Reports

The first collaboration agreements signed with the University of Guadalajara (http://www.udg.mx/), University of Veracruz (http://www.uv.mx/) and the EBC Banking and Trade College (http://www.ebc.mx/) have allowed the University to customise its services to meet the needs of the academic community, in particular since 2004 and the opening of an information centre in Mexico City. Soreya Reyes, Executive Director, was responsible for setting this operative base up. “This office”, she explains, “has since then managed the print and internet advertising and taken charge of gaining signatures to new agreements with more institutions interested in collaborating with the UOC, especially in terms of enrolling on postgraduate studies. 222 people have enrolled on such courses this year.”

2005 saw agreements with associated companies and the opening of offices at Paseo de la Reforma, 265, an important business centre in the Mexican capital. The fixed staff was also increased at this time to 5: Edgar Gama (corporate enrolments), Viridiana Carrasco (individual enrolments), Lorena Navarrès (marketing and call centre) and Sandra Catú (reception and purchase order management), who are supported by a number of interns. Alongside the business agreements, there are also agreements with the Mexican government for the training of those working in offices and ministries, such as the Department of Tourism. Jesús Mendoza, from the International Graduate Institute, explained that adaptations are usually made for clients based on the postgraduate portfolio, but “there may be cases where we produce custom courses with new writing and contents”. Likewise, training projects are also produced for educational institutions.

2006 saw the signing of an agreement with the Municipal Public University of Cuautitlán Izcalli (UPM) (http://www.upmcizcalli.com/), as well as participation in events such as Euro Posgrados or the International Conference on Distance Learning that forms part of the Guadalajara International Book Fair (http://www.fil.com.mx/). Despite the project’s drive, the office is closely linked to the situation in the country, seeing its activities grind to a halt during the change of government crisis in 2007, or affected by the influence of the American economy and the rise of the euro.

2007 saw the meeting of the objectives set with regard to in-company training for lecturers and in the field of conflict resolution, while efforts continued to drive corporate enrolments. Another agreement with the Mexican Employer’s Association (Coparmex) (http://www.coparmex.org.mx/) has acted as a catalyst throughout the country, letting students from all around Mexico find out about the institution. Although most enrolments come from Mexico City, Monterrey, Puebla, Guadalajara and Veracruz, potential for growth can be seen in the whole of the country.

The profile of the average Mexican student is someone around 30 years of age, graduates of both public and private universities, for the most part from the cities and in positions of great responsibility with expectations for improvement in their companies. The community now exceeds 1,000 students, with 377 new enrolments in 2007: 222 for postgraduate studies, 32 for official masters, 20 for the university @thenaeum, 28 for lifelong learning and 75 for in-company training.