Following thirty years of collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes (Cervantes Institute), we have made our partnership official by signing a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding). The MoU was signed by Professor Karen O’Brien, our Vice-Chancellor and Warden and Professor Luis García Montero, Director of the Instituto. Prof Montero is widely considered to be one of Spain's most prominent contemporary poets and is a Professor of Spanish Literature at the University of Granada.
Named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the Spanish author of ‘Don Quixote’, the Instituto Cervantes (IC) is the largest organisation in the world responsible for promoting the study and the teaching of Spanish languages and Hispanic cultures, with branches in 50 countries worldwide.
A delegation led by Prof Montero visited Durham on 18th July to meet representatives from Durham’s School of Modern Languages. Accompanying Prof Montero were Martín López-Vega González, Director of the Cabinet of the Director of the IC, Victor Ugarte Farrerons, Director of the IC London and Pedro Jesús Eusebio Cuesta, Director of the IC in Leeds and Manchester. Additionally, we were delighted to welcome a return visit from Ignacio Cartagena Núñez, Consul General of Spain in Edinburgh.
During a roundtable meeting, the delegation met with Professor O’Brien, Professor Claire O’Malley, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global), and Professor Janet Stewart, Executive Dean of Durham’s Arts & Humanities Faculty. Discussion focussed on the potential to expand our current collaborations with the Manchester and London IC branches, with an agreement to work together on inviting a series of Spanish and Latin American artist and performers to Durham. The group also agreed to strengthen connections between the IC and Durham’s Zurbarán Centre for Spanish and Latin American Art, which aims to promote and generate innovative research relating to the arts in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America.
The delegation also visited Durham’s UNESCO heritage site and the Spanish Gallery, part of The Auckland Project in County Durham.
Durham’s Partnership with the Instituto Cervantes
Durham has enjoyed a long history of collaboration with the Instituto, including visits from IC Directors and invitations to Durham staff members to give talks in person and online, as a platform to showcase our strength in Hispanic Studies. Recent examples include a conference (IV Colloquium of Medieval and Golden Age Hispanic Studies) which was held in Durham from the 9th to the 11th of July 2024, organised by members of staff in MLAC (Professors Beresford and Hijano) and sponsored by the Manchester IC. Professor Rosi Song’s ‘Ex Libris’ online book launch series and Professor Santiago Fouz Hernández’s series of ‘in conversation with’ prominent Spanish filmmakers and exhibitions of the ‘The Bigas Luna Tribute’ project are also examples of initiatives supported by the Instituto.
Durham is an official DELE examination centre; the internationally recognised Diplomas which certify different levels of proficiency of Spanish as a Foreign Language awarded by the IC on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education.
Hispanic Studies at Durham
Durham University is home to a consistently high-ranking department of Hispanic Studies, currently rated among the top five by The Complete University Guide 2025. This reflects the excellence that characterises our research and teaching. Hispanic Studies at Durham is a gateway to several interdisciplinary centres and institutes within the university including the Zurbarán Centre for Spanish and Latin American Art - Durham University and the Centre for Visual Arts and Culture - Durham University
European Partnerships
Durham is committed to maintaining close relationships with our European partners. These connections are an integral part of our international activities in terms of collaborative research, training and learning opportunities, staff and student mobility. Our research collaborations with European institutions aim to address global challenges, from environmental sustainability and health, to emerging technologies and space.
At Durham, our academic staff conduct innovative and impactful research to transform lives and make a difference, globally and locally: research to empower and inspire. Collaboration with a broad mix of partners is central to enhancing global knowledge and developing global citizenship.
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