13 November 2019 at 9:00 am
Investment in growing academic mobility with South America
An exciting new partnership between ENZ and the prestigious São Paulo Research Foundation, and a recent academic delegation to Colombia and Brazil, are the latest moves to grow academic connections between New Zealand and South America.
ENZ invites proposals for new research
ENZ and Brazil’s São Paulo Research Foundation (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo – FAPESP) are jointly funding new research projects to encourage academic cooperation and mobility between our countries.
Each is contributing $100,000 to enable eight or more established academic researchers across all fields, to conduct research in the other’s country. The first year of the funding agreement will act as a pilot.
FAPESP is a public foundation with a mission to support research projects in higher education and research institutions, in all fields of knowledge.
As part of the agreement with FAPESP, successful applicants from New Zealand will develop their projects in cooperation with researchers in Brazil. The researchers will then travel to Brazil to undertake the research with their partners. Brazilian researchers will be funded to come across to New Zealand in turn.
ENZ General Manager International, Lisa Futschek, says the funding collaboration will create opportunities for New Zealand researchers that did not exist before.
“South America is a key market for Education New Zealand – particularly in relation to outbound academic mobility. This new funding collaboration showcases ENZ's commitment to creating new pathways for New Zealand institutions with South America."
This announcement builds on years of relationship-building, and an agreement with Universities New Zealand (UNZ) in November 2016 to enhance cooperation, enable academic mobility and encourage the exchange of knowledge between participating higher education institutions.
ENZ Senior Market Development Manager – Brazil, Ana Azevedo, says: “The professors and researchers that will be involved in these research projects will have the opportunity to play a vital part in driving this relationship forward. They will be ambassadors for their university and New Zealand.”
Applications for funding are open now and close on 27 January 2020.
Download the application guidelines
Universities explore deepening 'south-to-south' connection with delegation
This October, senior academics and researchers from all eight New Zealand universities took part in a 10-day visit to Colombia and Brazil. The delegates explored options to collaborate in new areas such as pharmaceutical sciences and build on previous historical collaboration in areas such as agri-business.
In Colombia, the delegation were part of the official New Zealand presence at Conference of the Americas on International Education (CAIE-CAEI).
“At CAIE-CAEI, members of the delegation spoke on a panel to highlight areas of ‘south to south’ academic collaboration between Latin American and New Zealand universities,” says ENZ Regional Director – Americas and Europe, Amy Rutherford.
In Brazil, the delegation met with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (“Fiocruz”), the most prominent health-focused science and technology institute in Latin America.
They also visited the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and São Paulo State University (UNESP). At UNESP, the programme included meetings with Brazilian academics from universities across the country, including the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), the Federal University of Parana (UFPR), the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), and the University of São Paulo (USP).
In both Colombia and Brazil, the delegations participated in ‘Innovation and Education in New Zealand’ seminars for students, where they met with undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in studying in New Zealand. These seminars were co-hosted by members of the Universities New Zealand (UNZ) Latin America Elite Agent programme.
“I was pleased to see the high calibre of the New Zealand, Colombian and Brazilian academics and researchers who came together during the 10-day programme," Rutherford says. "The future of New Zealand-Colombia and New Zealand-Brazil academic and research collaboration looks bright!”
The delegation at the New Zealand booth at CAIE-CAEI in Bogotá, Colombia. L-R: Ellen Duval, Deputy Head of Mission and Consul, Embassy of New Zealand in Colombia; Jairo Gutierrez, Acting Head of School (Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences), Auckland University of Technology; Amy Rutherford, Regional Director – Americas and Europe, ENZ; Richard Watt, Professor and Head of Department of Economics, College of Business and Law, University of Canterbury; Constanza Tolosa, Senior Lecturer, School of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Faculty of Education, University of Auckland; John Lowry, Senior Lecturer – School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University; Margaret Anderson, Deputy Director, International, University of Waikato; Lucy Duncan, New Zealand Ambassador to Colombia; Javiera Visedo, Senior Market Development Manager – Colombia and Chile, ENZ; Joel Tyndall, Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy and Associate Dean International, Division of Health Sciences, University of Otago; Shane Ball, International Marketing Manager, University of Auckland and VP Latin America New Zealand Business Council; Benedikt Fischer, Hugh Green Foundation Chair in Addiction Research, and Professor, Schools of Population Health and Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland; Ana Azevedo, Senior Market Development Manager – Brazil, ENZ.
