China.- A team of Computer Science Engineering students from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) made history by winning the Grand Prize in the Computing category of the Huawei ICT Global Competition 2025-2026, the highest recognition awarded by the multinational technology company in this area.
The information was announced by the rector of the PUCMM, Reverend Father Dr. Secilio Espinal, during the 114th graduation ceremony of the Santiago campus, held this Saturday, where he highlighted the significance of the achievement for Dominican higher education.
“It is the first time that a country from Latin America and the Caribbean has won the competition in this category. It is a source of pride for the country’s higher education, for PUCMM, and for the entire Dominican Republic,” expressed the rector.
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The winning team was composed of students Marco Reyes, Yira Tavarez, and Diego de Jesús Peralta Mora, under the mentorship of professor Jesús Nicolás Mejías. The young students competed in the Computing track, one of the most demanding categories of the competition, focused on advanced areas such as operating systems, programming, data storage, networking, virtualization, and technological problem-solving in real-world environments.
From China, the students highlighted the value of the international experience. “Sharing with students from so many countries allowed us to broaden our vision of technological development in different parts of the world,” they noted.
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The triumph was the result of months of intensive preparation, specialized training, and simulations of real technological scenarios. During the competition, participants faced practical and theoretical challenges that tested their technical knowledge, analytical capacity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills using Huawei technologies.
For his part, Professor Mejías highlighted that this achievement also sets a precedent for the region, as he becomes the first Latin American mentor to win a Grand Prize in the Computing category of the Huawei ICT Competition.
With this victory, PUCMM consolidates its presence among the best universities in the world in this international competition organized by Huawei. In the 2024-2025 edition, another team from the institution, composed of Kamila Acevedo, Marco Reyes, and Yira Tavarez, reached third place globally in the Cloud category.
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The experience gained in previous competitions allowed the team to strengthen its preparation to successfully face the high level of demand of the world final. In addition, the PUCMM representation was the only team from Central America and the Caribbean to qualify for this stage of the competition.
The final phase of the Huawei ICT Global Competition was held in China and brought together students and universities from more than 80 countries and regions in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, consolidating itself as one of the most prestigious academic and technological events in the world.
