On 5th and 6th March important steps were taken for Wageningen UR by Dr. Aalt Dijkhuizen for cooperation with partners in Chile. In Santiago an agreement was made with the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research Conicyt. The focus of the agreement is on research and capacity building within the domains of food quality and food safety, biofuels, aquaculture and natural resources. Concrete actions for 2007 are the initiation of PhD research projects within the mentioned domains and the development of consortia and public-private partnerships with institutions and industries for the execution of strategic research. In addition, fellowships will be made available for professionals who want to participate in courses at Wageningen UR/ Wageningen International. To expand the network of Wageningen University, agreements have been made with the University of Chile and University Santo Tomas.
At the start of the visit Aalt Dijkhuizen and Peter Zuurbier met a group of alumni from Wageningen UR and business relations. During this informal meeting the foundation was laid for the Chilean Wageningen UR alumni association.
Image: Vivian Heyl, president of Conycit en Aalt Dijkhuizen