Tec and IADB sign partnership to build human capital

The agreements signed between Tec de Monterrey and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) included promoting human capital and cross-cutting environmental actions, as well as gender equality and diversity.

Ernesto Stein, IADB representative in Mexico, and David Garza Salazar, rector and executive president of the Tec, signed a memorandum of understanding that laid the foundations for projects such as innovation districts and digital ventures.

Also included were initiatives for educational innovation, water, regional integration, early childhood, and health, to name but a few.

“We’ve managed to identify several interests that Tec de Monterrey and the Inter-American Development Bank have in common, such as our commitment to socioeconomic development.

“We also share a vision for improving quality of life and, without a doubt, the topic of entrepreneurship. These are just a few examples of the shared areas that we’ll be able to work on together,” said David Garza.

He added that another priority area they will work on will be increasing the efficiency of all efforts deployed to contribute to developing the capacities of human capital in Mexico.

BIDAcademy and Tec Partnership

The objective of signing the memorandum of understanding is to forge a collaborative partnership between the BIDAcademy and the Tec.

“Several gaps widened during the pandemic, education being one of them, and this was a major step backwards in the sector.

“However, it also created great opportunities such as studying online, and we have seen that this is now also part of Tec de Monterrey’s DNA,” said Stein in this regard.

“We’ve identified several interests that the Tec and the IADB have in common, such as our commitment to socioeconomic development.” - David Garza

BIDAcademy is a digital learning platform which promotes sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean by developing skills.

This agreement adds to other initiatives and projects, all linked to the topics of innovation and entrepreneurship, being worked on jointly by both institutions.

Mexican and Latin American challenges

As part of the visit, the IADB representative and the president of the Tec held a discussion in which they described the main economic and social challenges faced by Mexico and Latin America.

“Latin America is a region of the world where there is a high percentage of young people who neither study nor work, and the pandemic has increased this, which has become a challenge in terms of learning and human talent,” Garza explained.

Ernesto Stein added that the pandemic has worsened quality of life for the most vulnerable groups, directly impacting regional growth.

“Latin America had negative growth of minus 7.3% in 2020 alone, while it was minus 8.2% in Mexico specifically.

“However, we can’t say that everything was bad because it opened the door to new development opportunities and improvements for import businesses and foreign investment, for example,” Stein said.

Regional economic development in Mexico

In the talk attended by students, professors, and part of the Tec community, Ernesto Stein also addressed the topic of economic development in Mexico, focusing on the southern and southeastern areas of the country.

“We’ve identified the most promising areas for economic development. If you look at geographical distribution, you can see that there is much more opportunity for exports in the north of the country than the southern states,” he explained.

He added that if they are going to support Mexican development as an international organization, they will not be able to leave behind businesses in the furthest behind areas.

“The pandemic created great opportunities such as studying online. This is now part of Tec de Monterrey’s DNA.” - Ernesto Stein.

“We must look beyond just the automotive or electronics sectors. We need to think about agribusiness, textiles, and the handicraft sector. This is where the southern states (of Mexico) have an advantage,” he stressed.

Also participating in the meeting held on March 2 were Gerardo Cárdenas, IADB Communications consultant, and Juan Pablo Murra, rector of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies at Tec de Monterrey.

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