An new initiative bringing together twelve UK and twelve Mexican universities aimed at fostering academic mobility between the two countries was recently launched at the Guadalajara International Book Fair.

Initially proposed by the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID), the Mexico-UK Visiting Chair Initiative will see senior figures from prestigious UK and Mexican universities spend up to two weeks each year working collaboratively to explore new and exciting links in research and teaching. A letter of intent to establish the Visiting Chair was signed during March 2015 in London, witnessed by the President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto, as part of the year of Mexico in the UK and the UK in Mexico.

Professor Pam Thomas, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (People and Public Engagement), who represented Warwick at the Fair in Guadalajara commented:

This is an excellent opportunity for Warwick’s academics to engage with the research community in Mexico, enhance existing partnerships and indeed develop new bilateral opportunities for mobility."

Warwick’s research collaborations with Mexico span all four faculties and include collaborations with the School of Comparative American Studies who link with UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) and Puebla, and Warwick Systems Biology who work with the National Institute of Genomic Medicine (INMEGEN) on a collaboration looking at the genetic and molecular heterogeneity of breast cancer. Warwick Medical School also work with UNAM and our social scientists work with FLACSO’s partner institutes in Mexico. In addition, Warwick Engineering in Biomedicine (WEB) are currently collaborating with researchers at UAM in the field of Biomedical Science.

For further details about the Visiting Chair Initiative, please contact Stephen Williams in the Office for Global Engagement.