Chihuahua presents fund for Science, Technology and Innovation

CHIHUAHUA - The government of Chihuahua officially presented the State Fund for Science, Technology and Innovation (FECTI), which contemplates an investment of US$4.5 million and represents a firm step towards materializing support in this area.

The ceremony was held at the Paraninfo of the Autonomous University of Chihuahua (UACH), where at the same time, in compliance with Article 8 of the Law of Science, Technology and Innovation of the State of Chihuahua, the General Council of Science, Technology and Innovation was installed.

During the kick-off, Governor María Eugenia Campos Galván emphasized that it is the State Government's turn to grant support for the economic and academic sector, and to materialize the scientific, technological and innovative development of Chihuahua, through compliance with the mandate of the aforementioned law.

"The FECTI is a firm step to bring Chihuahua closer to the productive chains, to set the state's sights high and to endorse our Administration's commitment to collaborate with the different sectors of the citizenry for the common good," said Campos.

The FECTI is funded by state fiscal resources to support Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) projects with the potential to contribute to boost competitiveness and generate added value to the economic sector.

Under this scheme, the Ministries of Innovation and Economic Development and Rural Development contributed 70 and 10 million pesos (million pesos), respectively, for the construction of the FECTI.

These resources will be distributed in five calls derived from four modalities of social interest: CTI Talent Training, TC Infrastructure Projects, Scientific and Applied Research Projects, and Technological Innovation Projects.

This investment will provide support for 50 projects aimed at companies, higher education institutions, higher research centers and individuals, among others.

These stimuli include calls for Talent Development in CTI with an amount of 5 million pesos; Infrastructure in CTI, with an investment of US$1.4 million; US$2 million more for Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Frontier Science, with an amount of US$287.324 and US$574.718 in Venture Capital Funds.

The event was attended by Jesús Rodríguez Bejarano, secretary general of the UACH; Alfredo Aguilar Elguezabal, academic director of the Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados, S.C. and Jorge Cruz Camberos, president of Desarrollo Económico del Estado de Chihuahua A.C. (Economic Development of the State of Chihuahua A.C.).

Also present were the Secretary of Innovation and Economic Development, María Angélica Granados Trespalacios; the Mayor of Chihuahua, Marco Bonilla; and local congressman Edgar Piñón.