As part of an invitation from the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Science, representatives of Western Australia came to the UFRO for a series of activities.

The University of Werstern Australia is a university with tradition and wide prestige and is valued world-wide. Its representatives, the vice-rector and also dean of the Faculty of Sciences, Tony O'Donnell, and the director of International Relations, Annabele Turner, realized a visit to the Universidad de La Frontera, where they could experience the academic and scientific work that is promoted here.

As part of an invitation from the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Science of the UFRO, the representatives of Western Australia carried out a series of activities, including a meeting with the authorities of the UFRO, led by the Rector Sergio Bravo, as well as a tour around the University facilities and a visit to the Maquehue Experimental Field.

On this occasion, vice-rector O'Donnell talked with the authorities of the UFRO about the credentials of this prestigious university, especially the work of the Faculty of Sciences, which is among the 24 best in the world in the category of Life and Agricultural Sciences (according to the Academic and Ranking of World Universities 2016) and whose academic body includes the scientist Barry Marshall, Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology 2005 for his work on the bacterium Helicobacter pylori.

The Rector Sergio Bravo explained to the Australian representatives the Chilean higher education standards and the relevant aspects of the UFRO as a public, state and regional university, reviewing the different areas of the academic and scientific work, emphasizing the institutional focus on internationalization through the search of strategic partnerships with foreign educational establishments.

Vice-Rector O'Donnell explained that they are also working on internationalization at Western Australia, and that this is why they have been promoting collaborations, for example with Asian, and now Latin American institutions. "The reason why we are in Chile is that we are looking for long-term relationships, which will allow us to do student and professor exchange, and joint research", he said.

In that sense, he added that as an Australian university they want to strengthen internationalization to also enable their teachers to work in different environments, considering that the research they carry out and the programs they have are aimed at tackling global issues.

With the University of Western Australia and the academic, Dr. Néstor Sepúlveda, of the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Science, the partnership has been maintained, especially in the area of ​​animal production. In fact, this year 2017, the researcher of the UFRO made a stay at the Institute of Agriculture, belonging to the Faculty of Sciences.

Written By: Jassna Sepúlveda Beltrán
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