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UFRO is the only university in Latin America with which KU Leuven maintains a comprehensive Collaboration Agreement and a Double Degree Agreement, which has been signed in 2017. |
Students of the Doctorate in Natural Resource Sciences participated in a workshop about the Double Degree Agreement that the Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO) maintains with KU Leuven in Belgium. The university, which is among the best 50 universities in the world according to Times Higher Education, is one of the oldest universities in Europe (founded in 1425), and has more than 50 thousand students, with a high percentage of foreign students, especially in its graduate programs. Currently, KU Leuven maintains a comprehensive Collaboration Agreement and a Double Degree Agreement for Doctoral Programs with UFRO, which has been signed in 2017 and had been elaborated as an extension of the agreement between the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Science of UFRO and the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering of KU Leuven from 2009. The objective of the workshop, which was led by Dr. Adison Altamirano, the dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Science at UFRO, Denise Lisperguier, the head of International Affairs of the same faculty, and Germán Catalán, a PhD student in Agri-Food Sciences and Environment, was to provide information about the options of a Double Degree. The speakers explained that this agreement focuses on the Science, Engineering and Technology Group of KU Leuven and that the interested students have to apply during the first year of their doctoral studies and that the applicants are required to have a supervisor from Ku Leuven. The students have to choose one of the universities as their main institution, and the doctoral student must comply with the regulations and guidelines of the institution of his/her choice. In addition, the students have to spend at least 10 months at the Belgian university, either in one long stay or in several short stays. Finally, the Board of Examiners for the Double Degree will consist of at least four examiners who have not been involved in the supervision of the student's work (1 of Ku Leuven, 1 of UFRO and 2 external examiners). The thesis defense must be in English and after successful completion, the students will receive a Doctoral Diploma from both universities. At the end of the workshop, the students were able to ask questions and to clear any doubts about the benefits and responsibilities of this program.
Written by: Doctorate in Natural Resource Sciences, UFRO
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