The event brought together the CRUCH and the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE), who signed a collaboration agreement with the aim of weaving a strategic and lasting cooperation. The event was structured around topics such as student and academic mobility, research collaboration, open science, artificial intelligence and ethics, and lifelong learning through micro-credentials.
The morning of Monday 21 April saw the start of the ‘First Meeting of Rectors Chile – Spain: Challenges for the University in the 21st Century’ at the University of Santiago de Chile (Usach), with the participation of the highest authorities of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE) and the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH).
The event was held on 21 and 22 April with the aim of promoting a bilateral dialogue with a view to designing an agenda for academic cooperation in five key areas for higher education: universities as meeting places; Open Science and knowledge management; Artificial Intelligence and ethics; academic mobility and cultural cooperation; lifelong learning and micro-credentials.
‘Holding hands, discussing and projecting joint work is undoubtedly a very valuable process, to which we invite everyone,’ said the Rector of the University of Tarapacá and executive vice-president of CRUCH, Emilio Rodríguez, who welcomed the meeting. He said that collaborative work in science is essential, as is student mobility, and added that the conditions exist for a cooperation agreement with a long-term perspective based on common values that can have an important impact on the development of these institutions.
For her part, the President of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities and Rector of the Universitat Jaume I, Eva Alcón, stressed that this event is a great opportunity for dialogue to address relevant issues such as lifelong learning, ‘so that no one is excluded from studying at a university due to individual characteristics or socio-economic conditions’.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Nicolás Cataldo, said that this activity is a reinforcement of a historic bond between the two nations, at a time when the exchange of experiences, innovation and technology is increasingly necessary in a global world that sees the importance of evidence, knowledge and science threatened. ‘We hope that this is the first of many steps of collaboration between our countries, driven by academia and research,’ added the minister.
During the two days of sessions, key issues for the future of higher education in both countries were addressed and various strategies were explored to promote cultural and academic exchange between universities in Spain and Chile, with a focus on consolidating a long-term bilateral cooperation agenda. Thus, the meeting also served to seal a strategic alliance between CRUE and CRUCH, which establishes the basis for future joint initiatives between Spanish and Chilean universities. The agreement includes, among other aspects, the strengthening of academic and student mobility, cooperation in research projects and the exchange of good university practices.
Roundtables for dialogue
The meeting consisted of five sessions, each structured around one of the central themes. The first was entitled ‘Higher education institutions as meeting spaces for Chile and Spain: yesterday, today and tomorrow’ and aimed to reflect on the role of higher education institutions in the construction of a common space of knowledge between Chile and Spain, addressing the regulatory challenges and opportunities to strengthen the mutual recognition of degrees and academic qualifications.
Participants in the dialogue included the Rector of the University of Las Palmas, Lluis Serra; the Rector of the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Alfonso Méndiz; the Rector of the U. de Santiago, Rodrigo Vidal; the Rector of the U. de los Andes, José Antonio Guzmán; and the Rector of the U. del Bío-Bío, Benito Umaña. The exchange was moderated by the Delegate of the President for the Development of LOSU and Rector of the University of Murcia, José Luján.
The agenda continued with the panel ‘Open Science and knowledge management’, which aimed to analyse the opportunities and challenges of open science, including the free dissemination of knowledge, research data management, interdisciplinary collaboration and the social impact of scientific production.
The conversation brought together the Rector of the University of Chile, Rosa Devés; the President of CRUE – I+D+i and Rector of the University of Castilla-La Mancha, Julián Garde; the Rector of the University of Extremadura, Pedro Fernández Salguero; the Rector of the University of Oviedo, Ángel Ignacio Villaverde; and the Rector of the University of Concepción, Carlos Saavedra. The dialogue was moderated by the Rector of the U. Tecnológica Metropolitana (UTEM), Marisol Durán.
In the afternoon, the third session was ‘Artificial Intelligence and Ethics’, which aimed to explore the impact of AI in higher education, its application in teaching, evaluation, research and management processes, as well as the ethical and normative principles that should guide its implementation.
The dialogue was moderated by the Rector of the Universitat Politècnica de València, José Capilla, with the participation of the President CRUE – Teaching and Rector of the Universidad Pública de Navarra, Ramón Gonzalo; the Rector of the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Mathieu Kessler; the Rector of the U. Técnica Federico Santa María, Juan Yuz; and the Rector of the U. de Talca, Carlos Torres.
The last session of the day was entitled ‘Academic mobility and cultural cooperation between Chile and Spain’ and focused on discussing strategies to foster the exchange of students, professors and researchers, overcome administrative barriers, and promote joint programmes that strengthen the internationalisation of higher education.
The discussion brought together the Rector of the Catholic University of Avila, María Rosario Sáez Yuguero; the member of the CRUE Standing Committee and Rector of the Pablo de Olavide University, Francisco Oliva; the Rector of the Metropolitan University of Education Sciences, Elisa Araya; and the Rector of the Catholic University of Valparaíso, Nelson Vásquez. The moderator was the Rector of the U. de Valparaíso, Osvaldo Corrales.
On Tuesday, the last session was ‘Lifelong learning and micro-credentials’, with the purpose of discussing the role of institutions in the continuous training offer, the development of lifelong competences and the incorporation of micro-credentials to recognise specific skills in a changing labour context.
Moderated by the Rector of the U. Alberto Hurtado, Cristián del Campo, the dialogue brought together the President of CRUE – Student Affairs and Rector of the University of Huelva, María Antonia Peña; the Rector of the Universidade de A Coruña, Ricardo Cao; the Rector of the U. de O’Higgins, Fernanda Kri; and the Rector of the U. Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Cristhian Mellado.
The meeting closed with a keynote speech by the President of CRUE and Rector of the Universitat Jaume I, Eva Alcón, who also inaugurated the academic year of the University of Santiago.
Open Science and knowledge management
At the round table with Rector Devés, the first topic addressed by the panellists was that of digital repositories and the consequent challenge of ‘integrating them into processes of transformation and linkage with the environment’.
Rector Garde began by affirming that ‘university repositories have made great progress in recent years and have done a great job in making not only publications open, but also starting to open up data, procedures and research processes’.
Rector Fernández then defended that they should serve ‘to exchange any subject related to research and transfer, and not simply be a place to upload information’. Meanwhile, Rector Villaverde stressed that knowledge should flow freely ‘and not be a product that is bought and sold on the market’.
Rector Devés stressed the importance of transparency, dialogue with society and trust, specifically in two senses: ‘the trust necessary to open up the data and the trust generated by having it available’. “If one had to think of an answer to the ills we are experiencing as a society and the tensions we are suffering as universities, trust is that answer. In that sense, it is positive to open up information, to share it, and for our universities to move towards being very transparent,” he said.
To close the round, Rector Saavedra expressed his concern about the relationship between Open Science and the market, which he said has the capacity to ‘take the noblest initiatives and transform them into a business’.
In the second moment of dialogue, which addressed the challenges to encourage academics to participate in Open Science and to strengthen the internal capacities of each university, Rector Devés highlighted some existing initiatives at the U. de Chile such as the Co-laboratory of the Faculty of Social Sciences, an open system that disseminates the scientific production of researchers, and CopernicusLAC Chile, which operates as a centre dedicated to the storage, processing, distribution of satellite data from the Copernicus Programme and the provision of services of regional interest for the benefit of all countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
He also highlighted the importance of implementing different approaches in Open Science, such as the incentive of citizen science, which has been generated at the University of Chile, for example thanks to the initiative of Professor Audrey Grez from the Faculty of Veterinary and Livestock Sciences. de Chile has been generated, for example, thanks to the initiative of Professor Audrey Grez from the Faculty of Veterinary and Livestock Sciences, whose project on the invasive species Harlequin Warbler (Harmonia axyridis) allowed the presence of this species to be mapped at a national level through the participation of citizens, and the project of professors María Angélica Larraín from the Faculty of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Cristian Araneda from the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, who carried out basic and applied research on the Chilean mussel (Mytilus chilensis) through collaborative work with artisanal fishermen in southern Chile.
Text courtesy of Rectoría U. de Chile Press Office / Photos: Felipe Poga
