ALFA Network Members

The University has had great success in the first three rounds of applications for monies under the ALFA programme, set up by the EC to foster links between EU and Latin-American universities. Moss Madden, Professor of Planning and Regional Science in the Department of Civic Design, was successful in the first round in obtaining a grant of 42,000 ecu to fund a project on sustainable development in an urbanising world and Axel Kroeger, Professor of International Community Health in the School of Tropical Medicine obtained 40,000 ecu for his project on insect-borne disease control. In round three, Professor Michael Lye, of the Department of Geriatric Medicine, gained 71,000 ecu. In all cases, the University is co-ordinating the projects.

Professor Madden's project concentrates on the issues surrounding the management of urban growth and change in the context of the developing global economy, taking account of the particularly intensive growth of cities in Latin America, where such growth has rarely been accompanied by corresponding economic growth. European experience in managing urban growth contains lessons for Latin American metropolitan decision-makers, the European work on regional integration and convergence is also likely to be of relevance to Latin America. The project, which besides Liverpool involves European universities in Madrid, Grenoble and Lisbon and Latin American universities in Pernambuco and Campinas in Brazil and Corrientes in Argentina, aims primarily to establish student exchange between the EU and Latin America at doctoral level, particularly targeting women candidates. Another primary aim is the development of joint research programmes between academics in the institutions.

Professor Kroeger is concerned with setting up a joint training course, at postgraduate level, between Liverpool and universities in Heidelberg, Granada, Quito, Cali and Medellin in Colombia, Trijillo in Venezuela and Managua. The course, which will concentrate on the control of insect-borne disease, will be made up of distinct modules elaborated by the different network members and applied in their own institutions, will form part of existing Master's and PhD programmes, and will lead to the exchange of postgraduate students in the future.

Professor Lye's network groups Liverpool with Rome, Helsinki, Salamanca, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Belo Horizonte and Leon, Mexico. The project addresses the problem of an increasing proportion of elderly people in Latin America (more than 30% will be aged over 65 by 2016) and the effect that this will have on economic growth as disproportionate demands are made on health services. One way to reduce the effects of this problem is to build up a caucus of trained professionals to develop solutions applicable to local circumstances, based to some extent on the experience of Europe, which has already begun to experience the greying of its population. The project will develop a common taught Master's degree in geriatric medicine and gerontology for Latin American physicians, with a progression to PhD, on programmes based in Latin American but supported by secondment to Europe.

Liverpool's success in the ALFA programme is in part a reflection of the existence within the University of a thriving Institute of Latin American Studies, well-connected across different disciplines and with very active networks in Latin America and Europe. The support of the University's European Liaison Office was also crucial in the bid formulation stage.

March 1996 Index

[Next Page Button] [Previous Page Button] [Homepage Button]