Washington, DC (June 18, 2007) - Higher Education for Development (HED), in cooperation with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)/Mexico, announces five new grant awards under the Phase III of the U.S.-Mexico Training, Internships, Exchanges, and Scholarships (TIES) Initiative. The five new awards are worth up to $250,000 each.
Antonio O. Garza Jr., U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, formally announced these five new awards at the opening of the U.S.-Mexico Strengthening TIES: Expanding the Impacts binational conference held in Querétaro, Mexico, from June 13-15, 2007.
Phase III of the TIES initiative is intended to initiate higher education partnerships that address Mexican competitiveness, target underprivileged areas, and fully engage the private sector. A new dimension to the collaboration and mutual benefit that have been the hallmark of TIES partnerships has been brought to Phase III by the inclusion of partners in Mexico designated by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) as programs of excellence and eligible for “becas mixtas” awards. Becas Mixtas programs support national scholars of CONACyT who wish to stay abroad at a U.S. higher education institution to carry out a research activity as part of their post-graduate studies.
The five new TIES grants were awarded to:
Ohio State University / Colegio de Postgraduados en Ciencias Agrícolas to build human capital for microfinance institutions in order to increase competitiveness and reduce rural poverty in Mexico;
Michigan State University/ Universidad Autonoma Chapingo (UAHC) to enhance the capacity of UAHC to promote sustainable livelihoods and equitable development in poor rural communities of Mexico;
The University of Texas at Austin / Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México to advance Mexico’s energy sector;
University of Texas, El Paso / Tecnológico de Monterrey System in Mexico (ITESM) to create the SABEMOS (Science/Literacy Across Borders for Educators in Mexico to Promote Outstanding Schools) program; and,
University of Georgia / Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila / Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León / Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro to integrate waste management with energy production for increased competitiveness of the livestock industry in northeast Mexico.
This brings the total number of higher education partnerships under the TIES Initiative to 60.
The HED program engages the resources of higher education institutions in the United States and abroad for global social and economic development through human and institutional capacity building. HED assists the nation’s six major higher education associations and their members in partnering with USAID, as well as other development agencies and donor organizations. For more information about HED, please visit http://www.HEDprogram.org.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years. For more information, please visit http://www.usaid.gov.