The Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) is hosting a delegation from Southwest Bahia State University (UESB) of Brazil, consisting of two professors and nine students from its undergraduate programs of medicine, physiotherapy, biological sciences, business administration, mathematics, and economics. The purpose of the visit is to showcase the UMH various campuses and promote future academic exchange opportunities between the two institutions.

On June 22, 2026, the Sant Joan d’Alacant campus and the Cyborg Experimental Center served as the starting point for this visit. Fernando Borrás, director of the Cyborg Experimental Center, gave the UESB visitors a tour of the center and presented various examples of clinical simulations applied to medicine that are taught at Cyborg.

For his part, Rodrigo Santos, a professor in the Bachelor’s in Nursing program and a captain in the Spanish army with experience in the special forces and UN missions, was tasked with presenting different examples of clinical simulation in nursing. Likewise, Associate Dean of the Bachelor’s in Nursing, Concha Carratalá, accompanied the Brazilian delegation on their tour of the nursing facilities. The director of the Center for Translational Research in Physiotherapy, María del Carmen Lillo, was responsible for showing the installations linked to the Bachelor’s in Physiotherapy program.

Upcoming activities that are set for Thursday, June 25, include an institutional reception in Rectorado and Consejo Social Hall to be led by Deputy Vice Rector for Institutional Position & Rankings, José Manuel Blanes Martínez, along with the Director of International Graduate Programs, María Pastor.

Then, the Brazilian delegation with take a tour of the Elche Campus, during which they will visit different faculties, institutes, athletic facilities, and other emblematic UMH spaces, including the Altabix Library and Scientific Park.

On Friday, June 26, the UESB guests will visit Radio UMH, and there they will participate in a broadcasting workshop. During it, the Brazilian students and faculty will talk about their experience at the UMH, as well as ideas and future opportunities that have emerged from their visit, with the aim of strengthening academic collaboration between the two universities.

Finally, on June 29, the Brazilian group is scheduled to visit the installations of the Elche Institute for Research, Development and Innovation in Health Biotechnology (IDiBE). Following this visit, the official institutional farewell ceremony will proceed.

The arrival of a UESB postdoctoral researcher at the UMH Department of Public Health, History of Science and Gynaecology in 2019 marked the beginning of the institutional relationship between the Miguel Hernández University of Elche and Southwest Bahia State University Later, following the creation of the PRODIC program in 2021, both institutions strengthened their ties by launching a joint initiative with the UMH Bachelor’s in Physiotherapy program.