Arequipa Nexus News: Techno Park receives Congressional Backing
November 4, 2020
In 2018, Purdue’s Center for the Environment, located in Discovery Park, launched the university’s largest non-federally funded international partnership with the Universidad Nacional de San Agustín (UNSA) located in Arequipa, Peru. This partnership led to the creation of the Arequipa Nexus Institute for Food, Energy, Water and the Environment. This month the partnership took a substantial step forward in its goal of advancing economic and scientific capacity in Arequipa when the Peruvian National Congress unanimously approved the creation of the Parque Cientifico Tecnológico de Arequipa, the first such institution in the country. This techno park, once constructed, will be the administrative home for the Arequipa Nexus Institute—underlining the continued impact and long-term nature of this collaborative project.
The Arequipa Nexus Institute was developed under the leadership of Purdue Co-PI Timothy Filley, professor in the departments of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences as well as Agronomy, in partnership with Co-PI Henry Polanco Cornejo, Dean of the School of Process Engineering at UNSA. The overall project has been driven by the desire to improve the capacity of UNSA to contribute to the sustainable development of the Arequipa region and, in turn, Peru as a whole. In its initial stage, the partnership has focused on the co-development of targeted technical and research infrastructure to support a network of interrelated, interdisciplinary research projects. The projects have addressed, and continue to address, a variety of challenges in the areas of food security and safety, water and air quality, energy efficiency, soil health and productivity, social conflict identification and resolution models, and wholistic watershed management. To date, the Nexus Institute has fostered over twenty-one projects that have brought together over fifty Purdue faculty members from seven colleges, and has funded the work of another twenty-six post-doctoral scholars. The team is currently working on plans for additional projects.
Over the past two years, the members of the leadership team at UNSA have taken inspiration from Purdue’s Discovery Park and have developed a road map for the creation a regionally-specific technical alliance that would support a robust integrated research and commercialization program. This plan was furthered by visits of UNSA’s leadership to Purdue and through discussions with Purdue’s and Discovery Park’s leaders, researchers and entrepreneurs. In January 2020, UNSA’s Rector, Vice-Rector for Research, and chief Legal Counsel visited Purdue’s campus with the specific task of engaging with university leadership, including the Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships, Theresa Mayer, to learn about the policies and mechanisms that would help locally develop an UNSA-led techno park. In announcing the passing of the new law that would allow for the park’s creation, the Rector, Dr. Rohel Sánchez Sánchez, emphasized that the idea for this project started in 2016 and, when completed, will support the university’s role as being an agent of change and development in society. It will also, he added, advance the pace of investigation, innovation and technology transfer by bringing university research together with industry partners to create an active ecosystem that furthers sustainability efforts across the region.
For more information, contact Timothy Filley, filley@purdue.edu
Purdue’s Center for the Environment, located at Discovery Park, promotes proactive, interdisciplinary research, learning, and engagement that addresses important environmental challenges. The Center connects the faculty and students across departments and disciplines who work on environmental challenges by actively supporting the development and implementation of innovative research projects and teams. The Center also increases the impact of Purdue's work on important environmental issues through outreach and stakeholder engagement activities.
