Dr. Lorena Vieli del Rio, an agricultural engineer and an academic of the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Science, is the new director of the International Affairs Office at the Universidad de La Frontera. Her work will be inspired by the collaborative work of the university community, being facilitators of international relations in academic and student related areas.

Within the scenario of visibility of the International Affairs Office of the Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO), Dr. Lorena Vieli accepted the challenge of becoming its new director. She has full trust in this consolidated unit and that the new projects that might come up will be handled well by the well-trained team, with the support of the university government and the work that the academics and researchers have been doing over the years, consolidating the process of institutional internationalization.

Dr. Lorena Vieli del Rio is an agricultural engineer and an academic of the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Science. She studied at the University Pontificia Universidad Católica in Chile, and then finished her Ph.D. at UC Santa Barbara in the USA. There, she started to build important international links and to join different research networks. Her fields of study were ecosystem services, agroecology and crop pollination.
The role of the International Affairs Office’s director is, according to her, a great opportunity. “This is an opportunity to bring forward some ideas, which we hope will be discussed – for example – in the Committee of Internationalization, an ideal and competent group for the creation of proposals, because the idea is to build – together with academics, researchers, directives and representatives of the university – the corresponding unit in the field of international relations in the future.”

In this context she added: “It is favorable to approach those who have led outstanding experiences in this field with good results for our institution. It is in my interest that the International Affairs Office is present in the creation of new synergies, through programs, projects, research and cooperation on a different scale as well.”

For Dr. Vieli, this was a positive invitation: “I am a researcher and I understand the position of our researchers regarding the institutional work and the link with our peers from foreign universities. That makes it easier for us to act as facilitators regarding the interaction of the academics. Besides, we will not only be able to strengthen these links and partnerships, but also to nurture them over time.”

For the new director of the International Affairs Office, the premise is clear and the work has to contribute to “being a facilitator of the international relations of our academics and students.” In this context, she recognizes that, thanks to the work of those who have been dealing with the issue of internationalization, substantial progress has been achieved.

“The university has grown to such an extent that today, we have many defined processes, both for the allocation of resources and for the support we can offer. Competitive funds have been established for the participation at international events (academics, graduate students and professionals) and for internships abroad (researchers). These actions are very important in the fields of management and planning.”

Regarding student mobility, the new director said that the UFRO has a lot to offer. It is attractive for foreign students, due to the geographic location and the context of cultural richness. Therefore, she explained: “One of the new challenges is to observe ourselves better and to highlight our culture and local ties in a way that strengthens our international links, but from our own identity, which is what differentiates us from other universities.”