The Latin American-Caribbean Centre (LACC), as coordinator of the Mexico Chair, a collaborative programme with the Government of Mexico to facilitate teaching and joint research by a Mexican scholar, has successfully negotiated for the continuation of the programme at the Mona Campus for the upcoming academic year.

Under the Mexico Chair, a visiting scholar from Mexico offers classes and conducts research at the Mona Campus in a range of disciplines, including engineering, humanities and education, law, medical sciences, science and technology, social sciences and sport. This agreement seeks to increase knowledge about Mexico among the Jamaican academic community and society, as well as to foster exchanges and cooperation between Mexican higher education institutions (HEIs) and The UWI. Since its inception in 2016, the Mona Campus has hosted two visiting professors from Mexico; Dr. Ruben Olachea Perez, in 2018 and Dr. Victor López López in 2020.

Dr. Ruben Olachea Perez, a specialist in political sciences was assigned to the Department of History, Faculty of Humanities and Education, where his work focused on Latin American history in cinema and the geopolitical relevance of usually ignored regions like Latin America and the Caribbean.

Dr. Victor Manuel López López was selected given his expertise in resilience and climate change and was assigned to the Department of Geology and Geography in the Faculty of Science and Technology (FS&T) and the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD). While the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the completion of his tour, invaluable connections were established and possible future collaborations have been explored. One such joint engagement was the virtual lecture on “Climate Change Phenomena in Caribbean Countries” delivered by Dr. López, in conjunction with the Faculty of Science and Technology, Mona Campus, and The UWI Institute for Sustainable Development, with the support of the Embassy of Mexico and the Latin American-Caribbean Centre.