The first UNAM-Sorbona Catalysis Summer School has started its activities

The coordinator of scientific research at the National University, William Lee Allarden, emphasized that this type of meeting goes beyond the students in their lives, because the connections, collaborations and friendships they create will open the doors to multiple opportunities and each one will strengthen future connections.

“Last week, UNAM was ranked 32nd in the world and the best in Latin America in terms of meeting the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Here chemistry plays a very important role and motivation, of course, too,” he commented, opening the business in ICN and the Institute of Chemistry, in Ciudad Universitaria.

In turn, ICN Director Maria del Pilar Caron Castro indicated that the idea of ​​creating this first edition arose in 2020, thanks to the initiative of both educational institutions to implement a series of projects, in order to strengthen cooperation in research and training of human resources.

We want to promote the exchange of ideas between academics and students, but also to strengthen existing collaborations and create new collaborations that favor the publication of joint research articles, as well as the training of better human resources in an increasingly competitive global education system. , before students and academics gather in ICN’s Markus Moczynski Hall.

Speaking, IQ Director Luis Demetriou Miranda Gutierrez said that many Nobel Prize winners in chemistry are related to catalysis, which is why this branch of chemistry is always considered a science of the future with which different things are always made. And safer and more sustainable products to lead us to a more comfortable life.

“Catalysis is a world in which mineral accretion is combined with the biology we currently know. For this reason, it is great to create a school in this context and even more so if it is in collaboration between two universities that have very important traditions all over the world. As you can see in the list of speakers, both The two universities have very strong research groups internationally and it would be very beneficial to see all of them, first-hand, because they can network and expand collaboration,” he said.

summer cougar

In turn, the head of the UNAM Center for Mexican Studies in France, Rodolfo Zanella Specia, reported that the Boma Summer will also take place next July, consisting of French immersion courses at the historical site of the Sorbonne, in Paris. Both universities have implemented, from 2022, the UNAM Chair of Excellence at the Sorbonne to enhance the mobility of academics between the two institutions, where greater participation of the chemistry community is expected.

In addition, during the year 2023 four joint summer schools will be held: this one on catalysis, another one on artistic and cultural heritage, another on artificial intelligence and another one on building guitars out of cardboard; Two of them are in UNAM and two others are in La Sorbona, which indicates the great cooperation that exists between the two universities,” he explained.

In turn, Antoine Rozy, advisor for international strategic alliances at the Sorbonne University, indicated that this academic activity is of great importance to his institution because it allows them to expand the cooperation and relations that bind them with Mexico and the National University.

UNAM and the Sorbonne share excellence in their work, and I hope that this summer school will be the first in a wonderful series of works related to science and of course to the other arts, so we hope to see you also at the concert that the Sorbonne Orchestra will give (in Nezahualcóytl Hall) this weekend, as pointed out.

Corinne Aubert, from the Paris Institute of Molecular Chemistry at the Sorbonne University, confirmed that both educational institutions had previously organized a series of Webinars related to chemistry, in addition to general readings, and French specialists were encouraged to communicate directly with Mexican scholars.

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