Cristian Ruiz Reinales

Cristian Ruiz Reinales is a pioneering Spanish educator whose 13-year career has redefined the role of technology in education, placing human dignity, ethics, and critical thinking at the heart of digital learning. As Director of Technology at Colegio Juan de Lanuza, he has built a replicable, community-driven Human Digital Competence model that prepares students aged 3 to 18 to become informed consumers, competent creators, and ethical leaders in an AI-driven world. 

Since opening his first classroom in 2012, Cristian has transformed the school's digital ecosystem through three main pillars: a Computer Science curriculum (2013–present) spanning from early childhood education through pre-university; a highly inclusive MakerSpace (2018) that has become the creative heart of the school; and an innovative pedagogical framework for Explainable and Ethical AI, known as "AI for Better Thinking." 

His innovations address national gaps in technology education, gender inequality in STEAM, digital well-being and the social risks of AI, misinformation, and screen addiction. Cristian's MakerSpace is one of his most impactful achievements: it grew from 2 students to 92 active participants and reached 55% female participation, a significant milestone in reducing the gender gap. His students have excelled in competitions: in the 2025 Aragon Informatics Olympiad, the school took first place, with 9 of the 11 winning students being girls. In 2024, the school won 6 out of 7 categories, and Cristian received the Best Tutor Award. He was also named Best STEAM Teacher at the 1st National STEAM Congress, as well as the best teacher award at the Educating for the Future Awards by the Ibercaja Foundation. His school won the two most prestigious educational awards in Spain in 2025: Mentes AMI and SIMO Educación. 

Through shared leadership with his colleagues in the Computer Science Department, he mentors and supports them in submitting their projects at the national level. As a result, he supported initiatives that went on to win the RetoTech 2024 award (AI-driven recycling machine) as well as “More Life, Less Networks,” a recognised digital well-being campaign.

Cristian's initiatives extend far beyond the classroom. He founded Robotics for Families (2013), a highly sought-after intergenerational program that has impacted thousands of people. He also mentors numerous student teams in competitions and public events. His work includes international volunteering in Nicaragua and Gambia, professional conferences, national teacher training, and a nine-year column on education and technology in the Heraldo de Aragón newspaper.

Internationally, Cristian is a member of the European Commission's High-Quality Computing Expert Group, an ambassador for EU Code Week, and a collaborator on Erasmus+ projects such as NewTechnologies4Climate and the European MakerSpace Network, offering his students practical international experience while fostering global citizenship and ethical innovation. 

If he receives the Global Teacher Award, Cristian plans to launch the Institute for Humanized Technology (ITH), a scalable global initiative to train the next generation of ethical technology leaders by integrating AI, digital ethics, emotional intelligence, and sustainability.