Mexico is the United States鈥 third-largest trading partner, but its ninth-largest source of international students -- and the 15th most popular destination for Americans studying abroad.
As for research collaboration, National Science Foundation statistics show that just 1.6 percent of all scientific articles coauthored by U.S. and foreign researchers involve a scientist from Mexico, which places the country about on par with Poland and Finland on this measure and compares to much higher proportions of papers coauthored with colleagues from Britain (14.1 percent), China (13.7 percent), Germany (13.3 percent) and Canada (11.8 percent).
Observers of academic relations between the U.S. and Mexico think engagement between the two countries is low, but not entirely absent. "You can find people who have studied in the U.S. and vice versa, Mexican scientists working with their counterparts in the U.S. and vice versa, but we feel that we can do more or should do more," said Guillermo Hern谩螕脟茂鈭┾晽鈹恘dez-Duque, the director of strategic partnerships at Mexico鈥檚 National Association of Universities and Higher Education Institutions, which is known by its Spanish acronym, ANUIES. The association is bringing a delegation of 50 Mexican rectors to the American Council on Education鈥檚 annual meeting in Washington next month.
"Trade and commerce between the U.S. and Mexico is huge but the numbers in higher education, science and innovation are low," Hern谩ndez-Duque said. "Even though we are neighbors, our numbers are low."
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