UDP Internacional

Tuesday June 24th, 2025

On Monday, June 23, UDP officials met with a delegation from Ghent University (Belgium) to explore future collaborations in various areas of knowledge and academic training. The institutions analyzed the possibility of signing an agreement, which would include various disciplines, including human rights.

The meeting was chaired by Vice-Rector Cristóbal Marín and was attended by Anoek van den Berg, Director General of International Relations; Matías González, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine; José Prieto, Director of the Institute of Astrophysical Studies; Paula Jofré, Director of the Doctorate in Astrophysics; and Milena Soto, Director of the School of Dentistry.

Meanwhile, the Belgian delegation included Professor Rik van de Walle, Rector of Ghent University, and academics Laura Muiño Mosquera, Mieke de Bruyne, Pablo Marchant, Isabelle de Coen, and Nick Provoost.

For the rector of Ghent University, Rik van de Walle, the meeting was very valuable: “We are very happy to have had this meeting.” “Seeking collaboration with world-class research institutes abroad is important to us,” added the academic authority, highlighting the UDP’s work in areas related to health and astrophysics.

For his part, Pablo Marchant, an academic from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Ghent University, noted: “We see many lines of collaboration that we share. I work a lot in theory, and there is a lot of observation here (…). Chile also has privileged access to the skies, to observatories. So this is a form of collaboration that gives us access to things that are not so openly available to us in Europe.”

Likewise, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Matías González, indicated that the meeting “was very interesting,” especially due to the leadership that the European institution has in the development of health-related competencies. “Ghent University is one of the most significant universities in terms of scientific production, ranked highly both in general and, specifically, in Medicine. We are therefore very pleased with this opportunity for internationalization that is opening up for our community,” he stated.

Through these types of events, Diego Portales University seeks to continue strengthening ties with academic institutions of excellence worldwide to enrich the education of UDP students.