WEEF 2026: the future of engineering education
Strengthening international academic cooperation and the role of university networks in advancing engineering education were at the heart of the World Engineering Education Forum (WEEF) 2026, held from 22 to 25 September in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. The event brought together more than 1,000 participants from countries around the world to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing higher education in engineering.
Politecnico di Torino also took part in the Forum, represented by Professor Roberto Zanino, Rector’s Senior Advisor for International University Networks and current President of the Magalhaes Network, a university network founded in 2005 to promote academic cooperation between Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean in the fields of technology, engineering and architecture. Professor Zanino participated as a speaker in two panel discussions focusing on internationalisation and the role of university networks in strengthening engineering education.
The first panel, entitled “Best Practices and Opportunities in Internationalization”, was moderated by Professor Diego Patiño, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia. During the discussion, Professor Roberto Zanino exchanged views with Jesús Fraile, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation and Head of Latin American Affairs at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, on best practices and opportunities for internationalisation in higher education.
The second panel, held as a plenary session and moderated by Professor Juan Ocampo, Director of the Department of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, focused on “Role of International University Networks in Strengthening Engineering Education”. Professor Zanino joined the discussion alongside Dr Cordelia Burch, Senior Programme Manager for Engineering X at the UK's Royal Academy of Engineering; Professor Adria Prieto, Director of the School of Engineering and Sciences at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico; and Professor Diego Hernandez, Rector of Universidad Autónoma de Occidente (UAO) in Cali, Colombia, who previously served as First Vice-Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, as well as Vice-Rector and Dean at Universidad Nacional.
“Participating in WEEF provided an excellent opportunity both to present the work being carried out within the Magalhaes Network to build support for an initiative aimed at creating a common CELAC–EU higher education area, also taking advantage of the recent EU–MERCOSUR agreement, and to outline the plans of our European University Alliance Unite! for its internationalisation strategy, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean. The response was very encouraging: despite political developments in several Latin American and Caribbean countries, many of the participants, including those from the United States, confirmed their interest in strengthening academic dialogue with the EU. Clearly, the outcome of the elections in Brazil, a country in which our University has been investing considerable efforts recently, could have a potentially significant impact on this scenario in the coming weeks,” concludes Professor Zanino.
Cover photo caption: Participants in the plenary panel on “Role of International University Networks in Strengthening Engineering Education”. From left: Roberto Zanino, Cordelia Burch, Juan Ocampo, Adria Prieto and Diego Hernandez.
Photo credits: World Engineering Education Forum (WEEF) 2026