Recent years have seen rapid transformation in the educational and scientific fields in Ibero-America: enrollment in higher education continues to increase, the use of technology is becoming more and more present in teaching, and the covid-19 pandemic has focused the look at the social value of scientific development.
With the completion of Ibero-American Forum on Higher Education and Sciencein November 2021, the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) opened the Technical Work Tables. The purpose was to reflect on the current situation of science and higher education, as well as to produce strategic and innovative recommendations that can be taken into account in the agendas of Ibero-America.
For four months, more than 25 institutions from the Dominican Republic and more than 150 experts and educational leaders from the region, under the coordination and leadership of important universities such as the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo ( INTEC), the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National University (UNPHU), the Ibero-American University (UNIBE) and the Apec University (UNAPEC), discussed digitization in higher education, internationalization and academic mobility, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG ) and the link between university and science.
As a result of this consultative, participatory and plural process, and together with a statistical survey carried out by the National University of Tres de Febrero, in Argentina, from the OEI we place in your hands the report Diagnosis on higher education and post covid-19 science in Ibero-America. Future prospects and challengesa recommended reading for anyone committed to improving the quality of higher education and scientific production in our region.
Higher education institutions are called to contribute to sustainable development
Below, I share ten of the main proposals for strengthening higher education and science in Ibero-America that remain with me after reading the book:
- Assume higher education as a fundamental right within the framework of lifelong learning and its recognition as the engine of fair and equitable development in our countries. Therefore, it is also essential to prioritize investment in it.
- It is necessary to advance in the strengthening of digitization in higher education throughout the institutional culture, as well as in administrative and academic processes in all teaching modalities. This contributes to higher education from a perspective of innovation and democratization of knowledge, and to transparent and quality management processes.
- Move towards an internationalization of higher education that permeates all institutional activities (training, research, management and outreach) and that is characterized by a transforming sense of people, societies and the institutions themselves.
- Strengthen the development of the necessary skills for professional training (strengthening links between the university and a constantly changing labor market) and, above all, strengthen the role of higher education in the formation of a citizenry committed to social transformation.
- Consider the academic mobility of teachers and students, in face-to-face and virtual modalities, as an important strategy within the framework of internationalization and for the consolidation of Ibero-American citizenship.
- Higher education institutions are called to contribute to sustainable development. Therefore, for example, teacher training must include the link between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and their areas of knowledge, and promote specific lines of research related to this agenda.
- Consolidate a regional system of indicators to ensure the quality of teaching (face-to-face, virtual, distance and hybrid), research and extension, in order to ensure qualification in accordance with an increasingly global and changing environment.
- Strengthen the production of scientific knowledge as an engine of social development and collective well-being. For this, it is necessary to strengthen the link between science and public policies, and expand scientific funding mechanisms both from state funds (diversifying subsidies), and from international cooperation and the private sector.
- Raise the quality of regional academic journals and the mechanisms for disseminating science and transferring knowledge.
- Include the gender perspective in national and regional policies on science, technology and higher education, thus guaranteeing the participation and permanence of women in science and contributing to the construction of knowledge for equality.
At the OEI we are sure that the implementation of these proposals will lead to higher education and scientific knowledge that contribute to building more just, equitable, inclusive and sustainable societies in our region. This is the starting point of the strategy Iberoamerican University 2030which seeks to consolidate a shared space for the generation, exchange and transfer of knowledge to promote the development and well-being of all of Ibero-America.
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