09 Sep 2025
From September 2 to 4, the National Autonomous University of Mexico held the 2025 International Conference on Scholarships and Academic Cooperation. The event was organized by the Dirección General de Orientación y Atención Educativa, the Dirección General de Cooperación e Internacionalización, and the Office of Graduate Studies. It brought together UNAM authorities, international representatives from universities around the world, and students who shared their experiences as scholarship recipients.
The conference fostered discussion on topics such as education, academic cooperation, public education policies, partnerships, and scholarships. It also created opportunities for international institutional collaboration, the exchange of best practices, and the presentation of innovative strategies to expand student mobility.
Elvira de Mejía, Director of the I-MAÁS Program (Mexican and Mexican American Student Initiative) at the University of Illinois System, emphasized the importance of strengthening ties between U.S. and Mexican universities—particularly with UNAM—in order to advance high-impact projects in priority areas such as energy, health, nutrition, and sustainability. She highlighted how students and researchers from both countries are actively shaping the next generation of leaders.
In their presentation, UNAM Chicago’s Academic Secretary and Mobility Coordinator addressed the challenges of student mobility from Mexico to the United States. They outlined two strategic partnership models designed to promote UNAM graduates’ participation in U.S. institutions: one with the University of Illinois System and another with the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Spirit Cultural Exchange, a state-accredited institution for visa management.
The results of the last two years of UNAM’s PITAAE program (Program to Support Degree Completion through Academic Activities Abroad) were also presented: a 100% graduation rate for 2023 scholarship recipients and, to date, a 60% graduation rate for the 2024 cohort.
