By Victoria Brito
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS –UTRGV International Programs and Partnershipsis now accepting scholarship applications for a study abroad course, “Sustainable Energy and Water Resource Management,” taking place in Argentina this summer.
Ten $1,000 scholarships are available at UTRGV for this study abroad course.
UTRGV International Programs and Partnerships, part of the Office of Global Engagement, in 2018 received a grant for $25,000, with funds going directly to students participating in this study abroad program in Argentina. The grant is part of an Argentina-U.S. Workforce Development competition sponsored by Chevron and the U.S. Department of State.
The 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund allocates resources to create 10 new partnerships for higher education institutions in the United States and Argentina. The goal is to implement academic and training programs for students to collaborate in the fields of economic development and science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM.
UTRGV and the Universidad de Ciencias Empresariales y Sociales in Argentina will create a long-term program centered on sustainability in water and energy conservation. Students from each institution will work in teams to apply the concept of green buildings to water and energy savings, form cross-cultural relationships and improve language skills through group work on course projects.
Principal investigators on this project are Alan Earhart, UTRGV director of international programs and partnerships, and Dr.Samir Iqbal, assistant professor of electrical engineering.
UTRGV students will spend time in Argentina with a cohort of peers from the UCES. UTRGV students will then host the UCES students at UTRGV on the Edinburg Campus.
Iqbal said the grant was very competitive.
“We will provide students with an international experience centered around sustainability concepts in managing water and energy resources,” he said, “through lectures, site visits and participation in project teams here at UTRGV and at UCES in Argentina.”
The study abroad trip is slated for June 2 to 16 and is open to all majors. Students can apply to the program at https://www.utrgv.edu/ipp/.
ABOUT UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.
