UC Chile Master’s Students Join Universitas 21 Network Program on Sustainable Policy Leadership in Sweden
Florencia García and Miguel Oyarzún represented UC Chile at the “U21 School for Sustainable Policy Leadership,” organized by Lund University this year. They had a week of intensive training, sharing experiences with students from universities around the world and reflecting on global challenges.
photo_camera Florencia and Miguel participated in the program along with more than 40 students from universities around the world. (Photo courtesy: Florencia García and Miguel Oyarzun)
The program took place between June 9 and June 13 at Lund University, Sweden, the host institution this year. It is an initiative directed towards graduate students from member universities of the Universitas 21 network, which aims to investigate the analysis, design, and implementation of sustainable policies in different cultural contexts.
This initiative stands out for being an intercultural space that gathers different perspectives around global challenges, creating a deep understanding of sustainability. Additionally, it allows participants to build networks and start collaborative projects with students from different universities around the world.
Florencia García, master’s student in Political Science, and Miguel Oyarzún, master’s student in Education, represented UC Chile in the 2025 edition, alongside 30 other participants from Universitas 21 member universities.
Florencia described this experience as unique, because it allowed her not only to learn theory and strengthen her leadership skills, but also to work with intercultural groups and expand her knowledge of culture and other disciplines, experiencing a kind of learning that goes beyond the classroom.
"What I appreciated the most was the discussion with my peers. We all came from different disciplines, so the conversation brought us new ways to see the world.” Florencia García, master’s student in Political Science.
On another note, Miguel focused on the importance of this program for understanding current global challenges and how to respond to them at a local level, progressing from different disciplines in consideration of what is happening at an international level.
“The accomplishments of our disciplines cannot be addressed today without a contextual and international perspective. This experience incorporates a key component for educational improvement and the management of formative models.” Miguel Oyarzún, master’s student in Education.
These opportunities are promoted by each UC Chile faculty in coordination with the Office of the Vice President for International Affairs (VRAI as per its initials in Spanish), to encourage the student community to develop their global competencies and engage in experiences that meaningfully impact their academic and professional lives.
“These are meaningful experiences, complementary to the curricular formation, that favor human, cultural, and academic capital through short-term programs that have a long-lasting effect.” Miguel Oyarzún
An unexpected encounter in Sweden: UC Chile student abroad was part of the program’s organization
Florencia and Miguel were greeted by Llewellyne Delelis, a graduate of the Master’s program in Intercultural Relations and International Cooperation from the Université de Lille, France, who was completing her internship at Lund University. They discovered an interesting coincidence: during the first semester of 2024, Llewellyne had been at UC Chile for three months to complete a previous practicum.
Llewellyne was a member of the organizing team of the “U21 School for Sustainable Policy Leadership.” Her internship at Lund University focused mainly on organization of activities, support for participants, global engagement, and data collection.
During her time at UC Chile, the French student had contributed to the improvement of special programs and international cooperation, focusing mainly on Europe, designing the proposal for a program with various thematic areas. She had worked directly with the Office of the Vice President for International Affairs (VRAI.)
“The fact that the participants came from different specialization areas, I think that it created something special during the program, an open-mindedness that that sparked interesting debates.” – Llewellyne Deliles.
Llewellyne’s internship at UC Chile had been through the Global Research program, a VRAI initiative that gathers students from abroad to do their internship or professional practicum in key areas of our university or assist in research in different UC Chile faculties and schools.
UC Chile hosts more than 300 interns and trainees from abroad each year who come for different institutional and research projects, contributing to their professional growth.
