Velda Addison, Hart Energy
It was businessman Henry Ford who once said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
This could describe the blossoming relationship between the University of Texas at Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM).
The institutions recently announced they signed an academic and research agreement focusing on earth sciences and engineering. The agreement is one of three new agreements between the two institutions aimed at encouraging student exchanges and collaborative research.
“It highlights the importance of Mexico to the University of Texas at Austin and the mutual academic opportunities created by Mexico’s recent energy reform,” UT said in a news release announcing the latest agreement. “The UT-Austin UNAM relationship also aims to increase the number of students pursuing the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics [STEM] to meet the critical need for engineers and geoscientists created by Mexico’s recently enacted energy reform.”
Mexican officials have admitted that its state-run oil company lacks the expertise needed to develop its deepwater and unconventional oil and gas assets. Growing talent in these areas and
others could go a long way in helping the country capitalize on its natural resources in the future for these and other areas needing to build a workforce skilled in STEM areas.
For now, the downturn caused by falling oil prices has slowed hiring by oil and gas companies, which have cut thousands of jobs recently. But this situation won’t last forever. Now is perhaps as good a time as any for universities to turn up their push to increase the number of engineers, geoscientists and others professionals in short supply that are needed in the energy sector.
“The UT-UNAM agreements offer a tremendous opportunity to develop science, technology and innovation together in strategic topics, so that the already strong partnership between Texas and Mexico can evolve to greater heights,” Sergio M. Alcocer, Mexican undersecretary for North America in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a prepared statement.
In addition to increasing the number of students pursuing degrees in STEM subjects, the partnership will “help facilitate conferences, symposia and joint academic programs and scientific research projects between the universities and the private sector in order to identify and meet shared sustainable energy challenges.” Another goal is to promote the mobility of postgraduate students, researchers and faculty between the two schools.
This collaboration certainly has the potential to lead to success on both sides of the border.
Contact the author, Velda Addison, at vaddison@hartenergy.com.
Recommended Reading
Exclusive: Building Battery Value Chain is "Vital" to Energy Transition
2024-04-18 - Srini Godavarthy, the CEO of Li-Metal, breaks down the importance of scaling up battery production in North America and the traditional process of producing lithium anodes, in this Hart Energy Exclusive interview.
High Interest Rates a Headwind for the Energy Transition
2024-04-18 - Persistent high interest rates will make transitioning to a net zero global economy much harder and more costly, according to Wood Mackenzie Head of Economics Peter Martin.
Scotland Ditches 2030 Climate Target to Cut Emissions by 75%
2024-04-18 - Scotland was constrained by cuts to the capital funding it receives from the British government and an overall weakening of climate ambition by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said Mairi McAllan, the net zero secretary for Scotland's devolved government.
Exclusive: Mitsubishi Power Plans Hydrogen for the Long Haul
2024-04-17 - Mitsubishi Power is looking at a "realistic timeline" as the company scales projects centered around the "versatile molecule," Kai Guo, the vice president of hydrogen infrastructure development for Mitsubishi Power, told Hart Energy's Jordan Blum at CERAWeek by S&P Global.
Google Exec: More Collaboration Needed for Clean Power
2024-04-17 - Tech giant Google has partnered with its peers and several renewable energy companies, including startups, to ramp up the presence of renewables on the grid.