Professor Jeremy Bradshaw, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International & Doctoral), and Professor Catherine Montgomery, Academic Director of International Partnerships recently welcomed representatives of UNAM-UK to the University. Dr Adrian Guillermo Aguilar Martinez, Director and Dr Ana Elena Gonzales, Deputy Director lead the international centre which is hosted at King’s College London.

Bath has research and mobility links with the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the institution in 2014.

The UNAM-UK Centre was founded in 2015 and aims to promote academic and cultural exchange between UNAM and higher education institutions in the UK. The Centre acts as a vehicle for establishing joint research and teaching projects in all areas of study and promotes mobility exchange for staff and students, including encouraging Spanish language teaching and promoting Mexican culture through lectures, seminars and exhibitions.

Professor Bradshaw chaired a roundtable discussion involving the Academic Director of the Doctoral College, Professor Cathryn Mitchell, and Bath colleagues from the Departments of Biology and Biochemistry, Social and Policy Sciences, Mathematical Sciences and Education along with colleagues from the International Relations Office and the Skills Centre. Discussions focussed on research collaboration, postgraduate mobility and the potential development of joint PhD programmes.

Our guests also met with current PhD students who are being supported by CONACyT, the National Science and Technology Council of Mexico that provides financial support for postgraduate students, along with students who are UNAM alumni. They shared their experiences of studying at Bath and residing in the UK.

Professor Jeremy Bradshaw said: “I was delighted to host Dr Adrian Guillermo Aguilar Martinez and Dr Ana Elena Gonzales and to provide the opportunity to meet with staff and students to discuss our range of activities with Mexico. We are very proud of our strategic partnership with UNAM and I look forward to broadening and deepening our collaboration”.