Representatives from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) visited Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG) and the Guatemalan Exporters Association (AGEXPORT) during the week of June 20 – 25, 2022. The objectives of the visit  were to strengthen the inter-institutional alliances of the partners and evaluate the progress and opportunities of the Achieving Sustainable Partnerships for Innovation, Research and Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE) project.

ASPIRE is a joint project between MIT, UVG and AGEXPORT funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This five-year, $15 million partnership will leverage existing assets and bring together new methods, ideas, and collaborators to expand the innovation, research, and entrepreneurship capacity of higher education institutions in Latin America. Through this project, the team will create a replicable, world-class model for how higher education institutions and their collaborators in the private sector, government, and local communities can address local and regional development challenges.

During the trip, MIT representatives toured UVG’s Center for Innovation and Technology (CIT), visited UVG’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, and held meetings with UVG’s and AGEXPORT’s Board of Directors, UVG’s Technology Transfer Office, Academic Department, Research Institute, Entrepreneurship Institute, and students involved in carrying out situational assessments for the project.

It is also important to mention that as part of the agenda the implementing partners of ASPIRE held a meeting to establish guidelines for the second year of the project, and evaluated the progress and opportunities to achieve the program’s objectives. This visit contributes to strengthening relationships among the innovation system’s actors and their efforts to contribute to solving local and regional development challenges.

PDF of this news story here