20-20 Forum Focuses on Global Outreach
Internationalization is expected to play a crucial role in enhancing students’ linguistic competencies in foreign languages, promoting the certification of Spanish for non-native speakers, and training educators in teaching Spanish as a second language.
William Lee Alardín, Coordinator of International Affairs at UNAM, underscored the significance of amplifying the university’s international profile and encouraging the development of innovative concepts that have the potential to evolve into commercially viable business ventures.
Furthermore, the university seeks to promote the study of Mexican culture, encompassing arts, history, gastronomy, and local traditions; disseminate information about UNAM’s activities at its international locations; and implement initiatives to support Mexican communities abroad.
UNAM’s international presence was initiated in 1921 with the establishment of its Summer School and was formalized in 1944 with the inauguration of its first overseas campus: the Extension School in San Antonio, Texas, United States.
Presently, the university operates three Extension schools—in San Antonio and Chicago, United States, and Quebec, Canada—as well as nine Centers for Mexican Studies, situated in Los Angeles, Tucson, and Boston in the United States; France; Spain; the United Kingdom; Germany; China; and most recently, Cuba.
Additionally, corresponding to its presence in foreign institutions, the University hosts offices of 10 international higher education institutions that collaborate on the Ciudad Universitaria campus, originating from the United States, Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and China.
UNAM is affiliated with the Network of Macro-universities of Latin America and the Caribbean (comprising 37 universities from 20 countries in the region); the Ibero-American Union of Universities (alongside counterparts in Buenos Aires, Argentina; São Paulo, Brazil; Barcelona and Complutense University of Madrid, Spain); and the University Network of Internationalization Managers (RURI), which unites over 90 representatives from various institutions.
