Within the “International Week”, organized by UniverCiudad, the UFRO received different foreign agencies and universities in order to present their academic offer and programs to strengthen student mobility.

The possibility of spending a semester abroad is definitely an enriching experience that makes a difference in the training of university students, as well as in their personal development. Therefore, being aware of the benefits of student mobility, the alliance of regional universities called UniverCiudad (UniverCity) Temuco started the “International Week” last Monday at the Campus of the Universidad de La Frontera with the “Study Abroad” Fair, which was organized by the International Affairs Office and the Student Mobility Office.

It was the third version of the “Study Abroad” Fair that took place on Monday, 22nd of October, with the objective of increasing the number of students who go to other countries. The Fair brought more than a dozen international universities and agencies for exchange from the USA, Spain, France, Belgium, China, Mexico and other countries together to show the students the different opportunities to study abroad.

The Fair was inaugurated by the Rector of the UFRO, Dr. Eduardo Hebel Weiss, who emphasized the need to seek for the internationalization of this institution. “The interaction with students of different countries is an enrichment for everyone, from a personal, ethical, moral and value-based point of view. Therefore, student exchange is very important for the comparison of educational systems, curricula, the student-teacher relationship and that this information is transmitted, because internationalization is a motive for change,” Hebel said.

The head of the UFRO National and International Student Mobility Office, Antonia Espinoza, also shared this opinion and specified that this higher education institution has a great index of student mobility, with high numbers in applications for scholarships. Apart from that, at the regional level, the UFRO is the institution which sent the most undergraduate students to other countries and also received 75 foreign students in the first semester of 2018.

“Our work of internationalization as a university is very important, since we offer opportunities of growth to our students. We want to show them the advantages of studying abroad, getting to know other communities and universities for the internationalization of everyone,” she commented.

One example for that is Stefan Valentin, a student in Mathematics Education at the Universidad de La Frontera who spent a semester at the Universidad de Huelva in Spain in 2017. “It was a thorough experience that gave me the opportunity to get to know other ways of life and cultures and to join a university at which I felt very welcome. I was also able to get to know new contents my study program does not offer, such as the inclusive education class that has become an important issue for this country,” he said.

Written by: Cristián Arriagada
Communications Office