From 18th to 22nd March 2019, the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, prof. František Petrovič, PhD., continued his business trip to Latin America by visiting universities in Chile and negotiating opportunities for future mutual cooperation. The university visits were preceded by previous communication between the Vice-Rector for International Relations, PhDr. Martina Pavlíková, PhD., and representatives of rectorates and heads of international offices.

Part of the visit to the Universidad de Santiago de Chile involved the signing a bilateral cooperation agreement. The Head of the Department of International Relations, Ms Anoek van den Berg, and the International Cooperation coordinator, Ms Mayerley Pacheco, organized the meeting of the two parties in which specific cooperation was discussed with university and faculty representatives. The Faculty of Humanities was represented by the Vice-Dean, Diana Arenque, and teaching staff, namely prof. Lucia Dammert, Barbara Barahona, Claudio Broitman, prof. María del Saz. The Faculty of Natural Sciences was represented by Claudia Vargas and Pablo Perez.

Prof. Petrovič also paid a visit to universities in Valparaiso: the Universidad Técnical Federico Santa Maria, where he met Ms Karol Trautman, Head of the International Relations office, and prof. Marcela Soto, Head of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences. The university is also interested in cooperation in the field of physics and is ready to sign a bilateral agreement between the universities.

The third university visited was Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, where the representatives showed a considerable interest in cooperation in the fields of natural sciences, philosophy and religious studies.

Dean Petrovič introduced UKF, the departments of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and their publishing activities. The partner in the meeting was the Head of International Relations Department and the International Relations coordinator Rodrigo Coloma.

Special thanks go to both H.E. Branislav Hitka, the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Chile, and Ambassador H.E. Gloria Navarette, who helped UKF representatives to contact the universities in Chile.

Text: PhDr. Martina Pavlíková, PhD. – the Vice-Rector for International Relations