Mexico City /
Fernando, A PhD candidate student in global political economy, will not be able to look forward this year to the UK academic opportunity because the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt) has only published postgraduate invitations for the fields of health and fine arts.
This situation complicates the outlook for the 25-year-old, as he is not currently working since his recent return from abroad after completing his master’s degree in international relations and his goal was to continue his professionalism with postgraduate studies at the University of Sussex, UK.
However, earlier this month, a Conaset Published 2021 invitations considering only PhDs in health fields such as virology, emerging and tropical diseases, epidemiology, and medical anthropology; Which leaves the rest of the disciplines like Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Given this, students They opened a petition on the site change.org To demand not to cancel scholarships for graduates abroad. So far, 31,823 people have already signed.
“The academic community has contacted Conacyt and they only provide us with the following response from Marcella Cruz Caballero (Deputy Director of External Scholarships), Jose Alberto Villegas Diaz Discipline (Head of Administration, Evaluation and Adjustment of Foreign Grants) and Anna Carina Cedillo Hernandez (Link to administer, evaluate and amend scholarships abroad):
“I comment that all our calls this year, including calls for overseas PhD scholarships, will be directed to the health field.” , They mentioned in the message posted on the change.org website.
The protesters stated that they are aware that in the context of this pandemic, and given the apparent shortage of medical specialists in our country, scholarships to conduct medical specialties abroad as well as postgraduate degrees in health sciences is essential. However, they considered it unacceptable to suspend or cancel postgraduate scholarships abroad in the sciences and other disciplines which are also essential for the scientific and technological development in Mexico.
“If Conacyt’s director, Maria Elena Alvarez Boela, It truly guarantees technological and scientific sovereignty, and has not heard of the abolition of the subsidies granted by this body since its establishment in 1958 and which has not been suppressed by even the most corrupt government in our country. It is totally ignorant to believe that abolishing scholarships to study postgraduate degrees abroad in sciences other than health sciences is a wise decision. “
Romanian, An applicant for a PhD in Spanish Studies from the University of Belfast, expressed his regret for Konset’s decision and claimed that so far there has been no clear response from the council to this decision which affects thousands of students from various disciplines outside the health district.
“Budgets are just deteriorating. Last year it seems like it was because of the fans, but now they are telling us that everything will focus on health, as if only science will help Mexico out of the conditions it has gone through after the pandemic. Emergency health care requires a multidisciplinary approach and they don’t They see it that way, “he said.
Millennium He sought Consett’s position on the matter, but so far there has been no response.
FS
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