Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Attila Brungs visited some of Brazil and Chile’s leading universities in late March/early April to discuss the development of collaborative research and co-supervision of research students. Attila also visited the main governmental funding bodies in both countries to deepen their knowledge of UTS and identify funding opportunities.
The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC) (opens an external site), widely regarded as one of the top two or three research-intensive universities in Latin America and a university with which UTS has been developing links over some time, has accepted UTS’s invitation to become a Key Technology Partner (KTP), an invitation made during Attila’s visit.
In Brazil, Attila met senior executives at The University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo State University (UNESP), University of Campinas (Unicamp), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), and University of Brasilia (UNB) (open external sites). All indicated their appreciation of UTS’s strategy to develop deep, mutually-beneficial links with a select group of universities internationally, and their strong interest in working with UTS to develop such links.
Professor Nicky Solomon, Dean of UTS Graduate Research School; Professor Chengqi Zhang, Director of the Centre for Quantum Computation and Intelligent Systems (QCIS); and Professor Stuart White, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures, visited Brazilian universities and government organisations in early May to follow up on the development of UTS research engagement in the region. Professor White also led a workshop on water at the São Paulo State University (UNESP) (opens an external site).
Considering recent successful engagement with the Brazilian scholarship scheme Science Without Borders*, through which UTS has hosted more than 150 Brazilian students to participate in the study abroad program, the university is expecting to broaden this collaboration to include new opportunities such as joint doctoral degrees and joint research between UTS researchers and their counterparts in Brazil and Chile.
The UTS delegations were warmly received, and UTS’s recent successes in developing its research strengths and status as a world-leading internationalised university were recognised as significant achievements.
As part of the Australian Technology Network (ATN) (opens an external site), UTS currently has agreements with the main government agencies responsible for funding outbound student and research mobility in Brazil, CAPES and CNPq (federal level), and FAPESP (São Paulo State level). These agreements will increase the flow of high-quality research and coursework Brazilian students funded to study at UTS.
For more information, please contact Fiona Chan.
*The Science without Borders program is a Brazilian Government scholarship program which aims to send 100,000 Brazilians over the four-year period beginning in 2012 to leading universities around the world, for one or two semesters of undergraduate programs, PhD or Postdoctoral studies in the areas of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the creative industries at top universities.