Virtual Launch of the 2020 Mexico-U.S. Innovation Fund Competition
Partners of the Americas and the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S. Department of State are pleased to announce the launch of the 2020 Mexico-U…
September 17, 2020: The U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy in Mexico, and Partners of the Americas announce the latest Innovation Fund competition with generous support from the Mary Street Jenkins Foundation along with Coca-Cola Foundation-Mexico and Sempra Energy to support higher education partnerships and academic training programs for students between Mexico and the United States
The 100,000 Strong in the Americas (100K) Innovation Fund is the U.S. Department of State’s signature hemispheric-wide initiative to champion the power of education to transform societies, provide opportunity, and stimulate economic prosperity. The Innovation Fund provides unique opportunities for U.S. universities and colleges to partner with higher education institutions in Latin America to create innovative student exchange programs. Grant winning teams will provide new academic training programs for students to work in teams, solve real-world problems, gain technical and linguistic skills, and prepare for the workforce.
As of August 2020, after 27 competitions over five years, the Innovation Fund has awarded 232 grants to 477 higher education institutions (HEIs) working in teams across 25 countries and 49 U.S. States. Currently, Mexico is the leading country in this hemispheric-wide initiative to form partnerships with U.S. colleges and universities to create and implement new models of academic exchange and training programs for students. To date, 19 Mexican states and 24 U.S. states benefit from 95 Innovation Fund partnerships that directly impact students in both countries.
The 2020 Mexico-U.S. Innovation Fund Competition is generously supported by the Mary Street Jenkins Foundation, along with Coca-Cola Foundation-Mexico and Sempra Energy. This new 100K competition will provide up to eleven (11) grants of $25,000 each to support partnerships between higher education institutions in Mexico and the United States to create new academic training programs in 2021.
Thematic areas for this next 100K Innovation Fund grant competition include Public Health; Distance Education; Biochemistry; Renewable Energy; Economic Empowerment; Sustainable Agriculture; Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH); Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM); and Education, among others.
During the announcement, Ambassador Christopher Landau said “Thank you again to our partners for their generosity and commitment because without a doubt these partnerships will lead to initiatives that will allow us to resolve our shared challenges and transform the participants into change agents in their communities. These types of initiatives allow us to be optimistic about the future of our bilateral relations, because investing in education programs contributes to the development of human resources and the prosperity of Mexico and the United States.”
Roberto Jenkins De Landa, member of the board of the Jenkins Foundation, declared: “Education is one of the principal pillars of the Jenkins Foundation, and that is why we feel proud to join this public-private effort which makes possible valuable academic exchanges and experience.” He also mentioned that “due to the health situation, it is important to reinforce support for education. At the Jenkins Foundation, we renew our firm commitment to continue this effort to bolster the leadership, passion, and talent of the youth of the Americas.”
Teams of higher education institutions in Mexico and the United States are invited to submit proposals to Partners of the Americas by February 15, 2021. For more details and to access the (RFP) Request for Proposals for this grant competition, visit www.100kstrongamericas.org/grants.
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The 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund is the public-private sector collaboration between the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and Partners of the Americas, working with companies, foundations, regional government entities, and academic networks in the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere to create innovative, sustainable partnerships that provide access to new models of academic exchange and training programs in the Americas.
The Innovation Fund is the trusted, flexible mechanism between governments, businesses, foundations, and academia to support this hemispheric-wide education initiative to build partnerships, strengthen institutional capacity, and increase access for underserved students to innovative academic exchange programs. As of September 2020, over six years, the Innovation Fund has awarded 232 grants to 477 teams of higher education institutions working in 25 countries and 49 U.S. States. Currently, 2,300 higher education institutions have joined the Innovation Network – over 1,250 universities and colleges in the United States.
For more information and to apply for grants: www.100kstrongamericas.org
The mission of Partners of the Americas is to connect people and organizations across borders to serve and to change lives through lasting partnerships. These partnerships create opportunity, foster understanding, and solve real-life problems. Inspired by President Kennedy and founded in 1964, under the Alliance for Progress, Partners is a non-profit, non-partisan organization with international offices in Washington, D.C. Learn more at www.partners.net or via Twitter @partnersamerica.
Since 1954, the Mary Street Jenkins Foundation has promoted the growth and prosperity of Mexico by improving the quality of life of its people by spreading hope. The organization was founded by Guillermo Oscar Jenkins and his wife, Mary Street Jenkins, who moved to Mexico from the United States in 1901. After being the first to build a nursery for working mothers at the Corona factory and several schools at Atencingo sugar refinery, the Jenkins family continued to give back to their community, supporting culture, education, health, and sports for more than 65 years. Today, the impact of the Mary Street Jenkins Foundation is clear. Young people have benefited from thousands of scholarships, schools, and sports centers, and they enjoy an improved overall quality of life in the State of Puebla and the rest of Mexico. The Foundation has improved rural clinics and hospitals, as well as the provision of clean drinking water and public services in rural communities. Supporting cultural programs has also been one of the main goals for the Jenkins Foundation, exemplified by its support of the Jenkins – Del Toro grant, among many other projects. For more information, visit: www.fundacionjenkins.org/.
Since 1998, the Coca-Cola Mexico Foundation has focused on promoting the wellbeing of communities in Mexico. Historically, the foundation focused on supporting indigenous and rural communities through water access and educations programs. Currently, the foundation’s pillars are water access and conservation, community recycling, and the empowerment of women in the value chain. Through its reforestation program, more than 79 million trees have been planted across Mexico and over 250,000 people have benefited from its water access programs. The foundation plans to provide access to an additional 1 million people by 2030. Furthermore, more than 180,000 women have participated in the women’s economic empowerment program and continue to be supported through economic aid and business training through the current COVID context. For more information, visit https://www.coca-colamexico.com.mx/fundacion-coca-cola.
With more than 16,000 employees, the Sempra Energy companies develop energy infrastructure, operate utilities, and provide related products and services to more than 32 million consumers worldwide. Sempra Energy was created in 1998 by a merger of parent companies of two long-established, and highly respected, investor-owned utilities—Los Angeles-based Pacific Enterprises, the parent company of Southern California Gas Co., and Enova Corporation, the parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric—with histories dating back more than a century. Sempra Energy operates two business segments—Sempra Utilities and Sempra Infrastructure—with six principal subsidiaries. Sempra Utilities owns and operates electric and gas utilities in the U.S. and South America, Luz del Sur in Peru, and Chilquinta Energía in Chile. Sempra Infrastructure invests in, develops, and operates long-term contracted energy infrastructure in the U.S. and Mexico. Its subsidiaries include Sempra Renewables, Sempra LNG & Midstream, and Sempra Mexico.