Ambassador of Mexico Visits with UT Students from Mexico
- Apr 12, 2018
- Fiona Mazurenko
In the historic Texas Governors' Room in the Texas Union, under the gaze of Texas governors' past and present pictured in portraits throughout the elegant wood-panelled room, a group of Mexican UT students assembled with Mexico's Ambassador to the United States, Gerónimo Gutiérrez, for an informal conversation about their studies and the future of their country.
The students included Master's, LLM, and Ph.D. candidates in law, history, economics, pharmacy, engineering, community and regional planning, and business administration, representing some of Mexico's and UT's most outstanding scholars.
The group was joined by incoming chair of the UT International Board of Advisors and alumna Dr. Adriana Pacheco, and Consul General of Mexico in Austin, Carlos González Gutiérrez, as well as Dr. Teri Albrecht, director of Internal Administration at Texas Global and several members of Texas Global staff.
“One the Consulate’s main priorities is to create a consistent and close engagement with the Mexican students at the University of Texas in Austin," said Consul General of Mexico in Austin, Carlos González Guttiérez. "The better preparation they get here, the more they will be able to contribute to our country in the future. Besides, as Ambassador Gerónimo Gutiérrez said, each one of them is a true Ambassador of Mexico.”
All of the students invited to the event were sponsored students, meaning that all or part of their academic pursuits is paid for by external agencies, often a government, non-profit, or corporate sponsor.
The majority of the students who attended the event are sponsored by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), a public agency of Mexico's federal government charged with promoting science and technology. CONACYT provides scholarships for Mexican graduate students, administers the National System of Researchers, and manages public research centers across Mexico.
Several of the students are also recipients of the Fulbright Garcia-Robles Scholarship, administered through the U.S.-Mexico Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (COMEXUS). COMEXUS, the equivalent of the Fulbright Program in Mexico, offers scholarships for students, researchers, professors, teachers, and administrators with the goal of promoting understanding between Mexico and the U.S. through an academic and cultural exchange. UT Austin is home to more recipients of the Fulbright Garcia-Robles Scholarship than any other institution in the country.
A number of the students are also sponsored by ConTex, a joint initiative between The University of Texas System and CONACYT. ConTex has five signature programs: doctoral fellowships, postdoctoral fellowships, collaborative research grants, faculty fellowships and visiting graduate student research experiences.
During his visit to the Forty Acres, Ambassador Gutiérrez also met with UT President Gregory L. Fenves, to discuss ways The University of Texas at Austin can continue to strengthen relations with Mexico’s universities and increase student exchange.
Met with Mexico Ambassador @geronimo_gf and Cónsul General @carlos_glezgtez
— Greg Fenves (@gregfenves) April 9, 2018
this morning to discuss ways @UTAustin can continue to strengthen relations with Mexico’s universities and increase student exchange pic.twitter.com/K3vbghocyQ
Texas Global is committed to increasing academic exchange and we are actively working on a targeted Mexico Initiative to strengthen relations among universities, increase study abroad participation in Mexico, support Mexican students to UT, pursue cross-disciplinary grants, and serve more Mexican students and professionals with customized and English Language Center programs. As part of this initiative, we recently published "A Roadmap to (Re) Engaging with Mexico," a guide for other U.S. institutions of higher education to establish or expand educational programming in Mexico, and are offering webinars and training to complement this effort.
The university also recently opened The University of Texas at Austin – Mexico Institute A.C. (UTAMI) to pursue interdisciplinary collaboration with Mexican educational and scientific organizations by fostering and facilitating opportunities to enhance our mutual mission in education and scientific research.
Mexico is not only an important economic partner for the state of Texas, its institutions are important partners for The University of Texas at Austin.
