During a visit to Colombia, Felipe Fantuzzi and Heidy Quitián-Lara engaged with undergraduate students from the ACS International Student Chapter at UIS, exploring future collaborations in astrochemistry education and outreach.
As part of ongoing efforts to expand international engagement and promote astrochemistry across Latin America, Felipe Fantuzzi and Heidy Quitián-Lara—a visiting researcher at the University of Kent and PDRA at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics—visited the Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS) in Bucaramanga, Colombia.
There, they met with highly motivated undergraduate students from the ACS International Student Chapter, who shared their enthusiasm for astrochemistry and expressed a strong interest in furthering their academic exposure to the field. Inspired by the discussion, the students are now preparing a formal proposal to their Dean to establish an optional module in astrochemistry within their Chemistry BSc curriculum.
Felipe and Heidy have been invited to serve as guest lecturers should the module be approved, paving the way for deeper academic cooperation between Kent and UIS. This initiative not only reflects the global impact of the SISC group but also reinforces Kent’s strategic goal to enhance its visibility and partnerships across Latin America.