US-Mexico university partnerships: A promising trend


“Partnerships between universities in the United States and Mexico are on the rise,” says journalist Timothy Wilson in a recent feature on Nearshore Americas – a website featuring analysis of Latin American economic initiatives. Wilson makes a case that these international educational partnerships will bring positive economic impacts and enhanced cultural ties between the United States and Mexico.

Much of the feature focuses on insights from David Pijawka, professor of planning and associate director of the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at ASU.

Pijawka describes his experience with a three-year program in which ASU and the Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora (ITSON) partnered to support Mexican graduate students in their thesis and dissertation work. Most of the students who came to work at ASU returned to Mexico and took positions as professors at Mexican universities.

“They also develop long-term partnerships with American universities that last well beyond their return to Mexico,” said Pijawka.

Pijawka also discussed approaches to developing funding for these international partnerships. One of the most effective strategies, he said, is for researchers in the same discipline to work together to obtain funding, whether from U.S. or Mexican sources. 

“Private-sector funding for these partnerships is starting to pick up,” Pijawka commented. “That has been a real strength for us; we have had our graduates find employment with private-sector partners; these are well-known firms.”

In addition to his role in ASU’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, David Pijawka is an affiliate faculty member of ASU’s School of Transborder Studies and School of Public Affairs and is a Senior Sustainability Scientist in the School of Sustainability. He was also a founding faculty member of the North American Center for Transborder Studies. The School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning is an academic unit of ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Article source: Nearshore Americas

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