Latin America has a lot to offer us. UCM visited the Universidad Señor de Sipán in Peru
We made contact with this university in Chiclayo thanks to the NAFSA International Education Fair held last year in New Orleans, USA. From UCM went to the country vice-rector Čajková, vice-rector Brník and head of the project department Barbora Jančiová.
"The city of Chiclayo struck us as slightly shabby at first glance, but this was in contrast to the modern and well-equipped campus of Universidad Señor de Sipán (USS). Upon arrival, we were already greeted by beautiful green spaces, modern buildings and a friendly atmosphere," says UCM Vice Rector Andrej Brník.
USS is a private university that was founded on 5 July 1999. It offers 25 study programmes divided into four faculties:
Faculty of Health Sciences - Dentistry, Nursing, Medicine and Health Technology;
Faculty of Business Sciences - administration, marketing, international business and accounting;
Faculty of Law and Humanities - law, psychology, social work, communication and graphic design;
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Urban Planning - architecture, civil engineering, software engineering and industrial engineering.
"In Peru, private universities are generally of higher quality than public universities, which is why more students seek them out. Moreover, the academic year in Peru starts and ends in different months than ours, so our visit was outside the teaching period, but at the time of graduation, which we had the opportunity to experience in person," Brník recalls, adding that the stay lasted three days.
Official meetings and signing of the memorandum
"We started the opening day with a welcome at the university rector's office, where we were introduced to the structure and functioning of the school," explains the vice-rector. The big surprise was the invitation to the graduation ceremony of the alumni. As university studies in Peru are not cheap, graduation ceremonies are an important event not only for the graduates but also for their families. The atmosphere was very emotional and festive.
"In the following days, they presented us the functioning of the educational system and the organization of the academic year, the scientific research topics and projects they are working on, and the university's activities in the field of social responsibility," enumerates Andrej Brník
USS is a modern university with high quality standards that achieves significant success in science, research and education. During the meetings, they expressed interest in cooperation with our university, especially in the possibility of publishing their scientific results in our indexed journals.
"Each day we visited different parts of the campus, having the opportunity to see the university's high-quality facilities, modern laboratories and specialized classrooms. The whole working trip resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation, which will allow not only mobility projects for teachers and students from both universities, but also scientific research and project cooperation," Brník evaluates.
What is Peru like?
Peru is a country of great gastronomy, fascinating history and beautiful nature. "Peruvian gastronomy is one of the best in the world - we tried ceviche, lomo saltado, sece de cabrito (Peruvian-style stewed goat meat) or traditional drinks like Pisco Sour," describes the Vice Rector.
The archaeological sites, museums and historical centres, as well as the people themselves, were also a unique experience. According to Brnik, they are hardworking, hospitable and warm-hearted. "We were very pleasantly surprised by their openness and willingness to help," concludes Vice-Rector Brník, adding that Peru is a country from which we can learn a lot, whether in the field of education, science or people's entrepreneurship.
