The Vice-Rector for Projection, Internationalization and Cooperation of the University of La Laguna, Lidia Cabrera Pérez, recently visited Ecuador, touring various universities. In some cases, the purpose was to strengthen relationships and projects previously established—such as the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE) at its various campuses (Ibarra, Santo Domingo and Quito) and the Private Technical University of Loja (UTPL)—and in others, to initiate relationships and projects, such as the Central University of Ecuador (UCE).
The latter stands out for its antiquity, with more than 400 years of history, its public character, its scientific station in the Amazon and its headquarters in the Galapagos Islands, which is of high attraction and interest to the University of La Laguna due to its affinity in areas such as island development and economies, tourism, biology, geology and environmental engineering.
The framework and specific collaboration agreements opened with all of them include a wide range of projects, among which the access to doctoral programs for Ecuadorian students stands out, as well as their inclusion in the research groups of the University of La Laguna, and the start of shared teaching, from online collaborations through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) to the design of joint degrees.
Meeting with the UTPL team
With UTPL, a leading center for online teaching with a history of joint doctoral programs, actions were planned to promote shared online teaching, ongoing teacher training plans in various formats, taking advantage of the Science and Technology Park for online teaching at this university, and joint co-organization of activities in the areas of internationalization, to promote intercultural skills and cultural extension.
With PUCE Santo Domingo, with which a development cooperation project is being developed focused on the business empowerment of women from the Juan Eulogio Cooperative (Neighborhood), taking advantage of the facilities of a botanical garden owned by the university, itineraries and doctoral programs were defined for the training of its faculty, while future actions were identified for the mobility of faculty and students from the University of La Laguna with interests in the biodiversity of the aforementioned garden.
This space is a benchmark and is part of global networks and consortia related to conservation and research, as well as alliances for climate change and ecological restoration; in addition to having recently obtained the seal that accredits it with the international standards of the BGCI Botanic Garden Accreditation. At this PUCE campus in Santo Domingo, as well as those in Ibarra and Quito, the indicators required for the design of shared master's programs in various areas of common and strategic interest, in which work has been ongoing for some time (heritage and public health), were analyzed.
Meeting at UCE
Finally, with the Central University of Ecuador (UCE), with whom relations were established for the first time, it was agreed to begin the process of signing a framework agreement, while also connecting research teams and faculty interested in strategic common areas. It was decided to initiate dialogue at the respective centers of both universities to design an inter-university degree in tourism, in which other Ecuadorian universities (Guayaquil) are also interested, leveraging the UCE's experience in these studies at its campus in the Galápagos Islands.
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