CISE Professor Works to Enable Academic Cooperation Between the University of Florida and Latin American Universities

The University of Florida has renewed a cooperative agreement with the Universidad Militar Nueva Granada (UMNG) in Bogota Colombia allowing for the establishment of distance learning courses in computer graphics. The agreement was negotiated by Dr. Manuel Bermudez of UF's Department of Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering. Dr. Bermudez is the lead contact between the two universities.

The courses to be offered via the agreement will focus on the latest techniques and methods in computer graphics. These courses will be incorporated into the UMNG's existing Multimedia Engineering program. This program, much like UF's Digital Arts and Sciences program, synthesizes computer science, art, three-dimensional design and engineering.

The cooperative agreement will be renewed in late 2005 and will last for five years.

Dr. Bermudez, a Fulbright Scholar during the 2003-2004 academic year, has fostered similar collaborations with other Latin American universities.

In May 2003 Bermudez established a formal Academic Cooperation Agreement between the University of Florida and the Universidad de los Andes in Merida, Venezuela. Prior to the formal agreement, Dr. Bermudez provided guidance regarding the school's Master's degree program in Systems Engineering. He continues to work with the Venezuelan university to encourage its graduates to pursue further studies in the United States.

Dr. Bermudez has also established an Academic Cooperation Agreement with the Universidad Latina in San Jose, Costa Rica. The university will be the primary host institution for the 2007 Centro Latinoamericano de Educaci en Informatica (CLEI) conference. Bermudez will serve as the Program Committee Chairman for the CLEI Conference, the oldest and most prestigious computer science conference in Latin America.

In 2003 Dr. Bermudez went on sabbatical in Latin America to fulfill his obligations as a Fulbright Scholar. During that time (the 2003-2004 academic year) he worked to nurture the ties between the University of Florida and his host institution in Merida, as well as between UF and universities in Bogota and in San Jose.

In 2004 Bermudez received the rare honor of having his Fulbright appointment extended for six months, with full support from the Council on International Exchange of Scholars. During that time he taught a graduate course at the Universidad de los Andes.

The University of Florida's collaboration with these Latin American universities is ongoing. Dr. Bermudez predicts that in the future emphasis will be focused on helping these schools meet undergraduate program accreditation standards.

Source: Dr. Manuel Bermudez
Writer: Danny Rigby, drigby@ufl.edu