Latin America is focus of forum
Edinburgh students have organised the first ever Latin American Forum to discuss business opportunities in the region.
Latin America is focus of new forum
Representatives of the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Labour Organization were part of the expert panel.
Organised by students of the University’s Latin American Society, with the full support of the University, the forum focused on a region experiencing rapid social change and economic development. It is also investing heavily in higher education.
Video
Find out what some of the key speakers had to say, in this video.
Much of the economic development in Latin America is concentrated on areas like energy and health, both of which are very important to the University. I am confident that with initiatives like the Latin American Forum and through our new Office of The Americas, Edinburgh will strengthen its position in this key region, establishing research links with the best institutions and attracting the highest quality Latin American students to study with us.
International offices and partnerships
The Forum took place as the University prepares to open its new Office of The Americas based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The new venture follows the successful establishment of offices in Mumbai and Beijing. It will build on existing relationships between Edinburgh and a range of institutions and companies across Central and South America.
These include partnerships with a range of universities including UNAM in Mexico Universidade de Sao Paulo in Brazil and Universidad de Chile.
The University has also collaborated with Brazil’s national energy company, Petrobras, and gas company BG Group to improve methods of extracting oil from carbonate reservoirs in offshore fields.
Other partnerships include work to reduce deforestation in the Andes and Amazonian basin and efforts to tackle health problems in Venezuela using remote telehealth networks.