A delegation from Unicamp led by rector Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles visited six universities in Canada, from October 16 to 20, on a trip in which the University renewed partnerships and opened new possibilities for collaborative actions, in several areas of research, in addition to articulate the expansion of student and teacher exchanges.
Throughout the week, the group from Campinas visited McGill University, Polytechnique Montréal and Université de Montréal. And he was at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, York University and the University of Toronto.
In addition to the dean, the delegation included professors Osvaldir Taranto and Rafael Dias, from the Executive Directorate of International Relations (Deri) at Unicamp, Marcelo Brocchi, from the Dean of Research (PRP), Arnaldo Walter (director of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering – FEM), Milena Serafim (associate director of the Faculty of Applied Sciences – FCA), Eliana Araújo (from the Faculty of Nursing – Fenf) and Marco Tulio Patino (from the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering – Feagri).
"The mission to Canada can be considered extremely successful. In 4 days we visited and spoke with teams from six different universities, located in three important cities in the country”, said the rector. “In each specific case, we mutually define the topics of interest for collaboration and ways to continue strengthening cooperation”, he added. “It seems to me that we are on the right path to expanding the internationalization of our university”, he believes.
The meeting at McGill University was attended by the vice-rector of that university, Deep Saini, and with the participation of ten professors and representatives from that entity's international relations office.
The researchers identified opportunities for collaborative actions in areas such as neurosciences, genomics, artificial intelligence (AI) and its applications, studies on entrepreneurship, public policies, energy and sustainability. The possibility of formalizing a cooperation agreement between Unicamp and McGill was also discussed.
During the visit to Polytechnique Montréal, it was the president of that university, Maud Cohen, who received the Brazilian delegation, when the parties then signed the renewal of the collaboration agreement, now with a validity period of five years. The Unicamp group then visited different engineering and technology laboratories at the university.
Montreal
The delegation then visited the Université de Montréal, where they were received by the vice-rector of international partnerships, professor Valérie Amiraux.
The agenda included discussions on areas of common interest for carrying out collaborative research projects. Topics such as global health, digitalization in health, sport, functional materials, energy, sustainability and public policies were covered.
Representatives of the two institutions defined that the workshops online – with the participation of teachers from both sides – to explore the possibilities of collaboration.
The delegation headed from Montreal to the city of Trois-Rivières, where they visited the Université du Québec, an institution with which Unicamp maintains common projects in the areas of materials and energy, within the scope of the Institut de Recherche sur l'Hydrogène (IRH, hydrogen research institute).
The delegation was welcomed by Professor Sébastien Charles, Pro-Rector of Research and Development at that university. The Unicamp group also met with professors from the areas of administration, nursing and engineering.
Representatives of the two universities discussed ways of approaching each other, with the aim of intensifying the exchange of teachers and researchers, technical-administrative employees and undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Toronto
In Toronto, the Unicamp delegation visited York University, where a meeting took place with the participation of the president of the Canadian entity, Rhonda Lenton, and professor Amir Asif, vice-president of Research and Innovation.
Collaboration opportunities were discussed around topics such as sustainability and resilience, studies on cities, media and culture, public policies and artificial intelligence and its applications. Furthermore, the possibility of creating a bilateral program to support research projects developed by the two universities was discussed.
The delegation finally visited the University of Toronto, ranked as the 21st best university in the world according to the Times Higher Education (THE) ranking. The group was welcomed by Professor Alex Mihailidis, Associate Vice President of International Partnerships.
According to Professor Dias, it was agreed to renew the collaboration agreement between Unicamp and the University of Toronto, as the current agreement ends at the beginning of 2024. It was also decided to sign a specific agreement providing for the student exchange between the two universities.
“I consider that the mission was extremely successful in terms of identifying opportunities for collaboration and tangible approaches and in promoting Unicamp among prestigious universities in Canada,” said Dias.
For the professor, this is a fundamental action in the context of the resumption of international mobility of teachers, researchers, students and employees, interrupted as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.
“The visit of the Unicamp delegation to important Canadian universities, with the presence of the rector, is a manifestation of the University's commitment to fully resuming internationalization activities in the context of reducing barriers to mobility”, concluded Dias.
