Largest Uruguay university and EFE unite to create journalism at its best

The University of the Republic, Uruguay’s largest institute of higher education, and EFE, Spain’s international news agency, signed an agreement here Friday to create a synergy that will permit the training of journalists to a level of excellence in their profession.

The agreement was signed by EFE’s director general for the Southern Cone, Pedro Damian Diego Perez, and the dean of the university’s Information and Communication Faculty, Maria Urquhart.

The agreement considers not only the professional training of students in the short term, but also leaves the door open to implement further activities of teacher training and updating, research and permanent education, which will lead to a better interaction of companies, academe and society.

“As a dean and as a citizen, I believe agreements like this are of the greatest importance because they guarantee that students will be better trained,” Urquhart told EFE.

Much the same was expressed by Diego Perez, who particularly noted that while the “training side” of EFE often remains “unknown to the general public,” it is of vital importance among the agency’s missions, particularly in Latin America, where EFE is “the word for news agency.”

He gave as an example of the agency’s commitment to higher education the master’s degrees that EFE offers in collaboration with the King Juan Carlos University in Madrid and with the National University of Distance Learning.

For his part, Gabriel Kaplun, professor of the Information and Communication Faculty, showed his satisfaction at the signing of the agreement, since he considers that EFE “is a very good place” and for students is the most advantageous way of entering the world of journalism.