About

Introduction

The relationship between Chile and Italy is based on a long history of collaboration and cooperation that has taken place, both politically and academically, strengthened by the presence of important Italian communities in Chile and Chilean communities in Italy. In recent years, this relationship has intensified in the political, commercial and cultural terms.

The “Chile-Italy Joint Action Plan”, signed in Santiago on March 26, 2009, was a significant step forward towards bilateral cooperation and coordination in the political, commercial, environmental and cultural spheres. This plan was implemented on January 27 and 28, 2011, when the First Meeting of the Chile-Italy Joint Working Group was held in Rome, which allowed to launch a major initiative between the two countries, establishing a general framework for its development.

The Memorandum of Understanding establishing the Chile-Italy Mega-Project was signed on March 2, 2011. Its main objective was to promote reciprocal understanding and knowledge through the development of cultural, educational, scientific and technological relations. To this end, the REUCHI Network (consisting of universities from both countries) was established in order to carry out joint activities with particular attention to inter-and trans-disciplinarity, in the fields of science, technology and innovation in the areas of: renewable energies (specifically, geothermal energy), design and management of environmental resources. After a series of visits between academic delegations from both countries, it has been possible to establish a list of new potential lines of action, such as those surveyed in 2015 by the National Council for Italian Research (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche -CNR) that includes food production.

In this scenario, several conversations have been held –mainly stimulated by the Embassies of Italy in Chile and the Chilean in Italy– to generate a binational academic forum that encourages the deepening of the academic work already developed, focusing on priority areas where both countries have experience.

Following the First Chile-Italy Academic Forum which was held on May 22-24, 2019, in the city of Concepción (Chile), Italian and Chilean partners are organizing the Second Chile-Italy Academic Forum on September 21-23, 2021 in Bologna, Italy. The event will have a hybrid format (online and in presence).

Italian University Hub:

  • Alma Mater Studiorum -Università di Bologna (Unibo)
  • Sapienza Università di Roma (Uniroma1)
  • Politecnico di Milano (Polimi)
  • Politecnico di Torino (Polito)

Chilean University Hub:

  • University of Chile (UChile)
  • Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC)
  • Universidad de Concepción (UdeC)

Goals

The main purpose of the Chile-Italy Academic Forum is to strengthen cooperation between Chilean universities and their Italian counterparts, with special emphasis on priority multi-disciplinary themes that present pre-existing collaborations. In this way, its specific objectives are:

  • To strengthen multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary scientific cooperation toaddress issues of global and binational interest.
  • To encourage the processes of academic mobility among the participatinginstitutions that allow, especially, the development of young researchers from both nations.
  • To position the importance of scientifically based science and innovation for thedesign of public policies, the generation of business value and the development of citizenship.
Academic and research collaboration is a very valuable tool that not only accelerates the progress but also enhances the quality of the work and extends the repertoire of the partners.