Purdue forms partnership with University of Puerto Rico
June 22, 2022
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University, Purdue Polytechnic Institute and Purdue University Global are establishing an academic partnership with the University of Puerto Rico. Purdue says the goal of the partnership is to forge relationships that will benefit students and professors in areas such as precision medicine and healthcare, sustainability and climate change, and engineering. The university says it has identified three main areas that will be the foundation of the partnership: nursing, precision medicine, and engineering. “The entire Purdue system is pleased to partner with the University of Puerto Rico to explore the creation and offering of new academic opportunities in an innovative fashion that serves both current and future workforce development needs,” said Melissa Burdi, Purdue University Global vice president and dean of the school of nursing. “UPR is a highly valued partner, and we look forward to a dynamic and meaningful collaboration.” Purdue says a delegation of administrators, faculty and students visited Puerto Rico earlier this year to meet with representatives and students from four University of Puerto Rico campuses, including Bayamón, Humacao, Mayaguez and Rio Piedras. They also visited the Center for Marine Science at UPR-Mayaguez and the University of Puerto Rico Hospital. “The University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón is pursuing a strong collaboration partnership with Purdue University and its affiliates,” said Miguel Vélez-Rubio, chancellor for UPR-Bayamón, and Jorge Rovira-Alvarez, dean of academic affairs, in a joint statement. “We are confident that establishing agreements on diverse academic fields and services will allow both institutions to grow, and we foresee ample benefits for current students and future recruitment. It most definitively expands our academic offering and provides students with additional opportunities to develop both in professional areas and personal interests.” To kickoff the partnership, Purdue says UPR stakeholders have been invited to participate in the Summer Institute for Sustainability & Climate Change from June 20 to August 1.