The National Technical University (UTN) was created to meet the country's development needs in regards to technical education, at all levels of higher education.  In terms of research, the institution is oriented towards applied research, seeking to offer alternatives to the problems that plague the socio-productive sectors of the country.  The purpose of this work is first, to present research projects that have been proposed to solve the problems in the use of organic waste of certain productive activities, and second, to show the importance of linking the university with important sectors within the regions where the UTN is present.  The methodology used in this work is the presentation and analysis of cases of projects proposed in three of the university campuses, based on information established in reports of the projects already executed in two of the cases, and in the proposal of a project to be carried out during the year 2025.

The main results of the cases presented were the creation of a socio-environmental business model for the production of different biomaterials from pineapple waste biomass and the use of residue from the agricultural industry to produce bioferments, compost, and animal nutrition.  Moreover, the projects allowed the participation of different actors like the Research and Transfer Area of the UTN campuses, companies representing agricultural activities, producers and supporting institutions, in addition to the incorporation of students, both at the level of professional practices and in the development of complementary research.

As a conclusion, it is important to establish different linkage mechanisms between the academia and the productive sectors of a territory, region or country.  Such linkage allows the identification of opportunities to develop applied research projects aimed at solving real and relevant problems of different economic activities.  Besides, it is clear that there is a need to incorporate undergraduate and graduate students in research projects linked to the productive sectors, which helps to generate their service-learning competencies through the practical experiences in which they participate.