cruz, just 19 years old, won the 2025 World Education Medal in the student category. The international award, presented by HP, selects only three winners worldwide each year from approximately 130 countries.

Palacios studies at Ceulver/TecNM University in Veracruz, where she develops projects merging AI, robotics, and drones to tackle local challenges. Her Clean Water Drone removes floating waste from waterways, while her Drones for Reforestation plants seeds in damaged ecosystems.

She also created Project Manta Ray, a rescue drone for emergency response. But perhaps her most heartwarming innovation is CONIA, a service robot designed to help older adults live independently by recognizing medications, reading printed materials, and detecting medical emergencies.

"This reflects my belief that AI should be applied where it can create a real difference for people and the planet," Palacios said after receiving the news.

President Claudia Sheinbaum congratulated her during a press conference this week and announced plans to meet with her soon. The formal award ceremony takes place next Tuesday at the Education Leaders Forum in London.

The Ripple Effect

Palacios joins a remarkable wave of Mexican students earning global recognition. In 2025 alone, three Chihuahua teens won first place at the World Robot Contest in China, a Mexican student created an AI app detecting retinal diseases in under 30 seconds, and high school students from Veracruz won the Zayed Prize for marine conservation.

An elementary school in Mexico City even became the first Mexican institution to win the World's Best School Prize for Community Collaboration. These wins signal that Mexican innovators are leading the way in using technology for social good.

HP's Global Director of Education Business called Palacios' work proof that "leveraging the latest technologies can pave the way for a brighter future in education, offering hope and progress to society."

At 19, Palacios is already showing the world what's possible when young minds apply cutting-edge technology to humanity's biggest challenges.

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