UC MEXUS-CONACYT 2007 Doctoral Fellows Symposium Synopsis
Symposium Program
For the first time since the inception of the UC MEXUS-CONACYT Doctoral Fellowship program, an all-day symposium for fourth and fifth year fellows from all 10 UC campuses was held at the Riverside campus on June 8, 2007. This event marked an important step in the program's development. To date, the program has supported more than 200 Mexican students pursuing doctoral degrees within the UC system. In recent years, the program has also evolved from being predominantly a funding program to becoming an academic resource for Mexican doctoral students. One of the primary goals of the symposium was to provide an opportunity for past and present senior fellows to collectively engage with each other as part of an emerging network of young binational scholars. UC MEXUS Director Roberto Sánchez-Rodríguez welcomed the group of about 100 and encouraged students to form ties with their counterparts from other campuses and build relationships to develop future collaborations.
An additional goal of the symposium was to address some of the concerns of doctoral fellows wishing to familiarize themselves with changes that have taken place in Mexico during their time abroad. Several scholars from Mexico were invited to discuss changes within the current social, economic, and educational context. A common theme of these presentations was the duality of increasingly expanding opportunities in Mexico coupled with insufficient infrastructure and investment.
Alejandro Nadal Egea, professor of economics at El Colegio de Mexico, pointed out that although Mexico's government and private sector have increased spending in research and development – both in real terms and as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) – economic growth has remained flat compared to other countries. Israel, for example, spends 4.9 percent of GDP on research and development compared to Mexico's 0.4 percent. Combined with heavy debt payments and a focus on low-tech manufacturing, the crucial ingredients for economic growth have been absent.
Manuel Gil Anton, professor of sociology at La Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, emphasized that higher education in Mexico is expanding rapidly. Since 1960, the number of higher educational institutions in Mexico has increased more than 32 fold, putting the goal of higher education within the reach of a quarter of the population. The country has also added new academics at a rate of about 15 per day since 1960. However, while access to education has improved, the system of faculty remuneration has tended to reward superficial indicators of performance rather than encourage a high standard of teaching and research.
José Antonio de la Peña, director adjunto de desarrollo científico y académico of Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), provided an overview of the history of support for science and technology and discussed potential opportunities for new doctoral students. He pointed out that there was reason to be both optimistic and pessimistic about the future of science and technology in Mexico.
On the one hand, the level of investment in science and technology continues to lag behind other countries with similar economic and social characteristics. Levels of education are also comparatively low, with 32 percent of the labor force reporting primary education as the highest level they have achieved, and only 13 percent reporting completion of high school.
However, there has also been substantial and rapid growth in the areas of education and science in general. For example, he said that an "impressive increase" in the number of individuals completing advanced and professional degrees has occurred in the last ten years. Also, compared to other Latin American countries, the rate of publication of articles in scientific journals has rapidly increased within the last four decades, with Mexico now having the 7th fastest rate of improvement in this area. These trends bode well for the future of science in Mexico, de la Peña said: "In the last few years, important changes have taken place. Significant transformation can occur within one generation. This is the message I hope to leave you with today."
Addressing the more practical concerns of students, the symposium also brought together two panels of current and former fellows. A diverse group of former UC MEXUS-CONACYT fellows shared their postgraduate work experiences and directly addressed students' questions about how to contribute to Mexico. Ana Maria Aguilar and Judith A. Frias, both graduates of the UCLA economics doctoral program who are working in Mexico's public sector, said that they earned good salaries, which allowed them to maintain a fairly high standard of living compared to what they might earn elsewhere. Both women also spoke of the lack of gender barriers they encountered in Mexico. "Places weren't as closed as I had thought," said Aguilar who holds a managerial position in the Monetary Research Division of Banco de Mexico. Jose Felipe Martínez, who is currently an assistant professor at UCLA, reflected that one of the potential benefits of working in Mexico was the ability to be recognized as making important contributions to Mexico's higher educational system.
At the same time, alumni pointed out that fellows' future contributions to Mexico need not be limited to postgraduate employment in that country. Javier Guzman Lopez, a 1999 graduate of UC Davis' doctoral program in chemical engineering and an assistant professor at the University of Kansas, assured students that there were ample opportunities to contribute as alumni of the program, even if these opportunities were in the U.S. Martínez concurred, saying "Even if you are here, there are lots of opportunities to get funding to work in Mexico."
Speaking to students' concerns about finding employment upon completion of the doctoral degree, UC Davis alumnus Jose Luis Cardenas, who is currently a research professor at the Universidad de Sonora, and UCR alumnus Juan Carlos Loyola, a full professor at the Instituto Tecnológico de Saltillo, acknowledged the desirability of having contacts with institutions prior to graduating. Loyola contrasted his situation to those of his colleagues who sent out dozens of vitas for employment in the U.S. In Mexico, he said, such a strategy would be less effective for finding academic positions. Instead, he encouraged students to form personal contacts by actively attending events such as conferences and scientific meetings.
The student panel showcased current research that fellows are conducting in their 4th and 5th years of the program. As noted by UC MEXUS Director of International Academic Programs, Wendy DeBoer, "Although the majority of our fellows have presented their research at conferences worldwide, they haven't necessarily spoken explicitly about their work in terms of its binational value. This symposium gives them precisely that opportunity."
Four fellows presented their work and discussed its social and scientific ramifications for Mexico and the U.S.
- Carlos Zavala, who is in his fourth year of his doctoral studies in mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley, spoke about the problem of hydrocarbon emissions and their effects on public health.
- Norma Velazquez Ulloa, a fifth-year doctoral fellow in neurosciences at UC San Diego, discussed her research on the relevance of neuronal development in the amphibian nervous system for understanding and treating nervous system disorders.
- Arturo Vargas Bustamante, who is in his fourth year of doctoral studies at UC Berkeley in health and policy management, spoke about international migration and health expenditure in rural Mexico.
- Arturo Gonzalez Gutierrez, a fifth-year doctoral fellow in computer science at UC Santa Barbara, presented his research on the minimum-length corridor problem and the scientific and social importance of developing an optimal solution.
Fellows who attended the symposium said that the event successfully addressed their concerns and provided fellows with useful information for planning their futures. One fellow commented, "I was surprised by how much it met my own needs as a UC MEXUS-CONACYT scholar and answered important questions." Another indicated that the symposium helped fellows to consider "many important issues that can influence making decisions for the future."