Dr. Cecilia Paredes Verduga
The 2025 LACCEI Academic Merit Medalist
Each year, the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions (LACCEI) honors individuals who have made a lasting impact in the fields of engineering education and research. The Academic Merit Medal is the highest institutional recognition awarded to leaders whose exceptional careers have significantly contributed to strengthening academia, fostering innovation, advancing leadership, and promoting international collaboration in engineering.
For the 2025 edition, LACCEI is proud to recognize an outstanding engineer and academic leader: Dr. Cecilia Paredes Verduga, President of ESPOL (Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral) in Ecuador and the first woman to hold this position in the institution’s history.
Dr. Paredes is a Mechanical Engineer from ESPOL, and holds a Master’s and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Rutgers University. She has served as a professor and researcher at ESPOL since 2001, with a strong commitment to excellence in higher education, scientific development, and innovation.
In addition to her academic work, she has held key leadership roles, including serving as President of the High Council of EMULIES (Espacio de Mujeres Líderes de Instituciones de Educación Superior de las Américas) during the 2020–2021 term, a program of the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (OUI-IOHE). Currently, she is the President of CEDIA (Ecuadorian Corporation for the Development of Research and Academia), where she actively promotes the advancement of innovative projects that connect Ecuadorian institutions and foster collaboration among researchers, faculty, and students.
Her interests span materials science and engineering research, entrepreneurship and innovation in education, and the creation of inclusive environments that ensure equal opportunities for all—particularly advocating for the participation of women in science and engineering.
This recognition celebrates not only her remarkable personal achievements, but also her enduring legacy in building a more inclusive, sustainable, and socially impactful engineering education across Latin America, the Caribbean, and the world.
