Thanks to the work of the International Affairs Office in accordance with the interests of the institution from New Zealand an auspicious work agenda has been developed that included a meeting with the Rector, Dr. Eduardo Hebel, the Vice-Rector for Research and Graduate Studies, researchers and academics of BIOREN, the Institute of Indigenous Studies, and the Faculty of Engineering and Science.

A delegation of three members of the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) from New Zealand came to the Universidad de La Frontera and established through this visit a first approach with Chilean institutions, since they want to ensure a greater openness to South America. These are initial links that might lead to an academic cooperation and student mobility between these two universities.

One of the new strategies of internationalization in New Zealand is to open up towards new territories and countries for cooperation. “We are here because, until now, almost all the institutions with which we have international cooperation agreements are in Asia and we consider that South America should be our next destination for international development”, Ricardo Chacón of the AUT commented.

According to Ricardo Chacón, the AUT categorized the Universidad de La Frontera as one of the three institutions that are suitable for this objective, and Chile, Brazil and Colombia as key countries. “We have been looking into several institutions to see which ones are suitable for a mutual cooperation, according to our mutual capabilities. And it is not randomly that we included visits at the Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Universidad de Santiago de Chile and the Universidad de La Frontera in our schedule. The UFRO was chosen because of its experience in the field of interculturality (Mapuche People), the development of engineering solutions for big projects and for its past, for being heir of a technical university”, he confirmed.

FIRST LINKS

The director of the International Affairs Office of the UFRO, Dr. Berta Schnettler, manifested great interest in concrete formal agreements and partnerships regarding Oceania and said that this was a great opportunity for both universities: “We realize that, if we are interested in creating strong links with new strategic partners abroad, the best way is to start a partnership step by step, on which we can build cooperative networks that really are of mutual interest”.

After a tour to get to know the Scientific and Technological Bioresource Nucleus (BIOREN), the Institute of Indigenous Studies and the Deanery of the Faculty of Engineering and Science, the representatives of the Auckland University of Technology announced another visit in September.

“We are very satisfied with the results and we see a possibility to contribute to how the universities participate in the development of the indigenous world, and we hope to be able to open new opportunities for the exchange of students of Mapuche and Maori origin through our doctorate programs. On the other hand, we notice that the Faculty of Engineering and Science of the UFRO has great potential regarding the curriculum and program design, as well as regarding the different fields of research,” Dr. Guy Littlefair, the Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies at AUT, said.

Written by: UFRO Communications Office
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