WRITER: Carlos Cuesta, carlosic@nmsu.edu
SOURCE: Sandi Ringwood, ringwood@nmsu.edu
New Mexico State University recently hosted the Innoventure Challenge Finals, bringing together 16 middle and high school teams from across New Mexico for a culminating experience in applied innovation and entrepreneurship. Held on Wednesday, April 8, at Corbett Center, the event marked the final stage of a year-long program designed to engage students in hands-on, real-world problem solving.
The Innoventure Challenge is structured as a series of standalone themed experiences that introduce students to entrepreneurship through applied learning. Each challenge presents a different real-world problem and encourages students to think critically, collaborate, and develop solutions within a defined context. Throughout the year, students participate in these themed challenges, with top teams from each round invited to take part in the Innoventure Challenge Finals at NMSU, where they are introduced to a new challenge.
At the finals, students were presented with a surprise theme, Beat the Heat. Teams were challenged to design a product that helps protect people, animals, or communities from the growing dangers of extreme heat, an increasingly urgent issue in New Mexico and the broader Southwest.
Working within a limited timeframe, teams collaborated to develop and present solutions that reflected both creativity and practical thinking. Concepts ranged from wearable cooling devices and portable shade systems to tools designed to improve access to water and temperature monitoring. The experience mirrored real-world innovation environments, where the ability to respond quickly, think creatively, and communicate ideas clearly is just as important as the final product itself.
“This is our second year participating in Innoventure at White Sands School, and I’ve noticed growth far beyond creative thinking and project-based learning,” said Lisa Aguilar, gifted teacher at White Sands School. “Students are developing leadership skills, learning how to collaborate and build on each other’s ideas, and becoming more confident in public speaking and communication. Those are skills that go far beyond traditional classroom learning.”
“The goal isn’t just to have students come up with a good idea. It’s to help them understand how to approach a problem they’ve never seen before,” said Sandi Ringwood, program manager for Innoventure. “They’re learning how to take something complex, think through it quickly, and build a solution that considers both the technical side and the human impact.”
The finalist teams represented a diverse cross-section of New Mexico communities, with students bringing perspectives shaped by their local environments and lived experiences. That diversity was reflected in the range of solutions presented, many of which directly addressed challenges specific to the region.
Teams were recognized across middle and high school divisions, with top honors awarded as follows:
High school division:
First place went to Team Maddox from Sandia Preparatory School. Redwing from Alta Vista Early College High School placed second, followed by Goal Diggers from Santa Rosa High School in third. Redwing also earned the crowd favorite award.
Middle school division:
Clanker Energy from J. Paul Taylor Academy took first place. Terra Nova Tech, also from J. Paul Taylor Academy, placed second, and The RoadRunners from Truth or Consequences Middle School finished third. Energen from J. Paul Taylor Academy was named crowd favorite.
Support from community partners helped make the experience possible. First-place teams received their choice of a laptop or iPad through sponsorship from New Mexico Mutual. Second-place prizes, Beats headphones, were provided by Daniels Fund, while third-place teams received JBL Clip speakers sponsored by the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship.
While teams were recognized for their work, the emphasis of the Innoventure Challenge remains on the experience itself, giving students the opportunity to engage with new problems, test ideas in real time, and build confidence in their ability to think and create under pressure.
The Innoventure Challenge is part of a broader effort to build an accessible pipeline for entrepreneurship education across New Mexico. By combining structured challenges with hands-on application, the program gives students early exposure to the kinds of thinking and problem-solving skills that are increasingly valuable across all career paths.
As the program continues to grow, the finals serve not as an endpoint, but as a reflection of what students are capable of when given the opportunity to engage with real-world challenges in a meaningful way.
For more information about the Innoventure program, contact Sandi Ringwood at ringwood@nmsu.edu.