Virginia Tech and Universidad Austral de Chile leaders met in Blacksburg last week to discuss expanding their long-standing research and teaching partnership, according to an Oct. 19 announcement from Virginia Tech. The meeting came as a new study abroad program began this fall, with 12 Virginia Tech undergraduates spending the semester in Valdivia and Chilean Patagonia, the university said.
UACh Rector Egon Montecinos met with Virginia Tech President Tim Sands at Burruss Hall to discuss deepening the relationship and making UACh an anchor in Virginia Tech’s emerging Global Innovation Network, according to the announcement. The delegation’s visit, organized by Virginia Tech’s Outreach and International Affairs office, included meetings with university faculty in animal sciences, business, biological sciences, natural resources, food science, veterinary medicine, and the humanities and social sciences, Virginia Tech said.
The Blacksburg visit followed a Virginia Tech delegation’s trip to Chile this fall, where the group met with UACh faculty and leaders in Valdivia before traveling to the university’s Patagonia campus in Coyhaique, according to Virginia Tech. The university said the visits are helping shape the Global Innovation Network, which is intended to connect universities and partners to advance research, expand learning, and create economic opportunity.
Virginia Tech said the partnership dates to 1996, when a veterinary faculty exchange began with help from Gerhardt Schurig, a former dean of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. The relationship later expanded across disciplines through the UACh-VT Center for Science and Global Sustainability in Valdivia, which supports joint research and student opportunities, according to the announcement.
