• Universidad de Santiago has taken on a new academic challenge through the Institute for Advanced Studies: the creation of a center to deepen South Korean studies that is expected to become an example in Latin America.

The analysis of the relations between Latin America and Asia that Dr. César Ross has promoted in the Institute for Advanced Studies (IDEA, in Spanish) for several years, has borne new fruits, as the University has just been awarded funding from the South Korean government to develop a project for a Korean Study Center in Chile called Chilean-Korean Study Center Program (ChKSC-Program): For cross-country future integration based on deeper understanding in terms of Politics, Economics and Society.

The project led by Dr. Ross belongs to one of the nine institutions that were granted funds by the Ministry of Education of that country through the contest “Overseas Korean Studies Incubation 2014”, that will also fund initiatives of institutions like Universidad de Salamanca, University of Queensland, University of California-Riverside, the University of the South Pacific and the East China Normal University.

On this occasion, our University was the only institution in Latin America to receive this significant support that includes a resource allocation for the project of 50 million South Korean wons (27,276,000 Chilean pesos) a year. According to the current exchange rate, it means more than 81 million Chilean pesos over the three years to the project completion.

The project ChKSC-Program will allow the creation of a Korean Study Center in Chile, with the purpose of promoting academic exchange, addressing North-East Asia security issues, studying the process of reunification of the two Koreas and its effects; analyzing the, cooperation, competence and economic relation between the two countries since the FTA of 2004; analyzing their development of high technology and their export model, as well as their public policies and methods to reduce the breach between rich and poor, and offering at Universidad the Santiago Korean Studies oriented to the evaluation and analysis of the social and cultural exchange.

In response to the 21st century’s requirements, creating a Korean Study Center in Chile fosters in both countries the ability to analyze their similarities and differences in order to achieve a more thorough academic understanding that allows a deeper mutual integration.

“For us, it is a good opportunity and, at the same time, it is a combination of research and outreach activities as it involves academic and cultural exchange. It also offers a great deal of scope for researchers to present results and for undergraduate and graduate students to become interested in studying, reading and learning about Korea,” César Ross said.

The opportunity mentioned by Dr. Ross refers to the fact that, due to the great economic time that China currently has, the rest of the Asian countries seem to be in the shade. But for countries like Chile and for academic institutions like Universidad de Santiago, working with Korea is a more open possibility.

Besides, “it is one of the most important economies in the world, with significant scientific and technological advances and powerful higher-education institutions, with academics interested in coming to Latin America and interact with us. It is also a major trading partner of Chile,” IDEA’s researcher said.

Regarding the language barrier, Dr. Ross explained that he had already contacted the Latin American Studies Association of Korea, where there are at least 300 researchers, doctors and professors who speak Spanish.

The project that should be started next July, is also an opportunity for the South Korean country, in relation to Chile. “Together with Brasil, we are the most attractive countries in Latin America; Brasil, because it is a big country, and Chile, because its stability, security and reliability regarding economic, social and political matters,” he said.

Dr. Ross explained that, according to the ChKSC program, our University agreed to give courses or modules on Korean studies; to organize work and discussion panels; to encourage the students’ interest in Korean matters; to develop publications and promotion activities, like Korea’s week, and other actions to build links between the two countries and to make the University an example in the relations with South Korea, not only locally, but in all Latin America.

Together with the director, the project team consists of Rodrigo Álvarez, student at the American Studies Doctorate program and Master of Arts in International Political Economy from University of Tsukuba, Japan, as co-investigator, and Seonwook Choi, Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and American and British Culture from Sogang University, South Korea, as research assistant. On the other hand, the South Korean academics who will participate are Dr. Kim Seog Gun, Vicepresident of the Asan Academy and Director of the Center for the Humanities; Dr. Go Myong Hyun, a research fellowship holder at the Asan Institute for Policy Analysis, and Dr. Yun-Joo Park, Assistant Professor at the Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies of Keimyung University and Chief Editor of the Asian Journal of Latin American Studies.

For the official list of the projects selected, check the following link:
http://ksps-pms.aks.ac.kr/jsp/rschr/sl/SlLastSlcList_eng.jsp?bizCd=INC&bizYr=2014&bizNgr=1

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Dr. María José Galotto, director of Universidad de Santiago’s Packaging Laboratory, was appointed as the National Contact Point for Horizon 2020 Framework Program in the area of nanotechnology. Horizon 2020 is a European program that provides funding for research and innovation in different fields. “This is in recognition of the University’s positioning in the area of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, reached through CEDENNA,” the researcher said.

The National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (Conicyt, in Spanish) informed that Dr. María José Galotto, director of Universidad de Santiago’s Packaging Laboratory (Laben, in Spanish) was appointed National Contact Point for the Horizon 2020 Framework Program in the area of “Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials and Advanced Manufacturing and Processing.”

Dr. Galotto said that her appointment “is in recognition of the University’s positioning in the area of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, reached through the Center for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CEDENNA, in Spanish), where nanotechnology is being applied to different areas of knowledge. This appointment will consolidate this new line of research and this positioning.”

According to Dr. Galotto, it is also in recognition of the constant work that Laben has developed over time, which results have been reflected in several research projects, publications in ISI journals and patents. This, in turn, results in a very close relation with the food and agricultural industry and food packaging industry at a national and international level.

The Laben was invited to be part of the International Association of Packaging Research Institutes (IAPRI). This membership, awarded by invitation only, is proof of the international recognition that our University has received.

Dr. Galotto’s appointment is also important because this area has a great future in the Food Science and Technology field; therefore, being able to get in contact with other research groups in Chile and abroad, will strengthen the links between the University’s academics and other researchers.

Among her new responsibilities, she will have to promote and foster the participation of nanotechnology research groups in the Horizon 2020 Framework Program, in which Chile will be entitled the same benefits that the European Union member states enjoy.

Regarding this, Dr. Galotto said that “up to date, we have had the first work meeting at Conicyt and we have scheduled others for the second semester, both here in Chile and in Europe.”

Nanotechnology

According to the researcher, “nanotechnology will integrate with food and agricultural industry as an option for developing food with better sensory and nutritional properties, better quality, and useful life, and greater safety.”

Dr. Galotto specified that our University is well ahead in this area, since the Laben has been working several years in applying nanotechnology to food packaging.

She added that researchers at Laben have led studies, in which nanotechnology has been applied, for example, to the development of packaging with anti-microbial activity to extend the life of food like salmon, or to reducing the level of compounds that accelerate the ripening of climacteric fruits like kiwi or avocado, among others.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The activity that was held at our University had the presence of Timothy Kane, the Australian Ambassador in Chile; Ian Satchwell, the Director of the International Mining for Development Centre of Australia; Dr. Aldo Saavedra, professor at the Department of Chemistry Engineering and other local experts, who analyzed the alternatives to develop mining extraction operations that care for both the environment and communities. During his speech, professor Satchwell said “We have learned many lessons from our mining experience in Australia that can be applied to the mining industry in Chile and Latin America; for example, the responsible water management, which should represent one of our main challenges”.

Chile and Australia are two of the major mining producers worldwide. Both countries have a vast experience in the mining extraction industry that can be shared with the aim of developing a sustainable mining industry that respects the environment and communities.

To face this challenge, on April 8th, our University held a panel discussion that was presented by the Australian Ambassador in Chile, Timothy Kane and had the presence of Ian Satchwell, Director of the International Mining for Development Centre of Australia; Isabel Marshall, Director of the Sustainability Committee of CESCO; Jorge Sanhueza, Manager of Environment and Communities of CODELCO; Matías Desmadryl, a lawyer expert in natural resources regulations, and Dr. Aldo Saavedra, professor at the Department of Chemistry Engineering of our University.

During the activity organized by the Australian Embassy in Chile and our Department of International and Inter-University Relations, Ambassador Kane valued the importance of this initiative and said that it was a “privilege” to have the opportunity of being at this international meeting “in one of the best educational institutions of Chile and, together with other experts, seek answers to common problems for both countries.”

This panel discussion- that took place at the Auditorium of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science- was also attended by professors and students of the Mining Engineering program of our University, who had the possibility of asking questions to the panelists.

During his speech, professor Ian Satchwell said “we have learned many lessons from our mining experience in Australia that can be applied to the mining industry in Chile and Latin America; for example, developing methods for responsible water management, which should represent one of our main challenges for the future of mining industry in the world.”

“Our main challenge is the responsible use of natural resources, understanding their real value. For example, the value that water has for people in our countries, as it is a very scarce good,” Stachwell said.

This panel discussion on the challenges faced by mining industry was held at Universidad de Santiago, in the context of CESCO Week, the World Copper Conference that took place in Santiago.

Academic partnerships

Carol Johnson, Head of the Department of International and Inter-University Relations of our University described the meeting as “successful” and informed that conversations tending to strengthen the academic links between Universidad de Santiago and Higher Education Institutions in Australia were started.

“Ambassador Ken met with President Zolezzi and expressed his interest in creating collaboration links regarding priority fields, like mining industry, exact sciences, engineering and international studies,” Johnson said.

She said that the activity “met the goals proposed and it indeed exceeded our expectations.”

“Through this activity, links were strengthened between Australia and our University. Also, it opened the possibility of having new meetings and bringing renowned foreign academics to address contingent matters of national interest, as sustainable mining industry, in this case. This debate is of interest to both our University and our country, which are important leaders in this field,” Carol Johnson concluded.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Representatives of renowned universities showed themselves very interested in establishing agreements and exchange programs in fields like nanoscience, food technology, didactics of mathematics and Latin American studies, among others.

On Monday 17th, our University was visited by representatives of thirteen renowned British universities that showed their deep interest in creating academic links and establishing mutual collaboration agreements.

Particularly, the most attractive fields for the European universities were research in mathematics or in Latin American studies, nanoscience, food technology, technology transfer and English language practice. In these areas, significant collaboration opportunities were open in the short and the medium term.

Óscar Bustos, Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation of Universidad de Santiago, who also took part in the meeting with the British academics and academics from our university, said that this meeting “allows us to have great expectations with respect to potential studies conducted together with some of the most prominent universities of the United Kingdom.”

“The importance of this visit lies in the experience and international recognition of the participating institutions. Universities like Edinburgh or Sheffield are well positioned in world rankings and the work they do is in agreement with our own lines of research,” he added.

According to Vice President Bustos, the fact that our University is recognized for its research work “is one of the factors that attracted the British delegation.”

“Nowadays, our University is in the fourth place in the national rankings of research productivity, publications and awarded projects. These developments, in all areas of knowledge, must have persuaded these British institutions into coming to Universidad de Santiago and proposing academic exchange programs, collaborative works and research,” he concluded.

For her part, Carol Johnson, Head of the Department of International and Inter-University Relations of our University said that the British academics had “excellent” references of Universidad de Santiago “and they knew that we are a complete and complex institution that is well positioned in international rankings; therefore, their visit was not by chance: it is the result of our prestige as university.”

According to Carol Johnson, this first meeting is consistent with Universidad de Santiago’s internationalization policy that has the goal -among others- of establishing links with the best institutions in the world.

“This contact was very promising. It will open many doors to our students and academics, and also, it allows us to put in practice our ambitious internationalization policy,” she added.

At the meeting, that was held at the Rectoría building, Óscar Bustos, Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation; Carol Johnson, Head of the Department of International and Inter-University Relations; Rafael Labarca, Dean of the Faculty of Science; Jaime Eugenín, Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Programs of the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology; Francisco Castañeda, professor at the Faculty of Administration and Economics; Fernando Estenssoro, professor at IDEA; Gastón Herrera, professor at the School of Architecture and Roxana Orrego, professor at the Department of Linguistics and Literature, were present.

The authorities and academics of the following thirteen universities were present at the meeting: University of Ulster, Durham University, University of Sheffield, University of Edinburgh, University of Warwick, University of Bath, Bristol University, Middlesex University, University of Kent, Northumbria University, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cranfield University and University of South Wales.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• While visiting Chile for the presidential hand-over ceremony, the highest authority of this Mexican institution, José Alfonso Esparza, met with Universidad de Santiago’s President, Juan Manuel Zolezzi and expressed his interest in creating academic partnerships in the fields of mining, engineering and social sciences.

On Monday 10th, Dr. Juan Manuel Zolezzi was visited by José Alfonso Esparza, President of Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Mexico, and by other representatives from that university, who showed their deep interest in creating formal links between both institutions in order to allow academic collaboration and student exchange.

President Esparza came to Chile to take part in the presidential hand-over ceremony and he seized the opportunity to visit our University, with which he has kept in contact thanks to our Department of International and Inter-University Relations.

During the meeting held at the Casa Central building, the two Presidents shared experiences regarding the higher education systems in Mexico and Chile and they agreed to foster the establishment of these academic partnerships that will benefit both institutions.

After the meeting, BUAP’s President highlighted the willingness that our University has shown to develop agreements, particularly in the fields of mining, engineering and social sciences.

“It was a very interesting meeting that exceeded our expectations. I think that this University has many experiences to share and we are very likely to settle an agreement in the short term, because we are very interested in this and Universidad de Santiago’s President showed his interest too. We will probably be signing a frame agreement soon to start with student exchanges,” Esparza said.

BUAP´s highest authority said that Puebla, Mexico, is starting to extract mineral resources, but it does not have any university program related to this field. This is why he thinks it is an area in which they could start learning from other experiences.

“Also, our researchers in the field of social sciences expressed their interest in forging links with this University. The engineering programs are equally interested,” he said.

The Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla is an independent, decentralized higher-education institution, located at Puebla City. It was founded 435 years ago and it has 65,685 students in undergraduate and graduate programs (2010). Today, it has shown its willingness to strengthen links with our renowned University.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The first meeting was held by the end of November at our University, with a delegation of University College London (UCL), which agreed to put in contact its experts with academics of the Faculty of Engineering and the Advanced Studies Institute of our University before the end of the year.

With the presence of a group of academics of the University College London, United Kingdom, our University’s authorities signed an agreement of collaboration and student mobility between both higher education institutions.

The three UCL representatives were the Pro-Provost for the Americas, Alejandro Madrigal; the Director of the Centre for Languages and International Education, Christine Hoffman; and the Director of the Office for International Affairs, Nigel Percival. Universidad de Santiago representatives who enabled the agreement were the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Ramón Blasco; the Head of the Department of Scientific Research Projects Management, Pablo Vera; the Head of the Department of International and Inter-University Relations, Carol Johnson; the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs of the Faculty of Engineering, Ricardo Vega; the Vice Dean for Research of the Faculty of Humanities, Miguel Farías and professor Gastón Herrera, from the School of Architecture.

Although it was the first meeting, it was very fruitful. Carol Johnson, Head of the Department of International and Inter-University Relations said, “Some agreements were already set, like the one regarding the collaboration between the UCL and the Faculty of Engineering to support or participate in ongoing projects, like Ingeniería 2030. We also agreed to put in contact UCL’s Centre for Latin American Studies with our Institute for Advanced Studies (IDEA, in Spanish). At the same time, we will work on a student mobility agreement.”

During the meeting, the delegations agreed on the main areas of interest for both institutions where some joint projects could be started and for which this British University has some funds awarded by the Santander Scholarship. “They offered these funds to us in case our academics and theirs are interested in starting some collaboration project,” Carol Johnson said.

History and quality

The possibility of finding common interests between UCL and Universidad de Santiago was enabled by the British Council, organization that already knew our university’s interest in creating bonds with other universities in the United Kingdom.

“Our Corporation, through its internationalization policy, has the purpose of building links with universities of excellence. University College London is a diverse and complete institution, with a great development in research, and it is in the fourth place in the QS Rankings,” Carol Johnson said.

The Engineering academics were going to contact each other before the British delegation left the country, while the contact between IDEA and the UCL’s Centre for Latin American Studies should be made before the end of this year. “And soon we will be working on a student mobility collaboration agreement and we expect it to yield results during 2014,” she added.

During the meeting where the agreements were signed, the three academics from the British institution showed themselves willing to broaden the areas of mutual collaboration. They learned about the history behind the 164 years of our University, its spirit, hallmark and culture; the quality of its academics, alumni, and its contribution to society.

Over more than 180 years of existence, the UCL has contributed to the scientific and social development through achievements and discoveries that have marked its legacy. Among its former students, there are several Nobel Prize winners and famous alumni. Besides, it has cooperation agreements with several universities around the world, with integrating and multicultural projects, from the point of view of a global university that to provides the world with solutions.

• Universidad de Santiago has taken on a new academic challenge through the Institute for Advanced Studies: the creation of a center to deepen South Korean studies that is expected to become an example in Latin America.

The analysis of the relations between Latin America and Asia that Dr. César Ross has promoted in the Institute for Advanced Studies (IDEA, in Spanish) for several years, has borne new fruits, as the University has just been awarded funding from the South Korean government to develop a project for a Korean Study Center in Chile called Chilean-Korean Study Center Program (ChKSC-Program): For cross-country future integration based on deeper understanding in terms of Politics, Economics and Society.

The project led by Dr. Ross belongs to one of the nine institutions that were granted funds by the Ministry of Education of that country through the contest “Overseas Korean Studies Incubation 2014”, that will also fund initiatives of institutions like Universidad de Salamanca, University of Queensland, University of California-Riverside, the University of the South Pacific and the East China Normal University.

On this occasion, our University was the only institution in Latin America to receive this significant support that includes a resource allocation for the project of 50 million South Korean wons (27,276,000 Chilean pesos) a year. According to the current exchange rate, it means more than 81 million Chilean pesos over the three years to the project completion.

The project ChKSC-Program will allow the creation of a Korean Study Center in Chile, with the purpose of promoting academic exchange, addressing North-East Asia security issues, studying the process of reunification of the two Koreas and its effects; analyzing the, cooperation, competence and economic relation between the two countries since the FTA of 2004; analyzing their development of high technology and their export model, as well as their public policies and methods to reduce the breach between rich and poor, and offering at Universidad the Santiago Korean Studies oriented to the evaluation and analysis of the social and cultural exchange.

In response to the 21st century’s requirements, creating a Korean Study Center in Chile fosters in both countries the ability to analyze their similarities and differences in order to achieve a more thorough academic understanding that allows a deeper mutual integration.

“For us, it is a good opportunity and, at the same time, it is a combination of research and outreach activities as it involves academic and cultural exchange. It also offers a great deal of scope for researchers to present results and for undergraduate and graduate students to become interested in studying, reading and learning about Korea,” César Ross said.

The opportunity mentioned by Dr. Ross refers to the fact that, due to the great economic time that China currently has, the rest of the Asian countries seem to be in the shade. But for countries like Chile and for academic institutions like Universidad de Santiago, working with Korea is a more open possibility.

Besides, “it is one of the most important economies in the world, with significant scientific and technological advances and powerful higher-education institutions, with academics interested in coming to Latin America and interact with us. It is also a major trading partner of Chile,” IDEA’s researcher said.

Regarding the language barrier, Dr. Ross explained that he had already contacted the Latin American Studies Association of Korea, where there are at least 300 researchers, doctors and professors who speak Spanish.

The project that should be started next July, is also an opportunity for the South Korean country, in relation to Chile. “Together with Brasil, we are the most attractive countries in Latin America; Brasil, because it is a big country, and Chile, because its stability, security and reliability regarding economic, social and political matters,” he said.

Dr. Ross explained that, according to the ChKSC program, our University agreed to give courses or modules on Korean studies; to organize work and discussion panels; to encourage the students’ interest in Korean matters; to develop publications and promotion activities, like Korea’s week, and other actions to build links between the two countries and to make the University an example in the relations with South Korea, not only locally, but in all Latin America.

Together with the director, the project team consists of Rodrigo Álvarez, student at the American Studies Doctorate program and Master of Arts in International Political Economy from University of Tsukuba, Japan, as co-investigator, and Seonwook Choi, Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and American and British Culture from Sogang University, South Korea, as research assistant. On the other hand, the South Korean academics who will participate are Dr. Kim Seog Gun, Vicepresident of the Asan Academy and Director of the Center for the Humanities; Dr. Go Myong Hyun, a research fellowship holder at the Asan Institute for Policy Analysis, and Dr. Yun-Joo Park, Assistant Professor at the Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies of Keimyung University and Chief Editor of the Asian Journal of Latin American Studies.

For the official list of the projects selected, check the following link:
http://ksps-pms.aks.ac.kr/jsp/rschr/sl/SlLastSlcList_eng.jsp?bizCd=INC&bizYr=2014&bizNgr=1

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Dr. María José Galotto, director of Universidad de Santiago’s Packaging Laboratory, was appointed as the National Contact Point for Horizon 2020 Framework Program in the area of nanotechnology. Horizon 2020 is a European program that provides funding for research and innovation in different fields. “This is in recognition of the University’s positioning in the area of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, reached through CEDENNA,” the researcher said.

The National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (Conicyt, in Spanish) informed that Dr. María José Galotto, director of Universidad de Santiago’s Packaging Laboratory (Laben, in Spanish) was appointed National Contact Point for the Horizon 2020 Framework Program in the area of “Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials and Advanced Manufacturing and Processing.”

Dr. Galotto said that her appointment “is in recognition of the University’s positioning in the area of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, reached through the Center for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CEDENNA, in Spanish), where nanotechnology is being applied to different areas of knowledge. This appointment will consolidate this new line of research and this positioning.”

According to Dr. Galotto, it is also in recognition of the constant work that Laben has developed over time, which results have been reflected in several research projects, publications in ISI journals and patents. This, in turn, results in a very close relation with the food and agricultural industry and food packaging industry at a national and international level.

The Laben was invited to be part of the International Association of Packaging Research Institutes (IAPRI). This membership, awarded by invitation only, is proof of the international recognition that our University has received.

Dr. Galotto’s appointment is also important because this area has a great future in the Food Science and Technology field; therefore, being able to get in contact with other research groups in Chile and abroad, will strengthen the links between the University’s academics and other researchers.

Among her new responsibilities, she will have to promote and foster the participation of nanotechnology research groups in the Horizon 2020 Framework Program, in which Chile will be entitled the same benefits that the European Union member states enjoy.

Regarding this, Dr. Galotto said that “up to date, we have had the first work meeting at Conicyt and we have scheduled others for the second semester, both here in Chile and in Europe.”

Nanotechnology

According to the researcher, “nanotechnology will integrate with food and agricultural industry as an option for developing food with better sensory and nutritional properties, better quality, and useful life, and greater safety.”

Dr. Galotto specified that our University is well ahead in this area, since the Laben has been working several years in applying nanotechnology to food packaging.

She added that researchers at Laben have led studies, in which nanotechnology has been applied, for example, to the development of packaging with anti-microbial activity to extend the life of food like salmon, or to reducing the level of compounds that accelerate the ripening of climacteric fruits like kiwi or avocado, among others.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The activity that was held at our University had the presence of Timothy Kane, the Australian Ambassador in Chile; Ian Satchwell, the Director of the International Mining for Development Centre of Australia; Dr. Aldo Saavedra, professor at the Department of Chemistry Engineering and other local experts, who analyzed the alternatives to develop mining extraction operations that care for both the environment and communities. During his speech, professor Satchwell said “We have learned many lessons from our mining experience in Australia that can be applied to the mining industry in Chile and Latin America; for example, the responsible water management, which should represent one of our main challenges”.

Chile and Australia are two of the major mining producers worldwide. Both countries have a vast experience in the mining extraction industry that can be shared with the aim of developing a sustainable mining industry that respects the environment and communities.

To face this challenge, on April 8th, our University held a panel discussion that was presented by the Australian Ambassador in Chile, Timothy Kane and had the presence of Ian Satchwell, Director of the International Mining for Development Centre of Australia; Isabel Marshall, Director of the Sustainability Committee of CESCO; Jorge Sanhueza, Manager of Environment and Communities of CODELCO; Matías Desmadryl, a lawyer expert in natural resources regulations, and Dr. Aldo Saavedra, professor at the Department of Chemistry Engineering of our University.

During the activity organized by the Australian Embassy in Chile and our Department of International and Inter-University Relations, Ambassador Kane valued the importance of this initiative and said that it was a “privilege” to have the opportunity of being at this international meeting “in one of the best educational institutions of Chile and, together with other experts, seek answers to common problems for both countries.”

This panel discussion- that took place at the Auditorium of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science- was also attended by professors and students of the Mining Engineering program of our University, who had the possibility of asking questions to the panelists.

During his speech, professor Ian Satchwell said “we have learned many lessons from our mining experience in Australia that can be applied to the mining industry in Chile and Latin America; for example, developing methods for responsible water management, which should represent one of our main challenges for the future of mining industry in the world.”

“Our main challenge is the responsible use of natural resources, understanding their real value. For example, the value that water has for people in our countries, as it is a very scarce good,” Stachwell said.

This panel discussion on the challenges faced by mining industry was held at Universidad de Santiago, in the context of CESCO Week, the World Copper Conference that took place in Santiago.

Academic partnerships

Carol Johnson, Head of the Department of International and Inter-University Relations of our University described the meeting as “successful” and informed that conversations tending to strengthen the academic links between Universidad de Santiago and Higher Education Institutions in Australia were started.

“Ambassador Ken met with President Zolezzi and expressed his interest in creating collaboration links regarding priority fields, like mining industry, exact sciences, engineering and international studies,” Johnson said.

She said that the activity “met the goals proposed and it indeed exceeded our expectations.”

“Through this activity, links were strengthened between Australia and our University. Also, it opened the possibility of having new meetings and bringing renowned foreign academics to address contingent matters of national interest, as sustainable mining industry, in this case. This debate is of interest to both our University and our country, which are important leaders in this field,” Carol Johnson concluded.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Representatives of renowned universities showed themselves very interested in establishing agreements and exchange programs in fields like nanoscience, food technology, didactics of mathematics and Latin American studies, among others.

On Monday 17th, our University was visited by representatives of thirteen renowned British universities that showed their deep interest in creating academic links and establishing mutual collaboration agreements.

Particularly, the most attractive fields for the European universities were research in mathematics or in Latin American studies, nanoscience, food technology, technology transfer and English language practice. In these areas, significant collaboration opportunities were open in the short and the medium term.

Óscar Bustos, Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation of Universidad de Santiago, who also took part in the meeting with the British academics and academics from our university, said that this meeting “allows us to have great expectations with respect to potential studies conducted together with some of the most prominent universities of the United Kingdom.”

“The importance of this visit lies in the experience and international recognition of the participating institutions. Universities like Edinburgh or Sheffield are well positioned in world rankings and the work they do is in agreement with our own lines of research,” he added.

According to Vice President Bustos, the fact that our University is recognized for its research work “is one of the factors that attracted the British delegation.”

“Nowadays, our University is in the fourth place in the national rankings of research productivity, publications and awarded projects. These developments, in all areas of knowledge, must have persuaded these British institutions into coming to Universidad de Santiago and proposing academic exchange programs, collaborative works and research,” he concluded.

For her part, Carol Johnson, Head of the Department of International and Inter-University Relations of our University said that the British academics had “excellent” references of Universidad de Santiago “and they knew that we are a complete and complex institution that is well positioned in international rankings; therefore, their visit was not by chance: it is the result of our prestige as university.”

According to Carol Johnson, this first meeting is consistent with Universidad de Santiago’s internationalization policy that has the goal -among others- of establishing links with the best institutions in the world.

“This contact was very promising. It will open many doors to our students and academics, and also, it allows us to put in practice our ambitious internationalization policy,” she added.

At the meeting, that was held at the Rectoría building, Óscar Bustos, Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation; Carol Johnson, Head of the Department of International and Inter-University Relations; Rafael Labarca, Dean of the Faculty of Science; Jaime Eugenín, Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Programs of the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology; Francisco Castañeda, professor at the Faculty of Administration and Economics; Fernando Estenssoro, professor at IDEA; Gastón Herrera, professor at the School of Architecture and Roxana Orrego, professor at the Department of Linguistics and Literature, were present.

The authorities and academics of the following thirteen universities were present at the meeting: University of Ulster, Durham University, University of Sheffield, University of Edinburgh, University of Warwick, University of Bath, Bristol University, Middlesex University, University of Kent, Northumbria University, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cranfield University and University of South Wales.

Translated by Marcela Contreras