The Council of Rectors seeks to increase student mobility in conjunction with Latin American and European universities

The Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH), together with representatives from UNESCO, the European University Association (EUA), the Andean Community, and rectors from various Latin American universities, met at the “Second Regional Seminar on Latin America-Europe Integration” this Monday and Tuesday in Santiago, with the aim of analyzing and planning how to encourage university student mobility.

This international coordination is especially important for Latin American and Caribbean countries because, according to UNESCO figures, of all university students who choose to pursue further studies abroad, only 21% do so in this region. Conversely, North America and Europe are the most popular destinations, attracting 59% of international students.

Furthermore, when the data is analyzed in proportion to the number of universities and students, the mobility rate in Latin America remains low. While in Europe 6.1% of total university enrollment is comprised of international students, this figure only reaches 0.41% in Latin American universities. It is worth noting that Chile is positioned above the average with 1.41% of exchange students.

To reverse this situation, the participating organizations are developing the Alfa Puentes program, an initiative that seeks to integrate Higher Education in Latin America, and improve cooperation and exchange with Europe.

“As the Council of Rectors, we are part of this project because we believe it is necessary to generate greater mobility opportunities for our students, academics, and researchers, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, since this enriches the academic experience of each student, strengthens collaborative ties between universities, and fosters greater connections between countries,” highlighted Victor Cubillos, Rector of the Austral University of Chile.

“Latin America has become a very interesting emerging market, increasingly valued by European students, and we believe we must make our greatest efforts to show the world the potential of our universities,” Cubillos added.

Among the future lines of work proposed in the seminar to increase Latin American mobility, there is the activation of a Mobility Observatory in Latin America and the support to governments with policy proposals and work agendas in this area.

“To increase academic mobility, the effort must be a joint one: from governments, through good and explicit public policies backed by resources; from universities, with institutional policies that also demand resources and professional staff; and from associations, which facilitate communication between universities,” stressed Xiomara Zarur, representative of the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Council of Rectors is implementing the Transferable Credit System (TCS) in its member universities, an initiative designed to facilitate the mobility of its undergraduate and graduate students to universities abroad. Transferable credits allow students to transfer credits for courses taken at a Council of Rectors university to universities offering courses at other institutions.

Paula Órdenes (22), a Philosophy student at the University of Chile, recently completed a semester at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. She was able to easily participate in this exchange program through her university's credit transfer system.