The 100,000 Strong in the Americas 100K Innovation Fund encourages institutions of higher learning to seek new models of cross-cultural academic and workforce development.
Funded by Fundación Banorte, led by Chairman Carlos Hank González, as well as Fundación Gruma, and the U.S. Department of State, the Innovation Fund’s latest project invited students from California State University, Fresno, and Universidad Panamericana, Campus Aguascalientes, Mexico to learn together in the field of agricultural sustainability and rural economic development.
In June 2022, 12 students from Fresno State and Panamericana spent one week on each campus to explore the supply chain of the dairy industry. Accompanied by two faculty members, students visited Leprino Foods in Lemoore, California and San Jacinto in Aguascalientes, Mexico. They listened to lectures and engaged in activities that allowed them to compare the dairy production chains in Mexico and California, from milking to marketing. Students made their own cheese and were challenged to develop a new agriculturally sustainable dairy product that would promote the rural economy.
“Banorte is proud to play an essential role in helping these students develop their knowledge of when it comes to environmental practices,” Banorte Chairman González said.
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The 100,000 Strong in the Americas (100K) Innovation Fund is the public-private sector collaboration between the U.S. Department of State, U.S. embassies, and Partners of the Americas working in collaboration with regional private, public, and academic sectors to stimulate innovative partnerships and inclusive exchanges for students and faculty between the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. As of October 2023, after 35 competitions over 10 years, the 100K Strong Innovation Fund has awarded 306 grants ($25,000-$40,000 each) to teams of 572 higher education institutions (HEIs) working across 25 countries and 49 U.S. states. As a result of 100K Strong partnerships, upwards of 9,000 students and faculty have participated in dynamic, inclusive exchange and training programs throughout the Americas. The 100K Network, a virtual platform for higher education collaboration, includes more than 4,000 individual members representing approximately 2,300 HEIs in the Western Hemisphere.
To Join the 100K Network: www.100KStrongAmericas.org // Follow: #100KStrongAmericas
