New bilateral relations between Chile and Canada

At the University of Los Lagos, Santiago Campus, representatives from universities in Chile and Canada met on July 1 and 2, with the purpose of identifying interests, areas and strategies for academic collaboration.

With the presence of the OUI President, Rector Allan Cahoon (Royal Roads University, British Columbia), the Vice President of Universities Canada, Christine Tausig-Ford, the Director of International Relations of McMaster University - Ontario; and on the Chilean side, the Vice President of the OUI of the Andean region, Rector Oscar Garrido (University of Los Lagos) and representatives of the Council of Rectors, a broad debate was opened on interests, challenges and opportunities for international academic cooperation.

The program included a round of discussions on the internationalization policies promoted in our country by public entities such as CONICYT, DECYTI, and CNICD, in order to understand the opportunities from Chilean universities in a perspective of active engagement with Canadian universities.

At the same time, a broad exchange space was created with universities associated with OUI -University of Concepción, University of Valparaíso, University of Santiago, University of Talca, Austral University of Chile, Metropolitan Technological University and University of Los Lagos- which had the opportunity to present the areas with the greatest potential for international collaboration.

Particular interest was generated around postgraduate training, with a view to creating links for partner programs through joint mentorship experiences, as well as opportunities for student and faculty mobility. Various areas of knowledge converged among the Chilean-Canadian priorities, including health, social sciences, natural resources, and marine sciences.

For the participants, this space constituted a path to formalize international links that will certainly have an impact on the quality of higher education institutions.