Arizona State University's Global Institute of Sustainability Expands Through Partnership with Tecnologico de Monterrey

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• Latin America - español

TEMPE, Ariz. and MEXICO CITY, Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to further advance the transition to a sustainable economy in Mexico, Arizona State University (ASU) and Tecnologico de Monterrey have jointly launched the Latin America Office of the Global Institute of Sustainability. This extension of ASU's Global Institute at Tecnologico de Monterrey will conduct applied transdisciplinary research, offer an innovative curriculum, and develop business solutions that accelerate the adoption of a sustainable culture.

The Latin America Office of ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability will offer academic programs to educate future leaders in the transition to a green economy. It will conduct applied research to address Latin American issues, particularly the adoption of sustainable development. It will also leverage linkages with the Technology Park at Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus, to promote clean technologies and entrepreneurial projects that will create green jobs and businesses, and promote public policies that preserve natural capital through active participation of all sectors of society.

ASU has pioneered a new model for higher education called the New American University, where sustainability is a fundamental precept underlying its teaching, learning, research, and business missions; it is a place where knowledge informs decision making, research and study transcend academic disciplines, students learn from the world around them, and local solutions have a global impact. Its Global Institute of Sustainability, the hub of ASU's sustainability initiatives, advances research, education (through its School of Sustainability), and business practices for an urbanizing world. 

Tecnologico de Monterrey is the largest private not-for-profit university in Mexico and Latin America. It is a higher education institution focused on educating students to become responsible citizens who will trigger the development of their communities by fostering humanistic values, an international perspective, and an entrepreneurial culture. Tecnologico de Monterrey is present throughout Mexico with 31 campuses.

"This partnership with ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability is an ambitious and avant-garde joint initiative that seeks to fulfill the 2012 mission of the Tecnologico de Monterrey," said Arturo Molina, president of Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico City Metropolitan Region.

"This new extension office of the Global Institute of Sustainability will be a catalyst by creating synergies among the several sustainability initiatives currently underway at Tecnologico de Monterrey," said Rick Shangraw, director of ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability. "It is a unique, highly-collaborative model that is garnering great interest by companies, government, and environmental organizations in Mexico and Latin America that are committed to sustainable development."

The joint venture will train a new generation of entrepreneurs to create businesses that combine a rational use of natural resources with environmental stewardship. This aligns with the entrepreneurial culture of both Tecnologico de Monterrey and ASU.

"The new Latin America Office of ASU's Global Institute is unique in Latin America—a global think tank that will promote business solutions, clean technologies, and governance models for business and government decision makers," said Isabel Studer, the founding director of the new office. "It has the support of Arizona State University, one of the leading research institutes in sustainable development in the Americas."

The inauguration event included four discussion panels with public officials, business leaders, NGO representatives, and sustainability scholars and faculty members from Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus, where the Latin America Office of the Global Institute of Sustainability is located.

SOURCE ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability