Representatives from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) and the University of Brescia met in Lima on March 30 to strengthen their relationship and explore new avenues for academic collaboration, according to an April 7 announcement.
The meeting brought together key figures from both institutions. The European delegation included Dr. Maurizio Tira, former rector of the University of Brescia and current member of the Board of Directors at the European University Association; Dr. Roberto Ranzi, vice-rector for Internationalization; and professors Dr. Barbara Scala and Dr. Giovanna Grossi. PUCP was represented by Rector Dr. Julio del Valle Ballón, Magister María Antonieta Delgado, head of Academic Institutional Relations; Dr. Alberto Ferrán, coordinator at DARI-PUCP; Magister Óscar Pain from Academic Affairs; and Magister Giovanni Priori from the Faculty of Law.
During discussions, participants considered joint initiatives such as PUCP joining a project within the European University Alliance (Unita), focusing on renewable energy technologies in mountain regions. Other proposals included collaboration on environmental law, water regulation, transboundary river basins based on previous research into international water conflicts, organizing a summer school program, and promoting exchanges with PUCP’s Center for Analysis and Conflict Resolution in environmental mediation topics.
Dr. Julio del Valle Ballón said: “The world is not concerned with alliances but with who has more power. From academia we care about building bridges to have hope for a better world.”
Dr. Ranzi offered space for visiting PUCP faculty within an office shared by partner universities in Brescia as “a small gesture meant to reinforce our bond.” Del Valle Ballón also proposed appointing a representative to further institutional reciprocity between both universities.
Both parties discussed advancing toward a dual degree as an initial step toward participating in Europe’s Joint European Degree project that would allow degrees recognized across multiple countries.
PUCP expressed interest in projects related to formal mining activities, environmental remediation, engineering-microbiology integration, with potential funding through European programs such as Horizon Europe.
Dr. Tira said: “We believe this path can open very broad international cooperation—not just with Brescia but as a gateway into a wider network across Europe.”
Symbolic gifts were exchanged during the meeting: The Italian delegation presented PUCP with a reproduction of a seventeenth-century Chinese-character map created by Jesuit Giulio Aleni along with congress proceedings about this work held in Brescia; quipus were given to visitors as symbols reinforcing community ties between both universities.
PUCP promotes cultural and social wellbeing through education and research contributions according to its official website. It operates under its institutional framework registered under RUC 20155945860 according to its official website. The university highlights academic achievements addressing societal issues via its news portal using expertise from professors and researchers according to its official website. Its communications are managed by Dirección de Comunicación Institucional according to its official website.
The university’s news portal transitioned from print magazine beginnings in 2005 into today’s digital platform featuring multimedia content according to its official website, serving communities throughout Peru through academic reporting according to its official website. As an outlet sharing research successes since 2005 it offers reports on institutional activities relevant nationwide according to its official website.
