Diving into delegation visits
From handshakes and sharing cultural highlights to photo opportunities and campus tours, delegation visits are activities many HEIs across the globe spend a lot of time on. But how can your institution move from simply making these visits happen to ensuring maximum partnership impact? At the EAIE conference in Gothenburg earlier this year, the Thematic Committee Partnerships organised a Spotlight Session zooming in on this topic. How can you transform delegation visits, both incoming and outgoing, into strategic mechanisms for creating new partnerships and strengthening partnership development?
In this episode of the EAIE podcast, host Laura Rumbley talks to three IHE practitioners working within the field of partnerships who are closely involved in delegation visits. Eve Brosseau is the Associate Director of Global Relations and Partnerships at University College Dublin (Ireland); Catalina Gerstmann is the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; and Garrett Margliotti is the Director of Global Partnerships and Partner Engagement at the University of Pittsburgh (USA). Together with these three experts, we dive into the world of delegation visits and how institutions can ensure they are meaningful and impactful for all involved.
About Eve Brosseau
Eve Brosseau is the Associate Director of Global Relations and Partnerships at University College Dublin (Ireland). Eve leads the team responsible for managing global partnerships, institutional networks, and UCD’s engagement with Una Europa and Erasmus+ funded projects. She oversees the development and delivery of partnership strategies that advance the university’s global engagement objectives. Her role also encompasses global relations, including the coordination of inbound and outbound delegations and diplomatic engagement. Focused on fostering meaningful collaboration, Eve works closely with academic and professional colleagues to strengthen UCD’s global presence and strategic partnerships.
About Garrett Margliotti
Garrett Margliotti is the Director of Global Partnerships and Partner Engagement at the University of Pittsburgh (USA), where he leads the Office of Global Partnerships and Services — a one-stop hub supporting faculty and staff in advancing the university’s international collaborations and operations. With almost two decades of experience in higher education and global engagement, Garrett focuses on building sustainable partnerships that connect Pitt’s research and teaching mission with institutions and organisations worldwide. A lifelong advocate for international education and creative exchange, Garrett also maintains an artistic practice through Stratford Studios, his stained-glass design business based in Pittsburgh.
About Catalina Gerstmann
Catalina Gerstmann is the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She has held this position since 2022, during which she has led work with university partners, engaged in international diplomacy, and built institutional networks. Within her role lies identifying and supporting key collaborations with international partners aligned with the university’s mission, organising high-level delegation visits in and out, and maintaining, evaluating, and engaging with strategic networks. From 2016 until 2022, Catalina worked as an International Research Officer at the same university, managing international funds to develop research projects in Chile and fostering international collaboration in research across the university.
Additional resources
For further insights into the topics touched on in this episode, the following resources may be of interest:
→ Spotlight Session Partnerships 2025 - roundtable notes
→ Harnessing the power of evaluation to build better partnerships
→ Remapping international partnerships
