USA and Mexico: Education and understanding

Last week, U.S. and Mexican officials renewed their commitment to combat cross-border smuggling of medicine, weapons and money. U.S. officials considered U.S. demand for drugs to be “magnet” that fuels drug trafficking, and Mexico has pledged to jointly address elements of the cartels’ business model.

While illegal immigration and drugs dominate public discourse on U.S.-Mexico relations, the partnership between these countries is essential and dynamic in lots of other ways.

The two neighbors they trade over $1 million a minute, employ many thousands and thousands of individuals in good jobs on either side of the border, make over one million legal border crossings a day, and have over 35 million residents of a typical heritage.

We have devoted years of our skilled lives (in government, academia and social work) to developing and implementing strategies to enhance relations between our countries. We were due to this fact surprised by the United States’ sharply critical rhetoric toward Mexico in recent months and the anti-American sentiment that quickly flared up in Mexico.

But our latest work shows that educational and research exchanges can bridge the widening gap while making a workforce that will help each nations thrive within the technological revolutions to return.

Academic exchanges as long-term bridges

We saw firsthand the impact of the programs on young Mexicans who returned from the US with pride, enthusiasm and improved English skills. We also witnessed American students interacting with their peers in Mexico and increasing mutual appreciation and respect for one another’s countries.

Already, student exchange numbers will not be encouraging. Mexico ranks tenth within the variety of full-time students studying within the U.S., rating well behind China and India, and behind Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Vietnam and northern neighbor Canada. The story is worse second direction: In 2014–2015, only 4,712 U.S. students studied in Mexico, which ranks twelfth amongst majors for U.S. students.

There are many reasons for the low numbers, but here’s a summary: Two such interconnected neighbors should do higher.

In 2013, we were a part of an initiative to resolve this problem. The Bilateral Forum on Higher Education, Innovation and Research (known by its Spanish acronym FOBESII) brings together teachers, individuals, corporations, and university and government officials. Their goal is to expand long-term investments in education and research partnerships between the U.S. and Mexico.

In last 4 yearsFOBESII has contributed to greater than 115 recent agreements between Mexican and American universities.

Between 2014 and 2016, the Mexican federal government allocated an unprecedented $42.9 million to those programs. More than 100,000 Mexican students – many from low-income families – have come to the United States as full-time graduate students, as single-semester researchers, or through summer programs designed to enhance their English language skills. These experiences modified the best way students (and their families) were perceived. their future potential and, importantly now, their opinion of the United States has improved significantly.

Unfortunately, U.S. public funds to support these exchanges have been more limited than the investments made by Mexico. However, private sector sponsors have collaborated with the U.S. government for development 32 academic projects with Mexican universitiesstarting from engineering, physics, geology and health to environmental science.

Building things together

Targeting such exchanges creates opportunities for young scientists and promotes cultural understanding, but may additionally lead to a better-educated workforce.

Mexico and the United States literally and figuratively construct things together, whose pieces cross the border again and again before the finished product appears. American parts and products account for a median of approx 40 percent of the worth finished product from Mexico. This is significantly greater than the U.S. contribution to other countries’ production and positively impacts U.S. jobs and profits.

“fourth industrial revolution” is evolving: digital technologies are resulting in faster and more complex progress in virtually all features of life. Both countries will need a better-equipped workforce to take care of this highly integrated production network and compete with other countries on the planet.

Several ongoing initiatives inside FOBESIA will support the goal of a greater equipped workforce. The University of California raised roughly $15 million in support programs linking their universities with Mexican institutions. Universities in Texas AND Arizona have developed similar programs specializing in research in energy, environment and other common topics in science and technology. United States National Science Foundation and Mexico National Council of Science and Technology created 12 more joint projects.

Michael M. Crow, president of Arizona State University, described the rationale his school’s partnerships this road:

“We share a border and many common interests with Mexico. It is natural that we seek stronger bonds through education, research and innovation so that we can help each other prepare for the challenges and changing nature of the advanced 21st century workforce.”

Each yr, many more students and universities apply to take part in this system than current funding allows.

An investment in the longer term of North America

Historically, other global neighbors have made similar strategic decisions about investing in educational partnerships. The European Erasmus for instance, this system has received billions of dollars in support since its inception in 1987 three million students you might have studied in other countries at over 4,000 post-secondary schools. In addition to the educational value of this system, it contributed to the craft a more solid European vision amongst young people.

As with European cooperation, the relatively modest U.S.-Mexico efforts don’t involve charity and even education itself. They concern the strategic interests of neighbors within the face of world competition, technological revolutions and persistent prejudices straining relations between neighbors.

Mexico and the United States will remain neighbors. Their shared challenges is not going to disappear, but their shared opportunities could also be lost. We should put more effort into overcoming misunderstandings and solving specific problems together. Learning and researching together will definitely help.