The relationship between Chile and Italy is based on a long history of collaboration and cooperation that has taken place, both politically and academically, strengthened by the presence of important Italian communities in Chile and Chilean communities in Italy. In recent years, this relationship has intensified in the political, commercial and cultural terms.
The "Chile-Italy Joint Action Plan", signed in Santiago on March 26, 2009, was a significant step forward towards bilateral cooperation and coordination in the political, commercial, environmental and cultural spheres. This plan was implemented on January 27 and 28, 2011, when the First Meeting of the Chile-Italy Joint Working Group was held in Rome, which allowed to launch a major initiative between the two countries, establishing a general framework for its development.
The Memorandum of Understanding establishing the Chile-Italy Mega-Project was signed on March 2, 2011. Its main objective was to promote reciprocal understanding and knowledge through the development of cultural, educational, scientific and technological relations. To this end, the REUCHI Network (consisting of 9 universities from both countries[1]) was established in order to carry out joint activities with particular attention to inter- and trans-disciplinarity, in the fields of science, technology and innovation in the areas of: renewable energies (specifically, geothermal energy[2]), design and management of environmental resources.
After a series of visits between academic delegations from both countries, it has been possible to establish a list of new potential lines of action, such as those surveyed in 2015 by the National Council for Italian Research (Consiglio Nazionale per li Ricerche - CNR) that includes food production.
In this scenario, several conversations have been held -mainly stimulated by the Embassies of Italy in Chile and the Chilean in Italy- to generate a binational academic forum that encourages the deepening of the academic work already developed, focusing on priority areas where both countries have experience. In that context, the First Chile-Italy Academic will be held on May 22-23, 2019, in the city of Concepción, Chile.
[1] For the Italian part, participated: the Politecnico di Milano, the Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Scuola Superiore diStudi and Perfection Sant 'Anna di Pisa and the University of Pisa; while for the Chilena: The University of Chile, the Pontificia Universidad Católica, the Universidad de Concepción and, later, the Technical University Federico Santa María.
[2] The University of Chile actively participated in this area through the Center of Excellence in Geothermal Energy of the Andes (CEGA).
