Ambassador of Spain in Colombia, Joaquín María De Aristegui Laborde, visited Universidad Externado de Colombia

On 17 June, the Externado University President, Hernando Parra Nieto; the Secretary General, José Fernando Rubio; the Academic Director, Néstor Osuna; and the Director of Internationalisation and Foreign Relations, Giovanni Anzola, hosted a visit from the Ambassador of Spain in Colombia.

On this occasion, they discussed the academic cooperation between our Casa de Estudios (Alma Mater) and different internationally recognised Spanish universities. They focused on the possibility of arranging exchanges between academic experts on topics of interest to our university, such as political studies, and international diplomacy, among others. The option of expanding the support for academic and cultural enrichment through our Catedra Europa (Europe Lecture), as well as encouraging Spanish students to come to Externado were also discussed.

Since 1994, Universidad Externado de Colombia has entered into 113 academic cooperation agreements with important higher education institutions in Spain. This includes Autonomous University of Madrid – UAM, University of Valencia, University of Zaragoza and University of the Basque Country. These agreements cover different faculties in our university such as the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences; the Faculty of Finance, Government, and International Relations; the Faculty of Business Administration; the Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Business Administration; and the Faculty of Law.

Between 2016 and 2021, 559 Externado students were involved in international exchange programs with Spanish universities, 244 professors had their stays in Spain, and we have had the opportunity of hosting 248 Spanish professors on their visits to Colombia.

For our university, it is of great importance to promote dialogue that facilitates the academic and research exchange processes for the benefit of the Externado community.