By Daniel Singer, Associate Sales & Marketing Manager, Latin America & The Caribbean, Thomson Scientific

San Luis Potosí, Mexico—May 16, 2007—Today at the Universidad Autónoma de San Luís Potosí (UASLP), an event was held commemorating the investment made by the Consortium of Mexican Universities (or CUMex per its acronym in Spanish) to further strengthen Mexican research through the acquisition of Web of Science^® (with retrospective content back to 2001) via the seamless ISI Web of Knowledge^® platform.   Comprised of 11 of the most prestigious universities in Mexico, the CUMex consortium’s acquisition of Web of Science represents the Mexican academic and government research communities’ continued commitment to enhancing research within Mexico, thereby enhancing the increasingly competitive nature of Mexican research on a global scale.

Held on May 16th in the Auditorium of the Postgraduate Program (Auditorio de la Unidad de Posgraduados) at the UASLP, the event was titled “Increasing the Value of Scientific and Academic Research through the ISI Web of Knowledge platform” (Incrementando el valor de la Investigación Científica y Académica a través de la plataforma ISI Web of Knowledge in Spanish).  UASLP was the site chosen to realize the event, since it is designated among the primary institutions leading the consortium. The University itself is no stranger to Thomson Scientific products, having invested in Web of Science and other products and services over the last six years.

Jointly sponsored by both Thomson Scientific and CUMex, over 100+ attendees were either present at the UASLP, or were able to access the event remotely via satellite from their respective University.  The reception was followed by two days’ worth of product training held at the University to enable users from throughout the consortium to be up to speed on the use of Web of Science.  Web of Science indexes approximately 8,700 of the world’s most influential scholarly journals, offering complete bibliographic data, searchable author abstracts, and cited references.  With a  wealth of multidisciplinary content back to 1900 and the Thomson Scientific-pioneered, cited reference searching, Web of Science is the leading scientific information resource of choice for information professionals and researchers world wide. 

About The CUMex Consortium
The CUMex consortium is officially comprised of 16 public (autonomous) Universities found throughout Mexico.  Of these official members, 11 consortium members are accessing Web of Science.
The mission of the consortium is to construct a fortified alliance dedicated to ensuring quality within Mexican public higher education.  To fulfill this mission, the consortium counts on the support of experts in seven multidisciplinary knowledge areas  (Architecture, Biology, Accounting & Management, Civil Engineering, Veterinary Medicine, Zoology, & Clinical Medicine), as well as an Advisory Council (Consejo Consultivo) comprised of distinguished members representing business and academia.   
93.43% of registered students, professional associations, and quality bachelor’s programs within Mexico are affiliated with CUMex member institutions.
The vision of this consortium—shared by its 16 members---is one of a shared future of higher education that is of considerable quality, flexible, and relevant to the issues faced by Mexico today as a country and to confront the challenges imposed by globalization and the information/knowledge society that has characterized the 21st century to date.  In its efforts to continuously improve the quality of Mexican higher education, the consortium has sought to enhance international collaboration with similar consortia world-wide in North America and Europe, capitalizing on the emerging trend of the internationalization of institutional development.
For more information on the consortium, please consult the following link in English: http://www.cumex.org.mx/english/. 

The Event: "Increasing The Value of Scientific and Academic Research Through the ISI Web of Knowledge Platform"
Following a light continental breakfast held just outside the auditorium, the event began with a presentation of speakers representing the UASLP/CUMex and Thomson Scientific, following local protocol.  Lic. Mario García Valdez, the Rector (Dean) of the UASLP and the President of CUMex;  Amy Hueber, Vice President, the Americas and Europe/Middle East/Africa, Thomson Scientific; Carlos Martinez, Director for Latin America & the Caribbean, Thomson Scientific; Arq. Manuel Fermín Villar Rubio, Secretario General (Secretary General) of UASLP; and Dr. Luís del Castillo Mora, Coordinador General (Director) of CUMex and Director del Sistema de Bibliotecas (Director of Libraries), UASLP.

Amy Hueber, Vice President, Americas & Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), Thomson Scientific
Amy Hueber was the first speaker for Thomson Scientific to kick off the event.  Prior to her presentation, she greeted UASLP and other CUMex consortium member students, faculty, and dignitaries—both seated in UASLP and tuning in via satellite from other consortium member sites-- and thanked them for their support.  Following her salutation, she began her presentation entitled “The Thomson Corporation.”  In it, Hueber provided an overview of the Thomson Corporation tradition of excellence and long-standing reputation as a leading global provider of integrated information-based solutions to business and professional customers, documenting the history of Thomson from its early days as a Canadian conglomerate involved in industries as diverse as travel and petroleum, to the global provider of integrated workflow solutions that it is today .  Hueber explained that Thomson Scientific is a business of the Thomson Corporation and is a leading research information provider providing timely, essential literature, patent and standards information to researchers world-wide, enabling them to realize world-class research.   "Our vision is to be the World’s Leading provider of high-quality information solutions for the research and development communities. It is this vision and customer focus that has defined our [business] strategy." commented Hueber.
Hueber continued to describe innovations such as Citation Indexing that have defined Thomson Scientific’s Academic & Government customer base.  She made special mention of the development of Web of Science in 1997 and how 2007 marks the 10th anniversary of the development of this information source; how Web of Science remains the focal point of the entire ISI Web of Knowledge platform; and how to date the CUMex consortium is one of over 2,900 customers in 90 countries world wide that have critical access to Web of Science.    Hueber concluded her presentation by thanking Lic. Mario García ,  Dr. Luís del Castillo Mora, and Arq. Manuel Fermín Villar for their contributions to the event.  Ms. Hueber’s presentation was followed by welcoming remarks from  Lic. Mario García Valdez, UASLP and CUMex. 

Lic. Mario García Valdez, Rector, UASLP, and President, CUMex
Lic. García began his remarks by thanking both Thomson Scientific and Consortium officials for their attendance at the event.  He then commented on the value of the acquisition of Web of Science, in line with CUMex’s vision of providing quality, relevant education for all Mexicans, and how the resource significantly enhances the research capabilities of an institution.  Lic. García added "Today the need for [valuable] information resources is strategic for any [discipline] area, anywhere in the world.  It would seem to me in particular among educational and research institutions, the necessity to have access to [Web of Science].  For any researcher it is extremely complicated to be up to speed in your field or in fields that are of interest if you don’t have access to technological tools [such as Web of Science] and mounted on a platform such as ISI Web of Knowledge which can keep you permanently 'in the know' and with the latest information that your area of research has available."
Lic. García concluded his remarks by adding the following: "The support demonstrated by Thomson Scientific [in enabling CUMex to invest in Web of Science] has made it possible for public [Mexican] Universities, such as [the members of CUMex consortium] ours, to have access to this extraordinary digital information tool.  Mexican Universities need this type of support so that we don’t get left behind in scientific research development."

Beyond Web of Science: Thomson Scientific Staff Explain The Editorial Process and Other Components of the ISI Web of Knowledge Platform
The next few presentations realized by Mr. Jeff Dougherty, Manager, Global Sales Support, and Lic. Guadalupe Jimenez A., Regional Manager, Thomson Scientific, dealt with editorial processes deployed by the company to index journals and other scholarly publications, as well as highlights of other key components of the ISI Web of Knowledge platform that could prove essential to researchers within the consortium.  Each speaker was presented by Dr. Luis del Castillo, CUMex/UASLP.
Dougherty’s initial presentation explained the editorial process deployed by Thomson Scientific, including the basic components that the company  looks at when evaluating a journal, as well as explained how data from the Journal Citation Reports^® is utilized by Thomson Scientific editors to define and characterize the traits of a journal, in order to better determine whether or not it can be indexed.  To address questions regarding Thomson Scientific’s selection criteria, Dougherty presented to the audience a slide obtained from the “Analyze Results” function in Web of Science that actually showed a steady increase in the number of papers affiliated with Mexican authors that have been indexed in Web of Science since 1997.

Following a brief coffee break, Lic. Guadalupe Jimenez, Thomson Scientific realized presentations showcasing other components of the ISI Web of Knowledge platform, including the Journal Citation Reports and the criteria utilized to calculate the critical, yet often controversial Impact Factor contained as part of this information solution, as well as Current Contents Connect^®, Derwent Innovations Index^®, Zoological Records^®, Biological Abstracts^®, and hosted content such as Cab Abstracts^(R) , INSPEC^®, and Food Science & Technology Abstracts^®.   Through her presentation, Lic. Jimenez explained how each component of the ISI Web of Knowledge platform worked seamlessly across many disciplines to produced the highest quality, most comprehensive search results when conducting research.  A number of attendees were unaware that these resources were even available through the platform and found Lic. Jimenez' presentation quite useful.
This series of presentations was then closed by Jeff Dougherty, who discussed a critical component of the ISI Web of Knowledge platform, Essential Science Indicators^®.  Dougherty's presentation explained that Essential Science Indicators is an evaluation tool that helps researchers, administrators, deans, and directors measure the productivity, influence, and impact of world wide research activity in 22 fields of science and the social sciences.  Throughout Latin America, and in fact in many parts of the world today, many researchers wish to see how the research output of their institution or country, stacks up with competing institutions or countries within similar disciplines.  Essential Science Indicators is precisely the component of the ISI Web of Knowledge platform that can assess this, presenting citation rankings for the top 1% of scientists and institutions and the top 50% of journals and countries/territories.

Conclusion
Following Dougherty’s presentation, a question and answer session was scheduled for attendees.  Questions were even sent via email to individuals who were accessing the event via satellite.

At the conclusion of the event, in accordance with protocol and tradition for Thomson Scientific in Latin America, a commemorative plaque was issued to the CUMex to the consortium, recognizing the consortium’s commitment to scientific & scholarly research through the acquisition of Web of Science via the ISI Web of Knowledge platform.

The presentation of the plaque was followed by a catered lunch hosted by Thomson Scientific held at the luxurious Westin San Luis Potosí.  Both attendees and Thomson Scientific staff had the chance to exchange ideas and meet face-to-face, fortifying already strong relationships.

Training sessions were held, both following the event, and over the next two days, led by Ing. Luís Serrano Macín, Product Trainer, Thomson Scientific.  Ing. Serrano commented that all the sessions were well-attended; many attendees in fact very much appreciated the training component of the event.  Throughout Latin America, training has become among some institutions mandatory, and a necessary prerequisite prior to acquiring information sources such as Web of Science.

That same evening, and also continuing a nearly ten-year tradition, a sumptuous dinner was held at the Westin to cap off the event and to toast to its success.