Fundación Universitaria Politécnico Grancolombiano has become the 11th affiliate member from Colombia to join the Virtual Institute.

The Politécnico Grancolombiano is a private institution established in 1981 and offers undergraduate and graduate programmes mainly in different business areas, including international business, management of various areas of services (insurance, banking, airline, hotel, tourism), public, environmental and agroindustrial management, but also economics.

Twenty-eight academics representing six universities in Vietnam received training on the development dimensions of intellectual property rights (IPR) from one of UNCTAD's IPR Legal Experts, Christoph Spennemann.

The workshop, part of the Virtual Institute's curriculum advice and professional development services for its Vietnamese member, the Foreign Trade University (FTU), was held in Hanoi, December 15 and 16, 2008.

Virtual Institute members are encouraged to submit papers by July 30 for a special issue on emerging markets of the International Journal of Technology and Globalisation (IJTG), which will be published December, 2009.

Suggested topics include technology transfer, globalization of research and development, and innovation policy.

Approximately 65 students and professors from Vi member, the University of Jordan, joined Ugo Panizza,of UNCTAD's Division on Globalization and Development Strategies, via videoconference to discuss the findings of the Trade and Development Report 2008, on the chapter addressing "International capital flows, current account balances and development finance."

The videoconference, the first organized for this Vi founding member, took place January 6, and was co-moderated by Vi member coordinator, Talib Awad, and Vi Chief, Vlasta Macku.

Vi members and workshop participants report success in integrating Virtual Institute teaching material into their courses and personal research this year.

Professors Natalia Piskulova and Tatiana Isachenko of Vi Russian affiliate university, the Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO), incorporated the training material on Competitiveness and Development into the course “International Competitive Advantages of Nations” for fourth-year students of the International Economic Relations’ Studies.