The University of Aberdeen today (Friday, 29 February) hosted a visit from the British Ambassador to Venezuela and the Venezuelan Deputy Head of Mission to the UK.
Catherine Royle, British Ambassador to Venezuela and Sr Felix Plasencia, representing the Venezuelan Ambassador to the UK were visiting the institution as part of a trip organised by Aberdeen City Council to develop existing links and mutual interests in the oil and gas sector.
University representatives have visited Venezuela on a number of occasions over the past 18 months. They are continuing to engage in discussion with various parties in Venezuela to facilitate the sharing of the University's expertise in the delivery of quality teaching and research excellence gained through long-standing collaborations with the oil and gas industry both at home and overseas.
The University has been proactively working with Aberdeen City Council and Scottish Development International, who are also taking part in today's discussions, to forge international strategic alliances to promote the expertise available in Aberdeen as an Energy centre of excellence.
The University's specific interests relate to the provision of high quality postgraduate education and strategic links with University establishments and industry R&D organisations in Venezuela to develop effective knowledge transfer processes. These naturally link to other recent announcements concerning growing strategic alliances between the University and industry in Aberdeen to further promote economic and educational strengths in the North-east, including the recently announced Subsea Centre proposed for the City.
"We are delighted to participate in such important discussions that promote close co-operation between academia, and industry at home and overseas.
"We see very important opportunities and benefits both for Aberdeen and Venezuela in building such collaborations that demonstrate the capacity in Aberdeen to work together with the oil and gas industry in Venezuela to the benefit of both countries.
Ambassador Royle, from the UK Embassy in Caracas, and Sr Plasencia from the Venezuelan Embassy in London, are spending two days in Aberdeen meeting business and government leaders to discuss specific opportunities for collaboration between Aberdeen and Venezuela.