The Universidad de Montevideo participates in Erasmus Mobility programs funded by the European Union. Over sixty UM professors, students, and staff benefited from these programs in the past years and received international faculty and staff. The Erasmus Program allows the deepening of existing partnerships. It promotes research in strategic areas aligned with the UM strategy in educating global citizens and leaders to increase the worldwide understanding of Latin America.

Alexander Castleton visited the University of Hradec Kralove in the Czech Republic from November 11 to December 2, 2022. Among other activities, he gave an open talk titled “José Ortega y Gasset, Hannah Arendt, and the Problem of Judging a Technological World.”

The overall theme of his visit was “Questioning Technology: perspectives from the social sciences and the humanities.” He participated in existing courses within the Department of Sociology, including General Sociology, Gender and Society, and Theories and History of Sociology. His lectures were titled: ‘Sociology of Technology: an overview’; ‘Gender and Technology: theoretical perspectives and empirical discussions’; and ‘Hannah Arendt and José Ortega y Gasset: theoretical tools to analyze the problems of modernity’.

When asked about some reflection, Alexander said, “The professors’ Exchange through the Erasmus+ program allowed me to get to know the academic life in the Czech Republic, including colleagues and students. It was also an excellent opportunity to network for future collaborations with the University of Hradec Kralove. In addition, it allowed me to get to know a charming city, which is ideal for learning about the culture of a Central European country.”

Castleton met with Constanza Cuadrado and María Emilia Álvarez, two UM Humanities students currently studying at UHK with an Erasmus+ grant. Cuadrado and Álvarez introduced him to the city and described their positive experience at UHK. These included their exciting courses, knowledge of Czech culture, and travels to Prague and neighboring countries such as Austria, Poland, and Slovakia.

As of today, the UM participated in Erasmus+ Programs with the University of Essex and Hertfordshire in Great Britain, the Warsaw School of Economics and University College of Enterprise and Administration in Lublin WSPA in Poland, the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University VGTU in Lithuania, the University of Minho in Portugal, Koç University in Turkey, the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi in Romania, Universidad de Malaga, Spain, Universidad Ca´ Foscari Venezia, Italy, and the University of Economics – Varna in Bulgaria. The programs include scholarships for undergraduate studies, staff training, and teaching funding.