Increasing Competitiveness and Building Business Relationships

Additional partners: Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; the Universidad de Estudios Avanzados (UNEA); the Instituto Tecnológico y n>de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO), the Centro de Innovación Emn>presarial de Aguascalientes (CE INNOVA), and more than 22 other partners from the public, non-governmental and private sectors in both the United States and Mexico.

This partnership worked to increase the economic development of the Mexican states of Aguascalientes and Jalisco by expanding trade and investment with the U.S., and by empowering students, faculty and small Mexican business entrepreneurs to be more globally competitive.

Duquesne University and Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes established cooperative exchange programs and effective linkages by collaborating with private, public and non-governmental partners. The program focused on providing tools to expand capacity for increasing Mexico-U.S. trade and building an understanding of the business environment and culture in both countries.

The partnership conducted three trade missions between Pennsylvania and Mexico. Duquesne partners trained 16 faculty from Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes while introducing them to economic development programs in Pittsburgh. They also facilitated the certification of two Small Business Development Centers at Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes and Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente. In addition, four Mexican students earned Master of Business Administration degrees as a result of this partnership.