March 2, 2022: The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Embassies, and Partners of the Americas announce twelve new grant-winning teams between universities and colleges in the United States with higher education institutions in Central America and the Dominican Republic in the 100,000 Strong in the Americas (100K) Innovation Fund competition sponsored by AgroAmerica and the U.S. Department of State. The 100K Innovation Fund is the signature public-private sector collaboration between the U.S. Department of State, U.S. embassies, and Partners of the Americas working with companies, foundations, and regional academic networks to champion the power of education and create access to innovative training programs between the United States with Latin America and the Caribbean. The 100K Innovation Fund inspires U.S. universities and colleges to partner with regional higher education institutions to design and implement new models of academic exchange programs for underserved students throughout the Americas.
AgroAmerica, based in Guatemala with a regional presence, joined the Department of State to stimulate and support partnerships to create innovative, inclusive training programs for underserved students in public health, environment, climate, engineering, entrepreneurship, and other timely areas. The 100K winning teams announced today will engage 25 higher education institutions in six countries – Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic – in partnerships with a diversity of U.S. colleges and universities to create 12 new exchange programs that will impact hundreds of students in the United States, Central America, and the Dominican Republic during 2022-2023.
“At AgroAmérica, we know that the challenges we face as a region must be addressed jointly, with strategic alliances that are focused on generating prosperity for the United States, Central America, and the Dominican Republic. For this reason, we are proud to be part of the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund, to ensure that diverse students have the opportunity to make a positive impact on our societies. To the students who are part of the winning teams, I want to encourage you to continue working to successfully implement these academic development exchange programs throughout the region.” – AgroAmerica CEO Fernando Bolaños.
“Together, with contributions of the U.S. Department of State and Partners of the Americas, the generous support from AgroAmerica is providing opportunities for Central American and Dominican universities to build sustainable partnerships with their U.S. counterparts. The partnerships we are creating will innovate, educate, and empower. The winning programs we announce today are dynamic and ambitious. From public health to conservation, to entrepreneurship; these 100K programs are a starting point for addressing some of the most significant challenges and exciting opportunities facing our communities.” – U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala William W. Popp.
Profiles of new 100K Innovation Fund teams between United States with Central America and the Dominican Republic:
Alamo Colleges District, San Antonio, Texas, United States
Universidad Veritas, Zapote, San José, Costa Rica
Symbiosis: Alamo Colleges and Universidad Veritas Environmental Exchange
In this program, students will work together to exchange cultural information and analyze urban water and local natural resource issues. Through a COIL course, students will assess local environmental problems in the other country before traveling abroad to work in teams. During the 100K exchange program, students will participate in service learning and field-based activities in natural resource management.
Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, United States
Universidad Tecnológica de Honduras, San Pedro Sula, Cortés, Honduras
Building Bridges through Tech-Based Startups:
Cultivating Hope and Creating Future for Young Entrepreneurs
This program combines global learning with economic development and innovation by building an international network of students, faculty, local entrepreneurs, and NGOs in the U.S. and Honduras. The program will combine in-person and virtual exchanges and culminate in a “pitch competition,” in which students will present their innovative solutions. Through this program, entrepreneurial-minded students in Honduras will be able dedicate their talents toward betterment of their communities and create prosperity and hope — a cornerstone solution to the issue of migration from Honduras.
College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Universidad Estatal a Distancia, San José, San José, Costa Rica
From the Desert to the Rainforest:
US-Costa Rica Exchange to Foster International Comparative Analysis of Climate Change
This collaboration will prepare students from underserved populations to address climate change in both arid and tropical environments. Through this 100K exchange between Costa Rica and the U.S., students will practice STEM-based techniques of conducting independent research, understanding scientific literature, and analyzing different types of ecosystems effectively within various ecological, cultural and academic contexts. This 100K program will prepare them to become leaders in careers in land planning, land management, and environmental sciences.
Mercer University, McDonough, Georgia, United States
Universidad Central del Este, San Pedro de Macorís, San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic
Building an Inclusive and Individualized Pedagogy:
A Partnership between Mercer University and Universidad Central Del Este
Mercer University and Universidad Central del Este have partnered to create a teacher education student exchange program. This program aims to increase student awareness of global education opportunities, enhance pre-service teacher candidates’ intercultural competency awareness and skills, develop pre-service teacher candidates’ understanding of multiple student perspectives and responsiveness to student cultural context needs in pedagogical content delivery, and provide opportunities for students to develop presentation and “train the trainer” skills.
Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Instituto Especializado de Profesionales de la Salud, San Salvador, San Salvador, El Salvador
Cultural Heroes: An Interdisciplinary Experience in Community Health and
Sustainable Development for Social Entrepreneurship in the U.S. and El Salvador
Through this program, participants from the higher education institution in El Salvador will be integrated into a faculty-led program in the U.S. by the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) training component. Students in both countries will develop new critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as learn how to propose and execute social entrepreneurship programs. Students will work together in bi-national teams to improve teamwork skills and assessment while promoting multicultural and second language awareness. Morgan State is a leading HBCU in the United States.
Quality Leadership University, Panama City, Panama
Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois, United States
Collaborative Cross-Cultural Learning to Enhance Global Problem-Solving Skills
This program will virtually integrate cohorts of International Business students from Quality Leadership University (QLU), located in Panama, with students from Illinois State University (ISU) located in the United States. Layered on the virtual connections will be a two-way mobility for a diverse sub-group of students and faculty to interact with each other in their home and host institutions. Student connections will be framed by cultural theory and practice in a workplace setting, along with various assignments that will provide structure for students to interact in dyads and groups across their cultures.
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States
Universidad Tecnológica de Honduras, San Pedro Sula, Cortés, Honduras
Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Convergence Research to Tackle Grand Challenges:
A Unified Response to the Contamination of the Rio Motagua Basin
This innovative program will provide training in convergence research by building interdisciplinary teams to successfully tackle challenges for students from the U.S., Honduras, and Guatemala. Students and faculty from each institution will complete an in-person exchange to strengthen their connections and collaboration. In addition, these visits will be used to outline further collaborative activities such as COIL and study abroad opportunities to further the objectives of the program.
The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., United States
Universidad Federada San Judas Tadeo, San José, San José, Costa Rica
Bridging the Gap in Healthcare:
Linguistic and Cultural Training for Professionals and Students in Costa Rica and the USA
In this virtual and in-person hybrid program, nursing students from both universities will have the opportunity to train at their partner institution. This program addresses the barriers that typically prevent nursing students from pursuing international education experiences by offering language coursework that is specific to healthcare professionals while focusing on practical and career-oriented skills.
Tompkins Cortland Community College (TCCC), Dryden, New York, United States
Universidad Federico Henríquez y Carvajal (UFHC), Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic
Cultivating Reciprocal Education through Sustainable Exchange (CRESE)
This collaborative program will develop both virtual and in-person exchange experiences that will will allow students to learn about the different regional and cultural approaches to sustainable agriculture in their host countries. As these students move into their professional careers, this partnership will allow graduates to advocate for sustainable development from a global perspective.
Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States
Academic Exchange for Sustainability Through Design
This program will allow students to design and apply sustainable solutions in the fields of water, waste, and energy from the lens of vulnerable communities. The program will improve students’ cross-cultural skills, develop a deeper understanding of American and Guatemalan contexts, and facilitate learning to work in teams with students from other cultures and contexts.
University of Southern Indiana (USI), Evansville, Indiana, United States
Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá (UTP), Panama City, Panama
Developing Innovative Solutions to Global Environmental Challenges through a Multicultural Biomimicry-based Design Thinking Approach:
USI and UTP Partnership for Joint Research and Exchange
Through this program, participating students will conduct research focused on innovative solutions to environmental/climate issues through a multicultural, biomimicry-based design-thinking approach. This exchange program will provide students and faculty from both institutions with essential hands-on experience working together, cross-cultural understanding, and creative problem solving and innovation.
William Rainey Harper College, Palatine, Illinois, United States
Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Campus Sarapiquí, Heredia, Heredia, Costa Rica
Global Learning through Online Virtual Exchange:
Transforming Teaching and Training through Immersive International Education Experiences
This program aims to create an intercultural partnership that takes an experiential, virtual-learning approach to innovation in teaching, training, and intercultural exchange. The partnership is grounded in improving technological literacy, global awareness, and intercultural competence among students from populations typically underrepresented in traditional international exchanges.
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100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund is the public-private sector collaboration between the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and Partners of the Americas, working with companies, foundations, NGOs, regional government entities, and academic networks in the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere to create innovative partnerships that result in new models of regional exchange and training programs. The Innovation Fund is the trusted USG-branded mechanism between governments, businesses, foundations, and academia to support this hemispheric-wide education initiative to build partnerships, strengthen institutional capacity, and increase access for underserved students to innovative academic exchange programs.
100K Innovation Fund partnerships build institutional capacity and expand access to opportunities for students to work in teams, solve real-world problems, and gain technical skills for workforce development. As of March 2022, after 31 grant competitions since 2014, the Innovation Fund has awarded 278 grants ($25,000-$35,000 each) to 534 higher education institutions working in teams in 25 countries and 49 U.S. States. Currently, over 2,300 higher education institutions have joined the Innovation Network – including 1,300 universities and colleges in the United States.
JOIN the 100K Network and Learn more: www.100kstrongamericas.org
Follow: #100KStrongAmericas
The mission of Partners of the Americas is to connect people and organizations across borders to serve and to change lives through lasting partnerships. These partnerships create opportunity, foster understanding, and solve real-life problems. Inspired by President Kennedy and founded in 1964, under the Alliance for Progress, Partners is a non-profit, non-partisan organization with international offices in Washington, DC. Learn more at www.partners.net or via Twitter @partnersamerica.
AgroAmerica is a Sustainable Food Producer committed to contributing to the well-being of people and the environment. We accomplish this through innovation and technological investment to develop high-quality products and the execution of our Corporate Sustainability Strategy. AgroAmerica promotes national and international cooperation by aligning its actions to the Sustainable Development Goals, thus revitalizing global partnerships to achieve our goals. For more information about AgroAmerica, visit https://agroamerica.com/en/home/.
Press contact: Rachel Falek | rfalek@partners.net