Palabras de Alvaro Salas--CIPA'14 sobre el primer grupo de MPAs panameños en Cornell

Después de casi tres años, oficialmente las ideas pasan a la acción con el primer grupo de estudiantes de MPA en Ítaca, Nueva York. Créanme que tener a estos(as) titanes acá no fue nada fácil. Tuve el honor de trabajar como enlace en dos distintas administraciones en Panamá (la pasada con el Presidente Martinelli y la presente con el Presidente Varela) y asesor de la administración de la Universidad de Cornell y su facultad para lograr la primer programa de este tipo entre el Cornell Institute for Public Affairs en Latino América. 

Gracias a las cientos de personas que me apoyaron financieramente hace unos años atrás, hoy 13 estudiantes, en su gran mayoría mujeres, están preparándose con las mejores herramientas para regresar y trabajar por el desarrollo de sus países en áreas como la educación, políticas sociales, política económica, ciencia, tecnología e infraestructura. 

También estamos explorando una alianza similar con el gobierno de Costa Rica desde hace varios años, que inicio en la administración Chinchilla y actualmente se esta negociando con la administración Solís y estamos cerca de la fase de exploración. Necesitamos crear incentivos para que el mejor capital humano posible se interese en la administración pública. Paralelo a la reforma en las evaluaciones de desempeño, tenemos que crear capacidades. 

Muchas gracias a todos los que creyeron en el proceso, en el plan y los que me pusieron aquí. La mejor forma de expresarles mi gratitud es intentando crear oportunidades similares a las que ustedes me dieron, solo que en esta ocasión es aplicando lo aprendido en INCAE Business School y en Cornell y no con teletones maratónicas, conciertos de rock , subastas de arte o cenas de fundraising. Ustedes saben quienes son y para ustedes mi agradecimiento. No dejen de creer en el poder transformador de la educación y los resultados que puede crear en nuestros países. A mis amigos panameños miembros de la familia de Cornell: ‪#‎payitforward‬ guys

MOU brings large Panamanian cohort to CIPA

By

Lisa Jervey Lennox

An unusually large cohort of 13 Master of Public Administration (MPA) students from Panama is studying at Cornell as the result of a partnership forged between the government of Panama and the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA) in spring 2013.

The exchange program is based on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that brings together civil servants from Panama and general Panamanian applicants. Civil servants accepted by CIPA spend three semesters in the MPA program at Cornell and return to Panama for a fourth semester, where they complete a policy project for their government agency. Nongovernmental Panamanian students complete the two-year MPA program at Cornell. In return for financial support from the Panamanian government, fellows commit to work in the government after graduation.

Thomas O’Toole, CIPA executive director, and Alvaro Salas-Castro, MPA ’14, detailed the rationale for the program in a case study, “Creating New Models: Innovative Public-Private Partnerships for Inclusive Development in Latin America.” Panama, they wrote, is motivated by its desire to “overcome the gap in professional education that is jeopardizing economic prosperity and sustainable development in Panama.”

“This MOU is the first of its kind for CIPA, and this experiment is already showing great benefits,” said CIPA director Sharon Tennyson, professor of policy analysis and management. “The students from Panama are very diverse, but they have a distinct presence as a group. I think this helps to raise everyone’s awareness of the country, its culture and its public policy environment, and inspires a stronger sense of connection for the Panamanian fellows.”

Tennyson added that the success of the partnership has CIPA exploring long-term, multifaceted relationships. “We are already looking into replicating this model through agreements with other countries,” Tennyson added.

Welcoming the students Dec. 1., Alan Mathios, the Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Dean of the College of Human Ecology, said: “As Cornell strives to extend the global reach of academic programs it is especially satisfying to celebrate a successful MOU with Panama and welcome the first cohort of students to the CIPA program this year. I am impressed by their level of engagement across campus and am certain their time at Cornell will further enrich the program and pay lasting benefits to Panama’s public sector.”

CIPA core faculty member Richard Geddes, an associate professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management, has been working closely with several of the students and is enthusiastic about the interests and experience they bring to the program. “A number of them have chosen to follow our new concentration in science, technology and infrastructure policy,” he said. “This is particularly exciting given Panama’s deep history and experience with large infrastructure, including the Panama Canal, the Tocumen International Airport and the development of a major transit network in Panama City. The completion of the new canal expansion project next year makes the presence of these students particularly timely for infrastructure policy.”

Lisa Jervey Lennox is assistant director for external relations at CIPA. 

Retrieved from Cornell Chronicle--12/6/2014 http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/12/mou-brings-large-panamanian-cohort-cipa