Universit� degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

A memorandum of understanding for collaboration between the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and the Universidad Externado de Colombia was recently signed: this is an important agreement that is part of the University's increasingly broad internationalization.

 

In this case, the driving force behind the agreement came from the Department of Law, and more specifically from CRID – the Interdepartmental Research Center on Discrimination and Vulnerability, which has its administrative headquarters at the Department, formalizing ongoing dialogue and research. 

 

Founded in 2016 by Prof. Gianfrancesco Zanetti and Prof. Thomas Casadei, who is currently its Director, the Center has developed a dialogue with a group of professors from the Universidad Externado de Colombia coordinated by Prof. Pablo Moreno Cruz (CRID correspondent since 2023 and professor of comparative law).

 

The collaboration between the two universities has been formalized with an agreement that provides for the development of research and training activities, the organization of joint events, the publication of scientific material—in particular on different forms of discrimination and vulnerable individuals—as well as a staff exchange policy, with a particular focus on young researchers.

 

The agreement was signed by the Rector of Unimore, Carlo Adolfo Porro, and, on behalf of the Rector of the Universidad Externado de Colombia, Hernando Parra Niento, by the General Attorney in fact, Ivan Carvajal Sánchez.

“We are extremely pleased with this new agreement with the Universidad Externado de Colombia,” said Prof. Casadei, "which represents a concrete opportunity to imagine new joint activities and paths in the field of research and teaching, with a positive impact on the education of our students and the quality of our scientific offering. I would like to thank Prof. Pablo Moreno Cruz for his key role in promoting this path and his essential contribution in defining such a wide-ranging relationship."

From the Universidad Externado de Colombia, Prof. Pablo Moreno Cruz commented: "This agreement marks an important step in the internationalization of our university, and it would not have been possible without the commitment and collaboration of Prof. Gianfrancesco Zanetti and Prof. Thomas Casadei. This protocol lays the foundations for a fruitful scientific collaboration between our institutions, which will result in the co-organization of seminars and conferences on crucial issues—such as different forms of discrimination and particular conditions of vulnerability—as well as the development of joint projects and the mobility of students, professors, and researchers. We look forward to welcoming Unimore students, teachers, and researchers to Bogotá."

 

“This agreement,” concludes the Rector, Prof. Carlo A. Porro, "is further confirmation of the great potential of legal studies that open up to international relations and the new challenges posed by contemporary societies: in particular, in the field of research on discrimination and vulnerability, on the new frontiers of legal informatics and applied bioethics, on artificial intelligence and its relationship with law. This agreement opens up new scenarios for international collaboration and joint research with an important university such as the Universidad Externado, with which we share a common vision on the importance of transnational research and training."