University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign/Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro
Country:
Mexico
Award Date:
2002
Award Amount:
$297,667.00
Cost Share:
$577,666.00
Other Partners:
Programa de Posgrado en Alimentos del Centro de la República (PROPAC); Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional; Unidad Irapuato; Departamento de Ingeniería Química y de Ingeniería Bioquímica del Instituto Tecnológico de Celaya; Centro de Ciéncias Básicas de la Facultad de Química at the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes; Instituto de Ciéncias Agrícolas at the Universidad de Guanajuato; Centro de Investigación y Estudios de Posgrado de la Facultad de Ciéncias Químicas at the Universidad Autónoma de San Luís Potosí; Universidad Nacionál Autónoma de México; Universidad de Sinaloa; National Science and Technology Council of Mexico (CONACyT)
Working with PROPAC, a joint Graduate Food Science program among seven central Mexican universities headquartered at the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Mexican graduate students received training to improve agriculture, food quality, nutrition, and health in Mexico. The project enabled 31 Mexican graduate students to study abroad combining specialized training the U.S. and Mexico. Eleven of these students completed masters’ degrees and four students completed Ph.Ds at UAQ under the auspices of the TIES program. The collaboration sponsored three symposia at Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro and two at UIUC, with speakers from both countries. Five Mexican faculty members took short-term sabbaticals in Illinois to work on joint research projects that enhance the nutritional value of the fruits and vegetables grown in the Central Valley and sold in Mexican and U.S. markets. The partnership also obtained a U.S. patent based upon their joint research. The National Science and Technology Council of Mexico (CONACyT) signed an agreement with UIUC to provide $2 million in funding for 50 Mexican students to pursue doctoral degrees in food and agriculture science at UIUC.