The school has travelled through Latin America countries, like Colombia, Mexico and Argentina and it was opened for the first time in Chile.
The Latin American Complutense School is a two-week educational meeting that pursues collaboration between the faculty of Complutense University of Madrid (UCM, in Spanish) and Universidad de Santiago through a joint teaching program. It is mainly aimed at undergraduate and graduate students and, on this occasion, it offers nine courses.This is the first time that this activity is held in Chile and it has a high number of enrolled students from Chile, Spain and Latin America. The Latin American Complutense School will be held in Universidad de Santiago thanks to the initiative of Francisco Castañeda, Head of the International Relations Department of the Faculty of Administration and Economics (FAE, in Spanish), and Marian López, Director of the Latin American Complutense School.At the opening ceremony, Silvia Ferrada, the Academic Vice Dean of the FAE, welcomed Chilean and foreign students and professors, highlighting the confidence that Complutense University of Madrid placed in Universidad de Santiago de Chile to implement this academic experience. One of our main missions as a Faculty of Administration and Economics is to generate international cooperation partnerships, to develop the areas of teaching and research,” she said. She also stressed the responsibility of the university for transforming the country, thinking of social welfare.For her part, Isabel Durán Giménez-Rico, Vice President for International Affairs of the Complutense University, said that universities should be willing to open themselves to other institutions to progress in science and social development. “We are honored to renew our links with Universidad de Santiago, a university of quality, prestige and excellence,” she said.The objective of this 22nd edition of the Latin American Complutense School is to strengthen the relation of the most important university in Spain with Latin America, through an academic activity.Dr Francisco Castañeda, expressed his gratitude to Dr Juan Manuel Zolezzi, President of Universidad de Santiago, for trusting in this project.Dr Castañeda said that it is necessary to focus on the praxis and pay attention to the signals that the society gives us. He highlights the social commitment that Universidad de Santiago has with social inclusion: “All who enter this university, become part of a university with great history, it is the core of higher education and changes your life forever,” he added.Marian López showed herself very pleased with the reception that they had at Universidad de Santiago, as they had been trying to organize the Complutense School in Chile for a long time. “We have implemented the School many times in Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Colombia. However, we were very interested in Chile because we knew universities here are good and we share many historical and cultural experiences,” she said.She explained that the Latin American Complutense School in Chile is the tip of the iceberg, as it involved an intense preparation work in the previous months, preparing agreements and analyzing the conditions, in a smooth and cordial process. “As a result of this, students from Spain and from different places in Latin America will meet, learn together and share experiences. Besides, the relation among professors will lead to the creation of teaching and research networks and collaborative work,” she concluded.Translated by Marcela Contreras