AstraZeneca’s Global Innovation and Technology Center (GITC) in Guadalajara is excited to announce the launch of its Innovation Space Accelerator. This intensive eight-week program, developed in partnership with Tecnológico de Monterrey, seeks to accelerate employee-led projects in artificial intelligence, data analytics, sustainability, and human talent technology.
Driven by Tec de Monterrey’s Eugenio Garza Lagüera Entrepreneurship Institute (IEEGL), the corporate accelerator will offer selected teams from GITC Guadalajara professional mentoring, entrepreneurship training, and resources to address operational and technological challenges. Teams will focus on leveraging data intelligence, building AI applications, advancing sustainability initiatives, and developing technology to enhance employee capabilities.
The program will culminate on November 21 with pitch presentations at Tec de Monterrey’s Guadalajara campus, where winning projects will be eligible to receive additional funding and resources for implementation.
Program structure:
- Duration: Eight weeks of intensive acceleration activities
- Participants: Selected teams from GITC Guadalajara from different functional areas
- Mentoring: Weekly virtual workshops with expert mentors from the Tec de Monterrey network
- Focus: Problem identification, solution development, customer discovery, and prototyping
- Outcome: In-person pitch event on November 21, with funding opportunities for the best solutions
The alliance leverages the track record of IEEGL, which has accelerated more than 540 entrepreneurial projects that generate an average of $52 million in annual sales. The institute will guide GITC teams through a structured methodology to help them develop an entrepreneurial mindset and validate their solutions.
“Corporate accelerators represent a powerful model for driving innovation within established organizations,” said Luis Miguel Almanza Rueda, director of IEEGL at Tecnológico de Monterrey. “By offering AstraZeneca teams startup-style mentoring and resources, we help them move from idea to implementation with speed and rigor.”
“This accelerator gives our teams the tools to transform challenges into solutions,” said Luis Toxtli, Innovation Leader at AstraZeneca GITC Guadalajara. “We are creating an environment where employees can experiment with AI, data, and sustainability and deliver results.”
Since opening in 2016, AstraZeneca GITC Guadalajara has grown to more than 1,000 employees and contributes more than $90 million annually to the Jalisco economy through salaries, local purchases, and related economic activity. The facility supports AstraZeneca’s global operations in oncology, rare diseases, and cardiovascular, respiratory, and immunology therapeutic areas.
The company is committed to fostering a culture of continuous learning and development. By strengthening and evolving its capabilities, AstraZeneca empowers its people to challenge conventions and explore new possibilities, pushing the boundaries of science to make a meaningful impact on the lives of patients around the world. The company encourages everyone to adopt a growth mindset through constant learning and the acquisition of new skills.
The Innovation Space Accelerator is designed to position GITC Guadalajara as a center of innovation within AstraZeneca’s global network, fostering cross-functional collaboration, connecting internal talent with external academic resources, and building scalable innovation frameworks. Participating teams will work on projects aligned with GITC’s operational priorities, and successful solutions could be scaled to other AstraZeneca global innovation and technology centers.
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