Alianza 4 Universidades becomes a patron. The activities organised by SACF were praised at the meeting
The Spain Australia Council Foundation has taken another step towards consolidating its activity agenda for the first half of this year, as was demonstrated at the Board’s latest meeting. The Board gave a positive overview of the events organised and highlighted the success of the seminar “How Australia and Spain face cybersecurity challenges”, organised in Canberra in May, which the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs seemed keen to replicate soon in Spain.
The patrons also got the chance to hear more about the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the association of Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific to organise the Australia-Spain Water Forum at the end of the year. Yet another activity was the seminar “The end of life: a reflection on the practices used in New South Wales and abroad”, in which the Council Foundation collaborated through the Cervantes Fellowship.
Among the activities planned for the second half of the year are the II Edition of the Australian Leaders Programme and the work lunch with the Ambassador of Spain to Australia, Manuel Cacho.
During the meeting, Alianza 4 Universidades was officially welcomed as a new patron. A-4U is a strategic alliance between the four main public Spanish universities: Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and Pompeu Fabra (UPF). Its objectives include improving international mobility for students, researchers and academics; establishing cooperation agreements for research worldwide and improving the international image of its members. Joining SACF’s list of patrons could prove highly effective in allowing it to achieve those objectives.
The Board invited Marta Fernández to participate in the meeting. Ms Fernández is the Executive Director of RMIT Europe, Australia’s largest higher education institution, which is among the world’s top 100 universities in several fields. RMIT has shown an interest in being part of the Spain Australia Council Foundation and had the opportunity to offer a presentation of its activity at the meeting.
The Board meeting, held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation headquarters, was also attended by Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Ignacio Ybáñez, who gave an overview of the state of bilateral relations. SACF’s Chairman thanked him for his continued support of the Foundation, as shown by the Secretariat’s presence at the seminar on cybersecurity.
More images in the Gallery.
