The Directorate of International Cooperation of Universidad de La Frontera is an academic-administrative unit dependent on the Vice-Rector's Office of Research and Postgraduate Study, and is oriented towards strengthening the University's international links, to benefit the management and development of its strategic programmes.

It supports institutional activities and practices which require special international visibility in its programmes, establishes academic and scientific contacts and mobilizes resources for new projects. Its activity is part of the International Strategic Development Plan of Universidad de La Frontera.

Its mission is to promote, strengthen and expand the University's international links, to the benefit of the management and development of its strategic programmes.

It works in coordination with the Directorate of Research, the Academic Directorate of Postgraduate Studies, the Directorate of Innovation and Technology Transfer, and with the Faculties and Institutes.

It supports institutional activities and practices which require special international visibility in its programmes, establishes academic and scientific contacts and mobilizes resources for new projects.

The Directorate of International Cooperation is defined in accordance with three central concepts: International links, Internal Coordination, and Assistance.

International links

The internationalization of Universidad de La Frontera requires a reconsideration of the orientation of international cooperation, directing it towards strengthening and empowering the intellectual, cultural, scientific, technological, humanist and social capacities of the institution. This requires a new framework for cooperation with foreign universities, giving priority to a logic of cooperative integration which will lead to work in priority areas with shared resources and proactive horizontal structures (networks) which will allow innovative research, teaching and development programmes to be set in motion. The links are to be confirmed with institutions which share the same vision as UFRO with respect to the role of internationalization in the context of globalization, through recognized, agile mechanisms of mutual accreditation.

Internal Coordination

The scope of the internal activities of the Directorate of International Cooperation must be understood as facilitating cooperation with the Directorate of Research, the Academic Directorate of Postgraduate Studies, the Directorate of Innovation and Technology Transfer and other academic units requiring such cooperation, with the aim of making progress in the management and development of their strategic programmes for the internationalization of their respective areas of activity.

Assistance

This concept is key in the academic character of the Directorate of International Cooperation. Assistance is defined as the support which certain members of the academic communityare able to provide to others. These interactions should create patterns of meaning, values and cognitive structures in practice to recreate and sustain over time the culture of growing internationalization with the university aims to construct. The object is to generate assistance to narrow the gap between the current actions of individuals and the new forms of institutional activity which can be generated collectively.

Dr. Hugo Zunino
Director International Cooperation