The Tecnológico de Monterrey, the company Agrosuper S.A. and the Pacific Alliance invite Science and Technology Startups from the Pacific Alliance that have solutions for water scarcity and efficiency in animal breeding processes and processing plants to participate in the Open Call “Innovation Challenges for Sustainable Agriculture”.

The open call aims to identify startups that have technological solutions and can develop a Minimum Viable Product in 3 months to solve water scarcity and efficiency in animal breeding processes and processing plants. The goal is to implement the solution under an open innovation model with the participation of the startup, researchers from the Water Center for Latin America and the Caribbean (CAALCA) of the Tecnológico de Monterrey and the Chilean company Agrosuper S.A.

The open call seeks a solution to the following challenges:

Recovery/reuse of process water with the goal of having a closed water cycle.

Products/processes to decrease water consumption involved in process plant cleaning.

Water treatment solutions.

Technologies aimed at energy efficiency in refrigeration and freezing systems in industrial plants.

• For more information, please visit: https://ieegl.brightidea.com/ConvocatoriaRetoAgriculturaAP
• Project registration: https://bit.ly/RegistroRetoAgricultura
• Effective Date: March 10th to 24th, 2023 (23:59 hrs. Central Mexico time)
• Questions and information: delfina_gb@tec.mx

This program is coordinated by the TransferenciAP Network and the Science, Technology and Innovation Technical Group of the Pacific Alliance.

March 13th, 2023.- The Technical Subgroup on Measurement, Reporting,  and Verification (SGT-MRV) of the Pacific Alliance, with the sponsorship of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and the technical support of Gold Standard, held on March 7th, the second in a series of four virtual technical workshops aimed at increasing knowledge and practical experience on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The meeting, in which more than 40 experts participated, delved into the economic instruments available under Article 6 for cooperation between countries in the global reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The first workshop focused on ‘authorization’, a practice that allows for one of the Parties involved to generate a statement that the mitigation results obtained can be used for the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of a different Party, and/or can be used for international mitigation purposes beyond the use for an NDC. The second workshop, on the other hand, addressed ‘corresponding adjustments’, or the practice whereby a Party applies an accounting adjustment for each Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcome (ITMO).

Although the attendees to the workshops are nominated by each country, the SGT-MRV will publish the material of each of the workshops on the official website of the Pacific Alliance. All the material related to the first workshop -technical documents, presentation, and summary- is already available on the web page, which can be accessed through the following link: https://alianzapacifico.net/grupotecnico-medio-ambiente/ (choose tab SUBGROUP MEASUREMENT, REPORTING AND VERIFICATION).

The next workshop will address the topic of ‘records and their interoperability’, and will be held virtually on April 4th.

Thus, the SGT-MRV continues to develop the objectives defined in its coordination framework, aligned with its goal to consolidate and harmonize the technical capacities of the Pacific Alliance countries and to advance towards harmonized standards and protocols for monitoring, policy reporting, and mitigation, adaptation, and climate actions among these countries.

March 9th, 2023.- More than 250 teachers and 17 vocational training centers participated in a diagnostic report on the level of digital competencies of technical and vocational education (TVE) teachers in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, prepared by the OEI.

At the end of November, the diagnostic report of the project “Teacher Training in Digital Competencies in Technical Vocational Education (TVE) in the Pacific Alliance countries (Colombia, Chile, Mexico, and Peru)” -the second phase of the Strengthening of TVE Public Policies in the Pacific Alliance project-, financed by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation ( AECID), was completed, with the ultimate goal of supporting the design of a competency-based training program to improve the quality of teaching practice in these countries.

The project involved 265 teachers from 17 middle and high level vocational training centers in the countries that are part of this bloc.

In this diagnostic phase, the focus was placed both on the infrastructures of the educational centers and on the training and development of the digital competencies of the trainers. Different instruments were used for this purpose. First of all, the publications and products of phase 1 of the project and the inputs identifying the main training needs in the field of digital skills, carried out by the countries at the national level, were analyzed. In this regard, the roadmap document on digital transformation, developed by the IEO in 2021, helped to identify indicators for the diagnosis.

Afterwards, information was collected from 265 teachers through an online questionnaire with questions on the six areas on which the DigComEdu framework is based on the identification of teachers’ digital competence (professional engagement, digital resources, digital pedagogy, digital assessment, empowering students, and facilitating students’ digital competence). Finally, virtual interviews were held with the leaders of 14 of the 17 participating schools. With these interviews it was possible to triangulate the information gathered through the inputs of the previous project and that collected through the questionnaires answered by the teachers.

Some results obtained

The analysis of the information collected identified the level of competence of teachers in the six areas mentioned for each country. Thus, at the global level, it can be deduced that there are no teachers at the lowest level (A1), while 12% are at level A2; most of the sample is at level B1 with 53%, leaving 27% for level B2 and only 8% for advanced level C1.

The diagnosis indicates that for the four countries, it is important to standardize a common framework of digital competencies for teachers that will facilitate to help them to level up and thus define and program the continuous training that will be provided.

Regarding literacy, digital culture and the incorporation of digital competencies into the educational offer, the report highlights that the promotion of digital culture in institutions is an ongoing process in the Pacific Alliance, but that it is advancing slowly, while at the same time it points out a greater effort in digital training in secondary education than in higher education. Teachers in the four countries assume training in digital transformation as part of their professional practice, although it is from the administration or management of the centers where they are assigned.

Other conclusions warn that collaboration and exchange of good practices are still unresolved issues in practically all countries; likewise, the most repeated slogan indicates that it is not a matter of having knowledge of digitization and digital tools, but of knowing how to apply it to teaching practice. Finally, it is highlighted the need to promote partnerships with the private sector to obtain advantageous conditions for equipment, software, and connectivity, as well as to acquire other devices in addition to computers and tablets in educational centers.

These results will serve as a basis for the development of a virtual training offer to be delivered from the Virtual Classroom of the Ibero-American Institute for Training and Learning for Cooperation of the OEI during the year 2023.

Review the Diagnostic Report on Training Needs in Professional Technical Education on Digital Competencies in the Pacific Alliance countries.

Source: OEI

March 6th, 2023.- The fifth meeting of the Pacific Alliance Network of National Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Institutions (IIPA-AP Network) will be held at the headquarters of the Marine and Coastal Research Institute “José Benito Vives de Andreis” (INVEMAR), located in the city of Santa Marta, Colombia, from March 15th to 17th, 2023.

The objective of this meeting organized by the Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP, Chile), with support from INVEMAR, is to develop a Work Plan for the 2023-2024 period, based on the priority issues defined by the institutions in a previous meeting held in September 2022. These topics include, among others, Ecosystem Approach, Climate Change, and Biodiversity. This Plan will allow progress in achieving the objectives of the network by promoting the development of joint scientific programs, the training of specialized human resources, and the exchange of experts between institutions, which will in turn progressively advance toward the best generation of scientific knowledge in fisheries and aquaculture for the sustainable management of these resources in the countries of the Pacific Alliance.

The meeting will be attended by the Directors of IFOP, Chile, Mr. Gonzalo Pereira Puchy; INVEMAR, Colombia, Mr. Francisco Arias Isaza; the National Fisheries Institute of Mexico (INAPESCA), Mr. Pablo Arenas Fuentes; and the President of the Board of Directors of the Institute of the Sea of Peru (IMARPE), Mr. Jorge Paz Acoste. Also attending the meeting will be the focal points of each institution, and representatives of the National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development of Argentina (INIDEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

February 9, 2023.- Within the framework of cooperation relations between the Pacific Alliance and Japan, nineteen young diplomats and government officials from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru visited Japan as part of the Together Program.

As part of this activity, the PA representatives visited the Japanese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Shunsuke Takei, who welcomed their participation and affirmed that the Pacific Alliance is an important ally, as well as a partner to work and grow together with within the framework of relations of cooperation and friendship.

Minister Takei also pointed out that this edition of the Together Program provides his country with the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience in disaster prevention and mitigation issues, as well as initiatives that use ICTs.

For their part, representatives of the delegations expressed their gratitude for this invitation and highlighted the relevant points on what was learned through the program.

It was also highlighted that this kind of activity allows to strengthen further the relationship between Japan and the Pacific Alliance, as well as the possibility of future cooperation with this integration mechanism.

Japan joined the Pacific Alliance as an Observer State in January 2013.

January 24, 2023.-  On January 24, 25 and 26, the fifth and last thematic forum of the PA-EFE Program will take place, the “Capitalization Forum: Celebration of results and impacts, exchange of good practices and looks to the future”, which will bring together some 150 people from the four countries of the Pacific Alliance and Canada, in Mexico City.

This three-day forum will give all the partners and allies of the Program the opportunity to reflect together and share the innovation experiences, approaches and tools developed in the Program’s projects, during the last seven years; make visible the impact of the PA-EFE in the region and promote the sustainability of the achievements and good practices of the Program.

The topics of the Forum will be developed focusing on the four axes established in the methodological proposal for the capitalization of the Program: Collaboration and harmonization in the PA region; Access and valorization of TVET; TVET Quality; and Services to companies and the community. As well as the cross-cutting issues of the Program: Gender Equality and Inclusion and Environmental Sustainability.

Denise Amyot, President and CEO of CiCAN

“We are delighted to bring together in Mexico City, in person and virtually, all the partners of the PA-EFE Program, our partners from the PA countries, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, and all our members from Canada that participated in the institutional alliances of the Program, for this last Program Capitalization Forum, which will be a key opportunity to celebrate the results and impacts of this seven-year Program (2016-2023) and share good practices and innovation experiences, that will allow the formulation of recommendations for the sustainability and continuity of the activities initiated or strengthened by the Program. I am proud of the results and impacts of this Program, thanks to the valuable, excellent collaboration and participation of all the partners”.

The National Coordination of Mexico recognizes and values ​​the work that has been carried out over seven years of joint collaboration CICan – Pacific Alliance, a space that has made it possible to increase socioeconomic opportunities for women and men, in a sustainable and inclusive extractive sector in PA countries, focusing its attention on the issues of education, gender, indigenous peoples and the environment. This collaboration has allowed the exchange of experiences for the formulation of public policies that contribute to the development and improvement of our societies.

Graeme C. Clark, Canadian Ambassador to Mexico

“Today’s forum is an opportunity to establish a valuable dialogue between the multiple parties involved to capitalize on the different projects that have been carried out within this initiative. Together we can positively contribute to the economic development and long-term prosperity of our countries, while ensuring equitable management of natural resources and taking into account the protection of the environment”.

The Forum will be held in a hybrid mode, that is, in person in Mexico City, and with open and free virtual access, for three days. The Forum’s methodology will be reflective, formative and participatory. Simultaneous interpretation services and opportunities to ask questions will be offered, both for the participants present and for those who follow the forum virtually.

Sign up here: https://enketo.ona.io/x/zmSjoazO

December 26, 2022.- “Opportunities and challenges in language education outside the urban context” was the name of the discussion organized by the English Network of the Pacific Alliance (RIAP in Spanish), which had more than 50 participants. This event was attended by authorities from the education sector of the four member states (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru) and Dr. Jennifer Macdonald, Director of English Language Studies and University Access at Dalhousie University in Canada.

The conversation focused on English language teaching methodologies, specifically on the Content and Language Integrated Learning methodology, also known as CLIL or Content and Foreign Language Integrated Learning. Likewise, the implementation and use of technologies in linguistic education outside the urban context was addressed, where some virtual exchange dynamics were reviewed, as well as existing barriers.

Those present participated actively in the development of the conversation. Afterwards, they worked in groups on questions previously proposed by the Canadian expert. The Technical Education Group thanked Dr. Macdonald for organizing the meeting and for the participation of both Dr. Macdonald and Canada as an Observer State of the Pacific Alliance. Finally, the RIAP Technical Secretariat called for dissemination of the Network in order to jointly strengthen it among the Member States and Observers. The Technical Secretariat of the RIAP is in charge of Chile until December 2023.

December 20, 2022.- Hungary offers high-quality education with a safe and friendly living environment in the heart of Europe. Hungary is also among the top countries with the highest number of scientific Nobel laureates per capita and numerous scientific inventions, from vitamin C to the Rubik’s cube.

Therefore, we are pleased to present the 2023/2024 call for the Hungarian Government scholarship program within the framework of the Pacific Alliance. Eight scholarships will be awarded, two for each member country, to carry out studies in this country. The call will be open until January 16, 2023.

The Student and Academic Mobility Platform of the Pacific Alliance, which purpose is to contribute to the formation of human capital in the four countries, offers the possibility of carrying out bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral studies or non-graduate programs (preparation and specialization courses) on issues related to agriculture, land management, wildlife, among other related issues.

The studies will be carried out in person at one of the 28 Higher Education Institutions that participate in the Hungarian Stipendium Hungaricum Program. The minimum required documents must be entered into the online system set up by the Hungarian government no later than January 16 at 23:59 (Central European Time).

The call for applications and the annexes can be found on the official page: https://stipendiumhungaricum.hu/apply/

The online application system can be accessed here: https://apply.stipendiumhungaricum.hu/

The Application guide for candidates can be found on the following website:

https://stipendiumhungaricum.hu/uploads/2020/03/Application-Guide-for-the-Stipendium-Hungaricum-Programme_2023_24.pdf

The scholarships include academic costs, lodging, medical insurance; in addition, a monthly maintenance in Hungarian national currency will be granted. It is important to clarify that the scholarship does not include tickets to and from the countries of origin of the selected people, who must cover their international air ticket.

CHECK HERE FOR THE BASES OF THE CALL