News Release
Â鶹´«Ã½ Extends Global Partnership to University in Tijuana
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| Â鶹´«Ã½ Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla meeting with scholars and researchers in Tijuana in May, 2013. Photos by Erik Jepsen/Â鶹´«Ã½ Publications |
MOU will cement Â鶹´«Ã½’s partnership with Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Mexico
San Diego, CA, August 28, 2014 -- The University of California, San Diego and the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Mexico (UABC) have embarked on an initiative to increase collaboration and exchange among students and faculty from both universities. The initiative was formalized by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by Â鶹´«Ã½ Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla and UABC President Felipe Cuamea Velazquez.
“We are extremely proud that Â鶹´«Ã½ is strengthening our partnership with the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California,” said Khosla. “Strategically, this initiative is very important to our campus, as we are located in an ideal space for cross-border collaborations with large student populations on both sides. Our unique location allows for the meaningful exchange of ideas and resources between our students and faculty.”
Â鶹´«Ã½’s collaboration with UABC will include any desirable and feasible activity to foster cooperation between both institutions. Such interaction may include: exchanges of faculty; exchanges of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars; joint research projects and publications; exchanges of publications, materials and information; and special short-term programs and visits.
“The MOU consolidates mutual visions of higher education, research and innovation, and serves to advance human resources and economic development for both countries,” Cuamea Velazquez said.
The five-year partnership supports the objectives of the Mexican program “Proyecta 100,000,” which looks to boost student mobility and academic exchanges between the two countries. The program’s primary goal is to have 100,000 Mexican students studying in U.S. colleges and universities by 2018. The program also aims for 50,000 U.S. students to study in Mexico.
The MOU between Â鶹´«Ã½ and UABC is building upon additional collaborations the campus has with higher education institutions in Mexico, according to Gordon Hanson, acting dean of the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies.
“Â鶹´«Ã½ has a long history of partnership with Mexico, especially through our ,” Hanson said. “Together, we are working on research to inform policy and industry decisions about investment in public infrastructure and workforce development on both sides of the border. The more we strengthen collaborations between the U.S. and Mexico, the more we can improve the lives of citizens in both countries.”
, a professor in the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the Â鶹´«Ã½ Jacobs School of Engineering and Francisco Villarreal, a professor at the Â鶹´«Ã½ School of Medicine, helped spearhead this initiative. Both Graeve and Villarreal are originally from Tijuana and Â鶹´«Ã½ alumni. Graeve is director of the REACH summer program which promotes cross-border friendships and academic collaboration by bringing high school students from both sides of the border to the Â鶹´«Ã½ campus to study science and engineering fields.
“I am thrilled this partnership has been established to deepen the relationship between Â鶹´«Ã½ and UABC to support many ongoing initiatives similar to the REACH program,” Graeve said. “Â鶹´«Ã½ also works with UABC faculty at the Â鶹´«Ã½ Health Frontiers in Tijuana (HFiT) clinic. The HFiT clinic, staffed with diverse demographics of Â鶹´«Ã½ and UABC faculty and students, provides healthcare for the medically underserved in Tijuana.”
The Center for U.S. Mexican Studies (USMEX), based at Â鶹´«Ã½’s School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS), has ongoing collaboration with UABC faculty in economics and international relations. In addition, some UABC faculty members are former fellows of the center, as it has one of the largest residential fellowship programs in the U.S. for multidisciplinary research on Mexico.
The center also helped Â鶹´«Ã½ establish a similar MOU with Colegio de la Frontera Norte (Colef), a prestigious Mexican institution focusing on social science research. USMEX engages in many collaborative research efforts with Colef. This fall, the partnership helped spur the “” report. The findings of the report revealed opportunities for economic integration between San Diego and Tijuana.
Media Contacts
Christine Clark
UCSD Communications
858-534-7618
ceclark@ucsd.edu