IICA-CONACYT scholarship program to benefit one thousand students by the end of the year

In October of last year, the IICA-CONACYT program held the Seventh Mesoamerican Fair for Quality Mexican Postgraduate Studies in Costa Rica and Colombia, to promote its scholarships for young leaders in the agricultural sector.

San José, 30 May 2016 (IICA). The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) of Mexico estimate that the scholarship program executed by the two entities will reach a total of one thousand scholarship recipients by the end of 2016.

Since the program began in January 2012 and up until May of the current year, a total of 855 students have received scholarships to pursue graduate-level studies at prestigious universities in Mexico, allowing them to strengthen their technical capabilities.

This is some of the information provided in a report on the progress and results of this initiative throughout its four years of operation. The report attests to the program’s success and proves it is a relevant option for leading youth within the agricultural sector who wish to enrich their knowledge and contribute to modernizing agriculture in their countries.

“Young people have shown a great deal of interest in strengthening their capacities through cutting-edge and high-quality agricultural programs like those offered in Mexico. Agriculture in the Americas must become more competitive, inclusive and environmentally-friendly, and must also incorporate technology to improve yields. All of these elements come into play in the scholarships offered by the IICA-CONACYT program, which provides solid training that contributes to agriculture in each nation,” stated Franklin Marín, Coordinator of IICA’s Center for the Promotion of Technical Capabilities and Leadership.

Between January and May 2016 alone, the program granted scholarships to 105 new students from 14 IICA member countries. The country that benefited the most from the initiative was Colombia, with a total of 65 scholarship recipients, followed by Venezuela with eight, Ecuador with five and Haiti with four. Additionally, the number of Central American scholarship recipients rose to 13 during this period.

The Mesoamerican Fair for Quality Mexican Postgraduate Studies, held in Costa Rica and Colombia in October 2015, played a big part in further promoting the scholarship program. The fairs attracted over 3,000 visitors, of which 1,154 expressed an interest in becoming beneficiaries of this academic initiative.

This year, the fairs will be held in the same month, but in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Medellín, Colombia. The same record attendance and interest on the part of youth is expected.

Numerous benefits

The joint effort between the Institute and CONACYT has produced 109 graduates: 83 have obtained a Master’s degree, 22 have obtained Doctoral degrees, and four have become specialists. These professionals have been trained in priority areas for IICA; upon returning to their home countries, they will be able to drive an agricultural paradigm that focuses on greater competitiveness, sustainability and equity.

CONACYT is a decentralized state organization responsible for promoting and strengthening the scientific development and technological modernization of Mexico, by funding and creating scholarship programs, implementing policies that support scientific research, and providing high-level training to professionals.

More information: franklin.marin@iica.int

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