High-ranking delegation from Mexico was welcomed Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México visits TU Braunschweig

For over 15 years, Technische Universität Braunschweig and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) have been cooperating in research and student mobility. During the delegation visit on 1 February 2023, possibilities were discussed to further expand the partnership and to strengthen the collaboration.

With more than 350,000 enrolled students, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is the largest university in Latin America. Additionally, its foundation in 1551 makes it the oldest university on the American continent. UNAM’s main campus is located in Mexico City and was declared a World Heritage Site in 2007.

Since 2008, TU Braunschweig has been receiving exchange and doctoral students from UNAM regularly, and in return has been sending Master’s and doctoral students to Mexico, especially from the fields of biotechnology and geophysics. The two universities also cooperate in research, for example in the research project EXCEED (Excellence Center for Development Cooperation Sustainable Water Management in Developing Countries). “The long-standing partnership with the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is of vast importance for TU Braunschweig, and is to be expanded further in the future. That is why we were delighted by the visit of the representatives from Mexico.”, said Professor Tatjana Schneider, Vice President for Vice President for Internationalisation and Regional Relations at TU Braunschweig.

Gruppenbild der Mexiko-Delegation mit TU-Präsidentin Angela Ittel und Vizepräsidentin Tatjana Schneider.

Welcoming the guests in the President’s office. From left to right: TU President Prof. Angela Ittel, Dr. Alejandro Velázquez, director of the UNAM centre in Germany, Prof. Dr. Francisco Trigo, Vice Provost for international affairs, Prof. Dr. Patricia Dávila, Vice President for Higher Education Development, and Professor Tatjana Schneider, Vice President for International Affairs and Regional Anchoring at TU Braunschweig. Photo: Simone Fürst/TU Braunschweig

The high-ranking delegation of three from Mexico consisted of Prof. Dr. Francisco Trigo, Vice Provost for International Affairs, Prof. Dr. Patricia Dávila, Vice President for Higher Education Development, and Dr. Alejandro Velázquez, director of the UNAM Centre in Germany. After the guests were welcomed by TU President Professor Angela Ittel and Vice President Professor Tatjana Schneider, the programme included an exchange with Professor Manfred Krafcyzk, Vice President for Digitalisation and Sustainability.

Joint doctoral programme planned

Subsequently, the guests visited the Department of Mathematics at the Carl Friedrich Gauß Faculty. For more than ten years, Professor Miguel Ballesteros of UNAM and TU Professor Volker Bach have been researching questions of mathematical physics together. As part of their research projects, they have jointly supervised several students and doctoral candidates from both universities. The talks with the UNAM delegation brought the negotiations on a joint doctoral programme to the point of contract maturity, and the official contract closing is to take place in the near future. “This is the first joint doctoral programme between UNAM and a German university. The contract closing, therefore, has a pilot function and will be followed with great interest all over Germany.”, Bach emphasised.

Prof. Matthias Bücker zeigt eine Präsentation in einem Seminarraum im Insitut.

Visits to institutes, such as here at the Institute of Geophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics, were also on the programme of the one-day visit. Photo credit: Simone Fürst/TU Braunschweig.

The tour continued at the Institute of Geophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics (IGEP). Professor Matthias Bücker (research group Urban Geophysics) and Dr. Liseth Pérez from the Institute for Geosystems and Bioindication (IGeo) have both lived and researched in Mexico City themselves for several years. Ever since, they have kept the connection alive by implementing geoscientific research projects in Mexico together with UNAM, supporting stays of students and doctoral candidates from both institutions, and organising excursions and study trips. As a result, the delegation also met two Mexican doctoral students here who are currently doing their doctorates at the IGeo, as well as two local doctoral students who have previously participated in exchange programmes with UNAM. Professor Ferdinand Plaschke (research group Space Physics and Technology) reported on his many years of cooperation with researchers at UNAM within the framework of the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), which he would like to intensify in the future. “Today, we have been strongly encouraged in our efforts for a long-term cooperation with our Mexican partners, and we have received specific offers of support. This motivates us greatly to continue working on this wonderful cooperation project.”, said Bücker about the results of the conversation.

Partnership agreement signed

TU-Präsidentin Angela Ittel im Gespräch mit den Gästen der Delegation.

Both universities declared their intention to work even more closely together in the future and also stated this in the form of a written agreement. Photo: Simone Fürst/TU Braunschweig.

With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding and an Erasmus+ agreement at the end of the visit, both universities contractually recorded their intention to work together even more closely in the future.

“Especially for our students and teaching staff from the fields of physics, mathematics, environmental and natural sciences, and process engineering, the signing of these agreements has created even more attractive exchange opportunities. This is an important step”, enthused Vice President Prof. Tatjana Schneider.