October 14, 2021: Partners of the Americas, the U.S. Mission in Brazil, and the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S. Department of State announce the launch of a new 100,000 Strong in the Americas (100K) Innovation Fund grant competition with generous support from the National Service of Industrial Training (SENAI) in Brazil and the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. This latest Innovation Fund competition is the result of collaboration between the Department of State (WHA), the U.S. Mission-Brazil, Partners of the Americas, and SENAI.
This new Innovation Fund competition will provide up to six (6) grants to support new partnerships between higher education institutions in the United States and Brazil, with a special emphasis on including SENAI Institutes throughout Brazil. Teams of higher education institutions in the United States and Brazil are invited to form partnerships to create exchange programs that will lead to innovative training and workforce development opportunities for students at both their home and host institutions.
In support of this new grant competition, Douglas Koneff, Chargé D’Affaires, U.S. Embassy-Brazil, stated: “the Innovation Fund is a pillar of the U.S. government’s development strategy in the Western Hemisphere. Through public-private partnerships and commitments by governments and partners, we seek to harness the power of education to transform societies, provide opportunity, and stimulate economic growth. This is the second time that SENAI has partnered with the U.S. Department of State and Partners of the Americas to support new partnerships between technological and higher education institutions in Brazil and the United States.”
Rafael Lucchesi, Director General of SENAI, commented: “Combined funding from SENAI and the U.S. Department of State will allow teams of Brazilians and U.S. institutions and students to seek for solutions of real-world problems in a collaborative and multi-cultural environment. We are happy to find partners with a shared vision at the U.S. State Department, U.S. Embassy-Brazil, and Partners of the Americas. I hope to see these teams collaborating in innovative solutions that bring the U.S. and Brazil closer together through the 100K Innovation Fund.”
In the last seven years, Brazil has become the third leading country in this signature hemisphere-wide initiative to form partnerships with U.S. colleges and universities to implement new models of student exchange and training programs in both countries. To date, the Innovation Fund has awarded 24 grants to 157 higher education institutions working in teams in 43 U.S states and 13 Brazilian states. 100K partnerships give students more opportunities to gain technical, linguistic, and cross-cultural skills imperative for workforce development.
Thematic areas in this new 100K Brazil-USA Innovation Fund competition include: Environment and Climate Solutions; Health Sciences and Public Health; Artificial Intelligence; Internet of Things; Cloud Computing; Education Technology (Distance/Virtual Education); Food and Agricultural Sciences; Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH); Biotechnology; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), among others.
Teams of higher education institutions in the United States and Brazil are invited to submit grant proposals to Partners of the Americas by the application deadline of February 15, 2021.
For more details, please see the Request for Proposals (RFP): www.100kstrongamericas.org/grants.
The 100,000 Strong in the Americas (100K) Innovation Fund is the public-private sector collaboration between the U.S. Department of State and Partners of the Americas working with U.S. embassies, foundations, companies, regional government entities, and education networks to create new partnerships and exchange programs between the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere. The 100K Innovation Fund is the signature hemispheric-wide initiative to stimulate cross-sector collaboration and harness the power of education to provide inclusive education opportunities.
As of August 2021, after 32 competitions in seven years (2014-2020), the Innovation Fund has awarded 266 grants ($25,000-$35,000 each) thus far to teams of 520 higher education institutions working in 25 countries and 49 U.S. states. As a result of 100K Innovation Fund partnerships, more students and faculty have access to innovative, regional training and exchange programs. The regional 100K network currently includes over 2,300 higher education institutions — including more than 1,200 universities and colleges in the United States.
To Join and apply: www.100KStrongAmericas.org / Follow: #100KStrongAmericas
The mission of Partners of the Americas is to connect people and organizations across and within 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 nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with international offices in Washington, D.C. Learn more at www.partners.net or via Twitter @partnersamerica.
Brazil’s National Service of Industrial Training (SENAI) was founded in 1942 as a private nonprofit institution. It provides technical education aimed at promoting industrial innovation. Its mission is centered on technology transfer, leveraging innovation for promoting industrial innovation. As the largest private technical training network in Latin America, SENAI seeks to add value to products and processes of private sector companies and industries. Currently, SENAI has 1040 vocational training units, 26 innovation institutes, 60 technology institutes, and 189 technological services labs. In 2020, SENAI had more than 2.3 million enrollments at the national level, and SENAI Institutes were responsible for more than 1.5 million lab tests and services. For more information about SENAI, visit www.portaldaindustria.com.br/senai/en/.