The International Affairs Office of the Vice-rectorate for Academic Affairs organized the farewell ceremony for the 29 undergraduate students who participate in the Student Mobility Program that allows them to go to universities in America and Europe.

During the second semester of 2023, 29 undergraduate students of Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO) go to different universities in America and Europe with the Student Mobility Program of the International Affairs Office of UFRO.

The International Affairs Office of the Vice-rectorate for Academic Affairs organized the farewell ceremony, at which Dr. Rodrigo Navia Diez, the Vice-rector for Research and Graduate Studies, highlighted the experiences the students will gain as global citizens and the positive impact on their peers when they share these experiences with them when they come back. This exchange is an overarching part of UFROs Internationalisation Strategy, which involves the fields of undergraduate and graduate studies, research and outreach.

“It is an important effort of our university at the undergraduate level, that a significant number of our outgoing students receives structural funding, which is a privilege and a unique opportunity that will surely mark their lives. Any international experience in higher education is very important, in terms of education and professional training, as well as in terms of vocation and cultural knowledge. They will realise what it means to live somewhere else for a certain time, that it makes you more flexible, and how you make the most of this great opportunity,” Dr. Navia explained.

The director of the International Affairs Office, Paulina Latorre Bahamóndez, highlighted the large number of students who make use of this semester’s student mobility opportunities. “We are one of the few universities in Chile that allocates so much funding for the international mobility of its undergraduate students, which is really positive. We always try to prepare our students, in line with our Educative Model and our Internationalisation Strategy, to be skilled professionals who know how to act in today’s world, which is modern, without frontiers, because these experiences will allow them to develop the qualities of a global citizen. Abroad, they are our ambassadors, but they will also be a bridge that connects their international experiences with our students, when they come back to Chile,” she pointed out.

It is worth mentioning that thirteen of the students are able to start this educational adventure thanks to the scholarship “UFRO without Frontiers”, five thanks to the scholarship “Beca Santander” and two of them self-finance their internships. The Faculty of Education, Social Science and Humanities has also provided funding through its own grants, to support the international mobility of six of its students.

“This year, we had the important opportunity to support even more of our students who wanted to go abroad. We are aware that these international experiences, in which they can get to know other realities, compare themselves and develop new skills, are very important for their own development, but also contribute to the development of the university’s training processes when they come back. It is a process of personal and intellectual maturity and a great experience in our globalised world. Therefore, it is a priority for us to support the students who want to go to our partner universities abroad,” said Dr. Juan Manuel Fierro, the dean of the Faculty of Education, Social Science and Humanities.

Some of the students who start their mobility this second semester of 2023, are the Sociology student Joaquín Crisóstomo Sepúlveda, who goes to Sciences Po Rennes (France) for a year, thanks to the International Solidarity Fund scholarship; the Mechanical Engineering student Álex Martínez Farandato, who goes to University of Liège (Belgium) for a year within the DIUFRO project “Application of AI in the Modelling of the Behaviour of Metals”; and Benjamín Aguilar Quezada of the English Pedagogy program, who goes to University of Regina (Canada) with a scholarship of the Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (ELAP).

THE STUDENTS

Carla Maldini Cárcamo, Mathematics Pedagogy, destination: National Autonomous University of Mexico (Mexico) "I am travelling thanks to the ‘UFRO without Frontiers’ scholarship. I found several options and chose the one that suited me the most. I chose UNAM in Mexico because of the culture, the language and the subjects I can study there during my semester abroad. Besides, I heard that there is a very rich social environment, which is very important to me, since I study pedagogy. Seeing different realities is something that really interests me. Thanks to another mobility student, I also already found an excellent place to stay."

Thomas Araya Astudillo, Mechanical Engineering, destination: University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)  “I am leaving for six months – from August to February – thanks to the ‘UFRO without Frontiers’ scholarship. I have high expectations, since this is my last semester with classes before my professional internship, and the opportunity to study abroad is very enriching. I chose this university because of its focus on mining and energy, which is what I want to focus on in the future.”

 Written and translated by: UFRO Communications Office