Research Intern at the UOS!

Jessica López Víquez is a graduate student in the Programa de Posgrado en Lingüística at the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), who is currently carrying out an internship at the Universität Osnabrück (UOS). The academic exchange with Ms. López Víquez is made possible thanks to the collaboration between the UCR and the UOS, through the Costa Rica Center. She is presently working on her master’s thesis, whose topic is the intonation of the Spanish of Costa Rica. The Costa Rican student receives academic support and contributions from Dr. Andrea Pešková Pešková (UOS), expert in the area of intonation and who instructs a course on the same topic at the university. This opportunity results in a great benefit for the scientific community as it constitutes a contribution toward the Spanish language from Costa Rica, which contains very few scientific observations about its intonational variation.

Blockseminar held at the UOS by Prof. Dr. Jorge Murillo Medrano (UCR)

Professor Dr. Jorge Murillo Medrano of the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) held a block seminar from 8th to 16th November, titled "Temas de pragmática del español" at the Universität Osnabrück (UOS), organized by the Faculty of Linguistics and Literature. The seminar was focused on his areas of specialization: Spanish discourse analysis and Spanish pragmatics. His contribution reinforces the joint work on Spanish linguistics between the UCR and the UOS. His visit is a result of the cooperation of the faculties in both universities, facilitated by the framework of the Costa Rica Center (CRC). In the photo, the director of the center, PD Dr. Susanne Mueller Using, cordially welcomes Prof. Dr. Jorge Murillo Medrano to the CRC facilities.

A Success Story - University of Osnabrück founds Service Agency Costa Rica Center

Video of the ceremony

Since the foundation of the inter- and transdisciplinary research center in 2014, the Costa Rica Center has built up, promoted and intensified the intercultural comparative exchange of science on many levels between the Osnabrück University and important universities in Costa Rica. After this successful project phase, the time has now come: The University's Executive Committee has decided to establish the Costa Rica Center. "This is a decisive step towards ensuring that the Research Center will be able to perform its diverse tasks even better in the future and grow with them," said Prof. Dr. Martina Blasberg-Kuhnke, Vice-President of the Centre, during a ceremony marking the opening of the center.

The research center - like the currently existing center - is made up of members from seven of the university's nine faculties and thus has an interdisciplinary breadth that is unique in terms of cooperation between Costa Rica and Germany. Among the university's international collaborations, it occupies an outstanding position.

The tasks of the newly founded service office, which will start its work at the beginning of 2019, rest on several pillars: The promotion of cooperation in research and teaching on the subject of Costa Rica, as well as the organization of internships in the Central American country within the framework of teacher training, form one pillar. Secondly, support for teaching and research stays of Osnabrück scientists in Costa Rica and researchers there in Osnabrück is one of the core tasks. A third area is the organization of summer schools with Costa Rican and Osnabrück students, as well as the planning of excursions. The preparation of publications resulting from the cooperation as well as the supervision of young scientists are further tasks.

The Sievert Foundation for Culture and Science provides considerable support for the work of the research center and service facility. It is above all thanks to the great financial and non-material commitment of Honorary Professor Dr. Hans-Wolf Sievert as chairman of the board of the foundation and honorary consul of Costa Rica for the state of Lower Saxony that this cooperation has been a great success for years, which benefits all participants.

During the ceremony to mark the establishment of the service center, President of the University Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Lücke and Prof. Dr. Martina Blasberg-Kuhnke, Prof. Dr. Francisco Romero Royo, representative of the Consejo Nacional de Rectores (Council of Rectors of Universities in CR) and Vice Rector for Research of the Universidad Técnica Nacional de Costa Rica (UTN), spoke at the Bohnenkamp House of the Botanical Gardens, in addition to Honorary Professor Dr. Sievert. Other speakers included Marcelo Roldan Sauma, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of Costa Rica, and Birgit Strangmann, Mayor of the city of Osnabrück.

PD Dr. Susanne Müller-Using, the scientific director of the previous center, recalled the beginnings of cooperation between the university and the various educational institutions in Costa Rica. Finally, Prof. Dr. Joachim Härtling, Professor of Physical Geography at the University of Osnabrück, gave a lecture on the concrete cooperation between German and Costa Rican scientists.

Further information for editors:
PD Dr. Susanne Müller-Using, Osnabrück University,
Costa Rica Center,
Kolpingstraße 7, 49074 Osnabrück,
Phone: +49 541 969 4553,
E-mail: susanne.mueller-using@uni-osnabrueck.de

Translated from the official press release (in German)

The Center‘s Sponsors

The Costa Rica Center is sponsored by the Sievert Foundation for Science and Culture (Sievert Stiftung für Wissenschaft und Kultur), which has been supporting the University of Osnabrück and the country of Costa Rica for years. For further details on the Sievert Foundation, please visit their website.

Information on project proposals to the Sievert Foundation for Science and Culture in Costa Rica

Read more (in German)