International relations: New perspectives in Uruguay and Argentina

International relations have been conducted in hybrid mode for the past two years. The Department of International Relations and Academic Partnerships (DRIPA) is therefore delighted to have returned from a mission to South America, which gave us the opportunity to reactivate links with IMT Atlantique's historical partners in Uruguay and Argentina, explore new avenues of collaboration... and meet up with some of our Alumni!

"Studying in Europe is a dream for many Uruguayan and Argentine students. Some of them have braved the health constraints (uncertainty, tests, quarantine, etc.) to come to France. We welcomed a dozen students from both countries at the start of the 2021-2022 school year. We felt it was important to build on this resilience and send a strong signal to our partners by going to meet them," explains Stéphane Roy, head of DRIPA (Department of International Relations and Academic Partnerships), "especially since there is a great need for engineers in South America". Hence the latest mission, led by deputy head of DRIPA Maria Le Goff, which took them from Montevideo to Buenos Aires in early March.

Historically, the ex-Telecom-Bretagne engineering program welcomed Uruguayans and Argentines mainly in the digital field. IMT Atlantique's energy, environment and industrial engineering fields might not have been sufficiently identified by the partner institutions, but they offer new, exciting opportunities with the same criteria of quality, even excellence.

Collaborations in engineering, environment and energy to be developed

The Universidad de la Republica Uruguay (UDELAR) is the country's leading university and educates most of Uruguay's engineers. UDELAR and IMT Atlantique have been offering a dual degree since 2004. When Roy and Le Goff visited UDELAR, they met with Maria SIMON, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering (former Minister and Vice-Minister of Education and former CEO of the national telecoms operator ANTEL), along with the directors of the various fields of study (Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Production and Mechanics, Chemical Engineering, Physical and Mathematical Engineering, etc.). They presented the full range of IMT Atlantique's activities and discussed exchanges on promising themes and research collaborations, in particular through co-supervision of doctoral theses, which have already led to lasting cooperation. In addition, the students enrolled in the above-mentioned courses were very enthusiastic about the possibilities. Almost 100 of them attended the presentation!

 

At the Universidad de la Republica Uruguay (UDELAR)
At the Universidad de la Republica Uruguay (UDELAR)

"There are great professional opportunities for students when they have access to the institution's network of industrialists and partner companies," says Stéphane Roy. IMT Atlantique students also attend the ORT Uruguay Faculty of Engineering, with which the school also has agreements. The supervision is very good and the study conditions are very comfortable. The mission was also the occasion for a visit.

Partnership agreements with the University of Buenos Aires

In Argentina, IMT Atlantique has privileged links with the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Buenos Aires (FIUBA). Since 2008, nearly 80 FIUBA students have benefited from established agreements: dual degrees, co-supervised doctorates, student exchanges, Erasmus+ scholarships, and the ARFITEC program (ARgentina France Ingénieurs TEChnologies). During meetings with some of the alumni, DRIPA was able to verify that they had excellent memories of their time studying at IMT Atlantique. These testimonies will help to convince the heads of FIUBA's various fields of study (computer science, artificial and embedded intelligence, mechanics, electronics, etc.) that broader exchanges and collaborations with IMT Atlantique would be relevant.

With the Faculty of Exact Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires, initial contacts have been established through researchers from the school, particularly with the Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera (CIMA/CONICET-UBA) on the environment and ocean monitoring. Instructors are accustomed to participating in summer schools organized on both sides of the Atlantic, thus reinforcing the existing links that thesis co-supervision could anchor in a stronger partnership.

Visit to the Fubia (University of Buenos Aires)
Visit to the Fiuba (University of Buenos Aires)

IMT Atlantique has signed partnership agreements with three institutes of the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) in Argentina. IMT Atlantique and the Dan Beninson and Balseiro Institutes are already involved in student exchanges (academic exchanges, students from the Balseiro Institute hosted in the framework of the SARENA Master of Science program).

The mission also provided an opportunity to meet with the Cooperation Advisers of the French Embassies in Uruguay and Argentina to take stock of IMT Atlantique's collaborations in these countries and to learn about the current state of scientific and academic cooperation in France.

Learn more

Visit to the Fiuba (University of Buenos Aires)

 

Published on 04.04.2022

by Pierre-Hervé VAILLANT

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