100K Strong in the Americas

Monday, Sep 08, 2025

The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) and the Universidad Católica de Colombia (UCC) are collaborating on an international audiovisual production for The Weather Channel. This production and cultural exchange program—funded by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Embassy in Colombia, Partners of the Americas, Grupo Energía Bogotá, Fundación Santo Domingo, and the Water-Energy-Food Nexus—engages faculty and students from both institutions.

In July, faculty and students from UCC visited UT Arlington to participate in audiovisual productions across North Texas and at The Weather Channel headquarters in Atlanta, GA, alongside their UTA counterparts. Julian Rodriguez, assistant professor of practice in the Department of Communication, leads the project at UTA and hosted the UCC delegation during their visit.

“These international productions are essential for advancing transnational research and development projects on environmental change,” Rodriguez said. “The production and dissemination of media content related to the impact of climate change on our planet is essential to our survival.”

Jario Becerra, research director at UCC’s Center for Socio-Legal Research, and John Velandia, professor of software engineering at UCC, expressed enthusiasm about the visit and the opportunities it sparked for future collaboration.

“Visiting UTA allowed us to strengthen our partnership, expand our horizons as academics, and cement our vision for the future,” Becerra said. Velandia added, “Each institution brings unique strengths that enrich international collaborations. Learning about UTA’s communication and engineering programs was fascinating, and visiting The Weather Channel in Atlanta underscored the importance of multidisciplinary work to address global challenges.”

UTA and UCC are in the final stages of signing an international collaboration agreement that will ensure continued joint research and development between these leading institutions.