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The executive vice president of CRUCH, Juan Manuel Zolezzi, appreciated the participation of the institution in this international meeting, assuring that "it is dialogue that allows us to move towards shared horizons."
In the session dedicated to CRUCH, the role and contributions of this public body were addressed from its creation in 1954 until the last two years, marked by the social and health crisis.
A review of his 67-year history at the service of higher education in the country and his contributions in recent years marked by the COVID-19 pandemic was presented by the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) in the session dedicated to the institution, within the framework of the seventh edition of the Congress of the Americas on International Education (CAEI).
The meeting took place this Monday and was attended by the executive vice president, the rector of the University of Santiago Juan Manuel Zolezzi, the general secretary (s) of the Council, Marcela Cifuentes; the president of the CRUCH Research Commission and vice-rector for Research and Development of the University of Concepción, Andrea Rodríguez; and the president of the Committee of Academic Vice-Rectors of CRUCH and Academic Vice-Rector of the Catholic University of Temuco, David Figueroa.
Rector Zolezzi opened the discussion by evaluating the possibility of exchange opened by the CAEI, whose host country in this seventh version in Chile. "It is dialogue that allows us to move towards shared horizons that contribute to the common good of our countries and our respective societies," said the executive vice president of CRUCH.
For her part, the general secretary (s) of the Council of Rectors, Marcela Cifuentes, addressed the role and contributions of this public body from its creation in 1954 until the last two years, marked by the social and health crisis. Regarding the pandemic. Cifuentes said that "the Council had to respond to new questions and new challenges to respond to this new reality."
In this context, he detailed various measures adopted to maintain quality training services, meet the needs of university communities and collaborate with the health authority to protect the health of the population and contribute to the fight against Covid-19.
The general secretary (s) also addressed the contributions of the Council of Rectors regarding the opening of spaces for dialogue and citizen training, from the social outbreak of October 2019, to the contributions of the universities to the constituent process and the work of the Convention Constitutional.
Challenges in research and teaching
The session dedicated to CRUCH also addressed the work of two of its advisory committees. One of these was the Research Commission, chaired by the Vice-Rector for Research and Development of the University of Concepción, Andrea Rodríguez. The academic highlighted the importance of the collaborative work of the 30 universities that make up the Council of Rectors and their relationship with state agencies such as the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, the National Research and Development Agency (ANID), other ministerial portfolios and the National Congress.
Rodríguez also highlighted the work carried out by the commission regarding Covid-19, both regarding making technical and human capacities available to the authorities, as well as generating studies and research in different areas related to the pandemic. In this context, he argued that one of the challenges of the working group and the CRUCH in this area is linked to overcoming “the impact that there was on mobility, with respect to postgraduate and post-doctorates. In fact, in 2020 the scholarships abroad were canceled and there were restrictions regarding postdocs who could enter the country (...) In that we have been returning to normal, but the impact was severe on mobility and attraction and export of talents " .
The second presentation was given by the president of the Commission of Academic Vice-Rectors of CRUCH and Academic Vice-Rector of the Catholic University of Temuco, David Figueroa. The academic referred to the actions implemented by the universities of the Council to ensure continuity of training during the health crisis. "This collaborative work was key and very strategic, because it allowed us to face the pandemic from the point of view of academic work."
Figueroa appreciated the efforts that made it possible to move from face-to-face teaching to a virtual context and ensure the quality of distance training in an emergency context. In addition, the academic argued that the post-pandemic implies new challenges for higher education, such as the implementation of compensatory actions regarding actions -especially of a practical nature- that could not be developed due to the pandemic, to ensure the quality of learning; the adaptation of the work of the institutions to the new post-Covid-19 scenario and the implementation of new financing instruments so that the schools can face these challenges.
ENCE survey and other CRUCH participations
In addition to the dedicated session, representatives of the CRUCH universities will have other participations in CAEI 2021. This afternoon, within the framework of the "Special Track Program: Information for the management of training processes in higher education", will unfold the round table "National Survey of Student Engagement (ENCE), placing the student experience at the center of university education", initiative developed from the collaborative work of 11 Chilean universities that make up the Council of Rectors.
From 5.30 pm they will participate in this instance Leonor Armanet, Director of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Chile; Carla Förster, Director of Undergraduate Evaluation and Quality at the University of Talca; Angélica Bustos, director of the Center for Support to Academic Achievement and Vocational Exploration of the Pontificia U. Católica de Chile (CARA-UC); and Gonzalo Zapata, director of the ENCE-CRUCH project. Moderated by José Miguel Salazar, researcher at the University of Valparaíso.
In the ENCE 2020 survey the University of Chile participated; Pontificia U. Católica de Chile; U. of Talca; U. de La Frontera; U. of Valparaíso; U. de Playa Ancha of Education Sciences; U. Católica de Temuco; U. Católica de la Santísima Concepción; U. Arturo Prat; U. de Aysén; and U. Tecnológica Metropolitana. The evaluation included 109 items, which were organized into 8 dimensions: Higher Order Learning, Student-Teacher Interaction, Effective Teaching Practices, Learning Strategies, Quality of Interactions, Interactions in a Diversity Framework, Institutional Support, and Academic Effort ( the latter at the pilot level).
Meanwhile, tomorrow, Tuesday, October 19, from 09.00 hours the previous workshop will take place World Forum of Women University Rectors, in which the rector of the U. Tecnológica Metropolitana, Marisol Durán.
That same day, at 3:00 p.m., the panel of experts "Education for Sustainable Development: Commitment to Higher Education", in which the rector of the U. de La Frontera, Eduardo Hebel.
Tomorrow, from 4.30 pm, the rectors Juan Manuel Zolezzi (U. de Santiago), Osvaldo Corrales (U. de Valparaíso) and Ignacio Sánchez of the Pontifical Catholic University, will be present on the panel "Post Disruption Cooperation and the Importance of Global Networks in Higher Education", to be developed in English.
On Thursday, October 21, from 1:00 p.m., the plenary panel will take place "Higher Education and its Commitment to Global Challenges", in which the rector of the University of Chile, Ennio Vivaldi. That same day, at 3:00 p.m., the panel “The Changing Landscape of International Education: A Global Conversation ”, that will have the participation by Anoek van den Berg, director of the Department of International and Interuniversity Relations of the University of Santiago and president of the Internationalization Commission of the CRUCH.
On Friday 22, from 1:00 p.m., the plenary panel will be held "Tracing the Future: International Education for the Americas ”, which will have as a participant rector of the University of Los Lagos and president of the Inter-American University Organization (OUI), Óscar Garrido.
Get to know the rest of the CAIE 2021 program
