For the first time, these two Brazilian universities have participated in a conference with the URV to establish future cooperation. The Chilean University of Concepción, which already has ties to the URV, is also interested in expanding the cooperation. The visit took place on 6 July 2015 as part of the Hispano-Brazilian energy sustainability conference at the URV.

For the first time, these two Brazilian universities have participated in a conference with the URV to establish future cooperation. The Chilean University of Concepción, which already has ties to the URV, is also interested in expanding the cooperation. The visit took place on 6 July 2015 as part of the Hispano-Brazilian energy sustainability conference at the URV.

The conference was attended by the Rector of Pernambuco Federal University (UFPE) , the Vice Dean for Research, Francisco de Sousa, and Jorge R. Henríquez and José Carlos Charamba from the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

The Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB) was represented by Carlos Antônio Cabral, general coordinator of the North-North Eastern Cooperative Research Network in Natural Gas (RECOGAS) of the Institute for Sustainable Energy. The members of the Chilean university delegation were Gabriel Merino, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, with his colleagues from the same faculty, Mario Lillo and David Lara. The university already has an established relationship through a student mobility programme with the URV’s Faculty of Nursing.

The meeting focused primarily on the mobility of graduate students and teaching and research staff, plans for an interuniversity double master’s degree, the strengthening of joint doctoral supervision and possible future collaborations. In total, the Latin American delegations took part in four meetings. The first one was with heads of the URV’s Postgraduate and Doctoral School and discussed questions relating to doctoral studies, the second was held with the heads of the International Centre and covered issues relating to students mobility, the third was a working meeting with the rector and vice-rector of the URV, and the fourth was a meeting to discuss the creation of a university-industry chair (UFPE- UFPB-URV) to promote and develop master’s studies.

These contacts have primarily been established due to the efforts of Professor Alberto Coronas, director of the Applied Thermal Engineering-CREVER research group (Department of Mechanical Engineering) and co-organizer of the Hispanic-Brazilian Conference on Energy Sustainability in Buildings and Processes, which took place from 7 to 10 July at the URV’s Campus Sescelades. The meetings were the result of scientific cooperation between research groups from the two Brazilian universities and the URV, all of whom are interested in expanding and consolidating the joint doctoral and research activities that were set up last year,