Different topics were addressed in the meeting, such as the internationalization of UFRO, STEM entrepreneurship, academic cooperation agreements, exchange programs, student mobility programs and English programs.

The main objective of the meeting held at the Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO), with representatives of UFRO and the U.S. Embassy in Chile, was to strengthen collaborative ties at the international level.

It was an in-person meeting with the presence of Paula Wikle, the Cultural Affairs Officer, Daniela González, the Coordinator for Professional Exchange Programs, Dr. Renato Hunter, the Vice-rector for Academic Affairs, Dr. Lorena Vieli, the director of the International Affairs Office, Franklin Valdebenito, the director of the Office of Innovation and Technology Transfer, and Paola Olave, the director of the Office for Outreach and Community Engagement.

In addition, Dr. Cristian Cerda, an academic of the Department of Education, Antonia Espinoza, the Coordinator of the Student Mobility Unit, and Felipe Opazo, the director of the Language Coordination Center also joined the meeting. During the meeting, the participants made use of this opportunity to present the university and its potential to establish collaborative partnerships with universities in the U.S., and specific actions and programs that might promote this approach were discussed.

“We are slowly starting to resume our in-person activities at UFRO and when it comes to international relations, it is extremely important to reconnect, especially because of the great opportunities we have to offer in terms of academic cooperation, research and development, and student mobility, thanks to our partnerships with other foreign institutions”, Dr. Renato Hunter explained.

In this regard, Dr. Lorena Vieli added that “meeting in-person with these key entities after such a long time allows us to proceed with our process of internationalization, which enhances the work of our university regarding the training of our students, our research and our community engagement. We are very pleased that we were able to meet with them in person, since this allows us to build even stronger links”.