Nine hundred public higher education students gathered in Querétaro for four days of athletic and artistic competition during the inaugural Encuentro Interuniversitario Deportivo y Cultural 2026, according to regional reports.
Governor Mauricio Kuri González presided over the awards and closing ceremony for the multi-day event, emphasizing state support for youth development through sports and the arts, reports indicate. The gathering brought together students from technological and polytechnic universities, normal schools, and the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional.
State Education Secretary Martha Elena Soto Obregón noted that the initiative grew out of a collaborative effort among the nine participating institutions to expand opportunities for their student bodies. This first encounter is the example of what we can do educational institutions together,
Soto Obregón said during the proceedings, highlighting the joint work of administrators, coordinators, and teachers.
Participants competed across 16 sports categories and 11 cultural disciplines during the four-day schedule. Athletic events featured indoor and beach volleyball, basketball, soccer, 7-a-side football, flag football, track and field, taekwondo, chess, and judo.
Cultural showcases ran alongside the athletic tournaments, including folk dance, ballroom dancing, modern dance, theater, cheer and animation, oratory, rock bands, musical variety groups, drawing, and photography.
Here we have young athletes and artists, but above all they are training as engineers, as female engineers, as graduates in careers linked to teaching and many other areas of knowledge,
Soto Obregón said, pointing to the broader focus on human development in higher education.
Luis Ángel Rodríguez Martínez, a student at the Universidad Tecnológica de San Juan del Río, spoke on behalf of the competitors, thanking Governor Kuri for promoting youth sports and culture in the state. We have found in this event a place of coexistence, of personal improvement, of development and growth,
Rodríguez Martínez said, noting that teamwork and healthy competition strengthen professional preparation.
Federal Senator Agustín Dorantes Lámbarri also attended, commending state leadership for building an educational environment that pairs academic instruction with extracurricular activities.
Participating institutions in this first edition included the Universidad Tecnológica de Querétaro, the Universidad Tecnológica de Corregidora, the Universidad Politécnica de Querétaro, and the Universidad Politécnica de Santa Rosa Jáuregui, alongside the Universidad Tecnológica de San Juan del Río.
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