Feature Article
Mexican doctoral students who attended the second UC MEXUS-CONACYT Doctoral Fellows Symposium on May 29 at UC Riverside heard updates about the social, political and educational developments that Mexico has undergone during their absence and what impact these changes might have in years to come. They also learned that Mexico considers them to be one of the country's success stories. Roberto Contreras Zarate, director for evaluation and innovation at Consejo Nacional Autónoma de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), told the students that they are part of "one of the most successful programs we have" and that CONACYT considers this program as an investment with great benefit for Mexico.
On a broader scale, the main speaker of the day, Judith Zubieta García, currently a researcher at Mexico's Institute for Social Research (IISUNAM), provided an analysis of government priorities in its investments in higher education, and a sense of more overreaching national and international issues. Despite ample evidence that scientific advances have a significant impact on the economic, social, cultural, and health aspects of societies worldwide, Mexico lacks a science and technology policy designed to meet those needs, she said. In fact, over the last decade the country has shifted its focus from striving to meet international academic standards and improving the quality of national postgraduate education to placing restrictions on basic research.
Zubieta told students that a national science and technology policy would provide much needed guidance for knowledge-based economic development based on the responsible use of technology. Policy-driven educational development would focus technical capability on strategic sectors and on those that meet basic needs, along with supporting a business community that uses well-paid employees to contribute to regional development and innovation. Such a national policy also is needed to focus priorities on providing basic necessities such as food, health, education, and so that cultural diversity can flourish.
Her call for reforms was echoed by two former UC MEXUS students now working in academia in Mexico. UC MEXUS Director Exequiel Ezcurra said he admired the work of former dissertation grant recipient John Ackerman before he knew of his ties to UC MEXUS because his work on issues of secrecy and accountability in government data was so fundamental to the vital issues facing Mexico. Ackerman, a researcher at the Institute of Legal Research at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), turned his attention to the current Mexican political process, taking issue with critics of Mexican society who argue that Mexico should follow western models of democracy typified by trust of government institutions, political stability and technical expertise. On the contrary, Ackerman said, Mexico's particular history means that its strength comes from "la cultura del sospechismo" (the culture of suspicion) which ensures that citizens do not easily accept official reports. Although the marches in the street when unsuccessful presidential hopeful Andrés Manuel López Obrador challenged the results of the election may be what Ackerman called "messy," they signal a rejection of the monopolistic politics of the former one-party system. He also called to task the current government for violating the constitution by denying citizens access to public documents that they have a right to view under the law and by using the military at will without following the required legal authorizations.
His call for transparency in government and freedom of information was echoed by former doctoral fellow Irma Eréndira Sandoval, a researcher at the Institute of Social Research and director of Laboratory of Documentation and Analysis of Corruption and Transparency, UNAM. She and Ackerman both graduated from UC Santa Cruz with doctorates in political science. Eréndira Sandoval took issue with what she called the "cancer of corruption" in the government, which she charged with mishandling the economy and hiding the disastrous results. Political corruption, she said, was so severe that most Mexicans believed that the government was in collusion with the criminals.
Alumni with diverse experiences in the international job market discussed how they secured their positions, a pressing issue for many students who are approaching the end of their programs. Those for whom jobs close to family and friend are scarce face difficult choices. But sometimes, alumni assured them, they can support their country and their families even if they work abroad.
"Ask yourself where you are going to be most useful," said Luis Estrada Straffón, a political advisor to the Mexican Minister of the Interior, who graduated from UC San Diego with a doctorate in political science. He said he had made that decision early in his doctoral studies and had designed his dissertation with a return to Mexico in mind. "Make sure your dissertation is rigorously scientific because it's your job application," he said. Estrada also maintained constant contact with his sources in Mexico, something that fellow alumnus Victor Ruiz Vera, professor and researcher at Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus San Luis Potosí, endorsed. Ruiz, who graduated from UC Riverside with a doctorate in environmental science, was already guaranteed had a position in teaching and research in agricultural science on his return. But he advised making contact with an institution and getting to know the researchers in advance of their job search. Academic hiring in Mexico is not a formal process as it is in the United States, he said. It is important to network. "Don't isolate yourselves in your labs," he said. "Keep current with your contacts in Mexico. Go back and visit them. If we don't know you are there we can't consider you."
The process for U.S. academic hiring appeared less dependent on personal contact, according to Ivonne del Valle Wiarco, an assistant professor of Spanish at the University of Michigan, who graduated from UC Berkeley with a doctorate in Spanish and Portuguese. In the United States jobs are broadly advertised, especially at professional conventions where short interviews are conducted and campus interviews are set up. The important issue is to find a department where you think you work will be well received and it will be a good fit, she said.
The choices were perhaps simpler for Veronica Aguilar Guerrero, who wanted to go into industry after graduating from UC Davis with a doctorate in chemical engineering and material science, and didn't see that option open to her in Mexico. She cautioned against being limited by the area of one's dissertation, which she said is often narrow: "Your aptitudes apply to a wide range of areas so don't close yourself off." Now a senior process engineer at Intel Corporation, she said that she found her school's internship and career center to be helpful in finding resources for her job search.
A broader perspective on students' experience at UC was provided by a group of Mexican researchers in a panel called "Building an International Research Career." Director of International Academic Programs Wendy DeBoer referred to the Doctoral Fellows Program as "the ultimate seed program" and the panelists seemed to agree. Lourdes de León Pasquel, professor of linguistics and anthropology at Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social (CIESAS), said the bilingual students were born internationalists, which allowed them to adapt to an ever-changing future. Moreover, she said, they are already set up in networks with other specialists in their fields because they are at high-class universities that are open to interdisciplinary research.
Inserting a mixture of passion and assertiveness helps open doors said Roberto Castro, professor and coordinator of the research program Society and Health at UNAM's Regional Center for Multidisciplinary Research (CRIM). Castro said that he talked himself into an international medical fellowship by showing that his work was health-related. Equally important, he said, was sharing passion for one's work by publishing in international journals. This is especially true in Mexico, agreed Jaime Ruiz García, research professor at the Physics Institute, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, where money for research is not readily available. International colleagues are wonderful potential collaborators and also can help with postdoctoral scholarships and sabbaticals.
Students agreed that the experience of hearing from alumni was enriching as was meeting colleagues from other campuses. CONACYT'S Contreras endorsed their conclusion and exhorted the students to "seguir vinculando."