Governors from New Mexico and the Mexican state of Sonora signed agreements last week calling for increased collaboration in education and public safety.
The agreements signed by New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and Sonora Gov. Claudia Pavlovich during the annual New Mexico-Sonora Commission meeting in Santa Fe are meant to expand opportunities for university students and researchers on both sides of the border.
Sonoran students will be able to attend some New Mexico universities with reduced tuition, participate in special education programs or receive dual degrees in Mexico and the U.S., says Sergio Espinosa. He’s the director of international affairs in the Sonoran Education Ministry.
“We’re having agreements with students doing dual degrees. Mobility of students, mobility of researchers, teachers. So we have a lot of opportunities,” he said. “We would expect to have students encouraged and see that they can do anything that they put their mind to. And if they take advantage, I think Sonora is going to be a better place.”
He says the push for student exchange between New Mexican and Sonoran universities is part of a long history of cross-border collaboration that benefits both states.
