In the last year, UNM entered into 10 agreements and exchanges with universities in Spain and Latin America. Dr. Eliseo “Cheo” Torres, vice president of Student Affairs, actively pursued some after hosting a group of university administrators from Mexico this spring. Torres has an eye to attract foreign students to UNM as well as to see UNM students and faculty pursuing study abroad programs at institutions in Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Ecuador or Chile.
The agreements or “convenios,” establish an agreement of academic and cultural cooperation. “The goal is to organize joint research projects as well as to organize faculty and student exchanges,” Torres said.
Other outcomes include joint scientific activities through classes, conferences, seminars, symposia and lectures. Both institutions generally agree in the exchange of published material.
The institutions that participated in the spring program are interested in collaborations with UNM, Torres said. They signed MOUs to doing a program with us – generally month-long programs, such as English language training through CELAC or other academic programs. The goal, Torres said, is to have those students come to UNM fulltime.
Robyn Côté, coordinator of agreements and study abroad at the Latin American and Iberian Institute, said that it is a “point of pride” for Latin American institutions to enter into convenios with U.S. universities. She is quick to note, however, that UNM is careful about entering into the agreements because something has to come of it.
“We noticed that if faculty get involved in the agreements, then something happens. They may have a colleague at another institution with whom they want to work out an exchange.”
Manuel de Hermenegildo, the Prince of Asturias Endowed Chair in Information Science and Technology, helped establish an agreement with his home institution, the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. The result is that a student from that school will attend UNM this fall, Côté said.
Côté noted the contribution international faculty bring to UNM, “Visiting faculty bring a different perspective on life that they pass on to students. They often conduct research while they’re here and work with our graduate students. Latin American study students get field research grants. The visiting faculty they work with become their contacts across the globe.”
The convenios also bring international students to UNM to “enrich the academic and cultural life of our students, expand their horizons and make them global citizens,” Côté said. She added that the students make friends and are then encouraged to go on an exchange.
Cynthia Radding, LAII director, established an agreement with the Centro de Investiaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología (CIESAS) to engage in a graduate student exchange.
The goal is to foster scientific research and produce master’s and doctoral levels in anthropology and the social sciences to carry out academic projects, and publish the results that contribute to the anthropological knowledge of Mexico. The agreement gives the authority to award scholarships, develop curriculum and evaluate and establish courses for different Mexican public administration agencies.
LAII is a campus resource for faculty interested in research, study and teaching abroad. “We can connect people with their counterparts at other institutions,” Côté said.
Students can also take advantage of their services.
For a list of all 58 UNM convenios, visit: http://laii.unm.edu/exchange/convenios.php.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Posted by scarr at June 28, 2006 04:41 PM