Western New Mexico University officials met with representatives from the Universidad Pedagogica del Estado de Sinaloa (UPES) in the Silver City campus on Wednesday to sign a memorandum of agreement between the two institutions.
The agreement lays out a plan to offer collaborative projects including joint research projects, staff and faculty exchanges, student exchanges, joint conference and seminar events, and information exchanges.
UPES was established in 2013 and is located on three campuses in the Mexican cities of Culiacan, Los Mochis and Mazatlan. UPES focuses on training education professionals in undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
WNMU proposed offering traditional and online courses for UPES students looking to study English language and other subject matters advancing their education degrees.
“We know how valuable it is for our Mexican students to receive this cultural immersion experience which puts them ahead of their traditional classroom learning counterparts,” said Dr. Imelda Olague, WNMU Director of International Studies. “This method of learning also comes with advantages for our current students such as enriching their academic experiences.”
The latest agreement is one of over a dozen that are opening the door for Mexican university students and faculty to engage in research and study exchanges with WNMU.
The WNMU Language Institute is currently hosting students from the Universidad Tecnologica de Camargo (UTCam) for an eight-week English language immersion program.