At a working meeting on Wednesday, 5 November, and Thursday, 6 November 2013, between the University of Liechtenstein and the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) in Medellín, Colombia, the cooperation agreement signed by the two educational institutions last year was consolidated and further developed.
At a working meeting on Wednesday, 5 November, and Thursday, 6 November 2013, between the University of Liechtenstein and the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) in Medellín, Colombia, the cooperation agreement signed by the two educational institutions last year was consolidated and further developed.
From left to right: Gabriela Cortés (International Office Liechtenstein), Julio Jairo Ceballos Sepúlveda, Trudi Ackermann (Head of the International Office Liechtenstein) and Miguel Ángel Betancur.
Within the context of the existing exchange, topics from the field of architecture and planning were on the agenda. Specifically, there were discussions concerning the organization of a student excursion to Colombia coordinated by Professor Hansjörg Hilti and the Colombian architect Samuel Vélez . “The plan is to create an extensive project in the green belt around Medellín while we are in Colombia,” commented Professor Emeritus Hansjörg Hilti.
“Besides the intensive discussion surrounding the question of sustainability, we can offer the Colombian students, who come from cities with millions of inhabitants, alpine living space and direct access to the European centres,” said Hugo Dworzak, Head of the Institute of Architecture and Planning.
From left to right: Miguel Ángel Betancur, Hansjörg Hilti, Julio Jairo Ceballos Sepúlveda and Hugo Dworzak.
First students from Colombia nominated
Exactly one year ago, Professor Hansjörg Hilti held two lectures for students at the UPB in Medellín, and in doing so generated interest in studying abroad in Liechtenstein. The first group of interested students have been in contact with the University of Liechtenstein’s International Office for some weeks and have applied for the 2014 summer semester.
“We are delighted that this cooperation has now started. It is part of the internationalization strategy of both universities and will open up new opportunities for mobility for students, lecturers and researchers,” Rector Julio Jairo Ceballos Sepúlveda stressed.
Lively university exchange
The Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana was founded almost 80 years ago as a private and Christian university and offers a broad range of courses for around 25,000 students. The Colombian institution boasts more than 20 accredited study programmes (in total: 41), offers 8 doctoral and 26 Master’s degree programmes, and has approximately 120 cooperation agreements in 30 countries.
In 2012, the ranking organization Sapiens Research rated the UPB as one of the top ten universities in Colombia. A cooperation agreement with the University of Liechtenstein in the area of architecture and planning has been in place since the beginning of 2012.
From left to right: Miguel Ángel Betancur, Trudi Ackermann, Klaus Näscher, Julio Jairo Ceballos Sepúlveda and Gabriela Cortés.