Universidad Galileo hosted the Erasmus Days 2025 event, bringing together national and international experts to discuss experiences, strategies, and opportunities for academic cooperation under the Erasmus+ program.
Erasmus+ is a European Union initiative that supports education, training, youth, and sports. It provides students, teachers, and institutions with opportunities to participate in mobility projects and international cooperation.
The event at Universidad Galileo was organized by the Conecta Europa project with support from the Delegation of the European Union, CONEXX-EU, Zabala Innovation, and Fundación Pro Verde.
The program included a presentation of findings from Conecta Europa’s assessment on Guatemala’s participation in Erasmus+, delivered by Alejandro Canto. The event also featured “Erasmus Talks,” moderated by MSc. Laura Pardo of CONEXX-EU. During this session, experts discussed key factors for drafting and managing Erasmus+ projects.
Panelists included Dr. Héctor R. Amado-Salvatierra from Universidad Galileo; Ing. Ricardo Bianchi from Universidad San Pablo Guatemala; MSc. Estefany Cristales from Universidad Popular Guatemala; MSc. Eduardo Véliz from Fundación KINAL; and MSc. Angie Navas from IGER.
During the opening ceremony, MSc. René de León, Dean of the Faculty of Administration at Universidad Galileo, expressed pride in hosting the event and highlighted the university's commitment to international cooperation and quality education. He stated: “There is still much to do, but we have a great path ahead,” inviting further collaboration between Guatemala and Europe.
Alejandro Canto presented results indicating that while there has been progress in Guatemala’s involvement with Erasmus+, participation in international projects remains limited. He explained that Conecta Europa aims to change this through training sessions, advisory services, and network building efforts. “We want to encourage more Guatemalan institutions to participate and create an active Erasmus community,” he said.
Canto also emphasized that internationalization should not be seen only as access to funding but as an opportunity to improve educational quality, promote research, and support sustainable development in Guatemala.
Universidad Galileo has participated in several notable Erasmus+ projects such as MOOC-Maker—focused on developing massive open online courses across Latin America—as well as DIEGO (with Instituto de Recursos Energéticos) centered on energy efficiency; and EU-BEGP which modernizes energy training with a focus on circular economy principles connecting Europe with Latin America.
The university also promotes student and faculty mobility through dissemination of Erasmus+ scholarships while encouraging its community members to pursue global experiences for skill development.
Dr. Héctor R. Amado-Salvatierra shared advice on turning ideas into fundable projects by understanding how proposals are evaluated under Erasmus+. He explained that evaluation criteria include relevance, design quality, consortium composition, and impact—all requiring alignment with both EU priorities and those of Guatemala: “We must think like evaluators to increase our chances,” he noted.
He added: “Rejection is not failure—it is an opportunity for improvement,” stressing perseverance and academic collaboration as essential components of successful internationalization efforts.
The event highlighted the importance of international cooperation for advancing education in Guatemala while reinforcing Universidad Galileo’s role as a leader in global knowledge exchange.
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