APLU Advances North American Higher Education Engagement in Visits to Canada and Mexico

Marking the tenth anniversary of APLU becoming a North American higher education association with the inclusion of Canadian and Mexican public universities in 2014, APLU President Mark Becker has led three senior-level delegation visits to Mexico and Canada to engage with APLU members, the broader higher education and business communities, and government officials. These visits have included business-academia roundtables to better understand the opportunities and challenges North American businesses face around workforce development and research needs.

In September, APLU President Mark Becker led a delegation to Canada to meet with leading Canadian higher education associations, the business community, and Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).  Following that meeting, APLU led a second delegation visit to Mexico City to participate in the North Capital Forum and engage in the second APLU business-academia roundtable with Mexican business leaders.

The Big Picture: The trip to Canada is part of APLU’s long-standing efforts to strengthen higher education and research ties across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. and follows a similar delegation to Mexico early this year.

The most recent visit to Mexico City was in coordination with the North Capital Forum, an event that brings together business, government, civil society, and academia to identify and strengthen North American collaboration to build a stronger regional and knowledge economy. As part of this visit, APLU held its second business-academia roundtable with business leaders to discuss workforce needs, the importance and opportunities for developing more effective models for university-business partnerships, and other areas for greater business-academia collaboration to build a stronger North American economy.

APLU President Becker made both trips alongside:

• Bernie Burrola, APLU’s Vice President of International, Community, and Economic Engagement.

• Guillermo Hernandez, former Director for External Relations at the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education (ANUIES) 

• Lisa Montoya, Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and Senior International Officer at The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Why It Matters: The supply chain disruptions of the pandemic resulted in companies and governments rethinking their local, regional, and global priorities. All parties recognize that higher education can and should play a role in strengthening local and national economies, and APLU is uniquely well positioned to play an important role in advancing collaboration across North America.

The US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is up for renewal in 2026, so this opportunity is particularly timely and important. APLU’s meetings build on longstanding higher education and research ties among Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. and come against the backdrop of the increased importance of North American collaboration around higher education, commercial, agricultural, and environmental issues.

The packed agenda included meetings with senior leaders at:

• Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council;
• Colleges and Institutes Canada;
• Universities Canada;
• The Business Council of Canada.
• ENACTUS Mexico.

APLU is bringing together business leaders from all three countries to present at the APLU Annual Meeting on the role our public universities can play in strengthening the North American economic and knowledge zone.

What’s Next: The APLU Annual Meeting, which is November 10-12 in Orlando, FL, includes a session titled Strengthening North America’s Innovation Economy: Business Leaders’ View on Higher Education’s Role.