(March 18, 2009) -- The long list of student and faculty exchange programs with international institutions just got longer.

In the accompanying photo, University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer (left) and Yitzhak Apeloig, president of Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, signed a "Memorandum of Agreement" to enhance scholarly connections between the two institutions.

Technion currently has 8,889 undergraduate and graduate students. Many of its graduates have gone on to become scientists and engineers, and they make up more than 70 percent of the country's founders and managers of high-tech industries. Founded in 1912 and originally called the Technicum, the institution is strong in the natural sciences, engineering and architecture, and it includes a school of medicine.

The agreement allows for faculty and researchers to pursue scholarly work at each other's location for specified periods of time. In addition, each institution may exchange undergraduate or graduate students in appropriate fields of study that contribute to their degrees. Cooperative research among scholars and/or departments also may be negotiated on an individual basis. The agreement is to be automatically renewed every five years.

The newly signed document opens the way for the two institutions to explore and formalize areas for collaboration and for establishing a student exchange. Eventually more details will be available from the UO's International Affairs office. (See a list of existing international partners)