Miguel O'Ryan, president of the Science, Technology and Research Committee of the Council of Rectors, stated that "we believe that progress was made in general terms and we hope to be able to make progress on concrete things throughout the year.".
The evaluation of the first meeting of the year between the president of the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT), José Miguel Aguilera, and the Commission of Vice-Rectors for Research, Science and Technology of the Council of Rectors (CRUCH) was positive.
On that occasion, the researchers raised their concerns with the highest authority of CONICYT on three priority issues: the co-financing of universities in the commission's competitions, the overhead and the absence of a clear policy for integrating R&D initiatives for regions.
The objective was to align positions on these and other issues to unify criteria between CONICYT and the research directors of CRUCH, with the ultimate goal of advancing collaborative work to benefit the development of science and technology in Chile. “Above all, the meeting identified opportunities for joint progress and the presentation of alternatives that take into account the needs of the universities while also considering CONICYT's capacity to address them,” José Miguel Aguilera emphasized after the meeting concluded.
For his part, Miguel O'Ryan, president of the Science, Technology and Research Committee of the Council of Rectors, considered the meeting very valuable and productive, where both parties were able to learn about each other's views on the three priority issues and even the emergence of some contingent issues that were not on the agenda, such as the challenge of anticipating the job placement of a high percentage of researchers from Becas Chile, who will return in the coming years, or the creation of the Commission on Challenges of the Future recently established in the Senate.
“The points were addressed, the president of CONICYT responded to each one, and we understand that there are restrictions that are not directly under his control. However, there is room to talk and move forward together with all the stakeholders in Science and Technology: we, who conduct the research, and they, who provide the funding. We are working together to coordinate strategies to maximize the benefits for both the country and research. We believe that progress was made in general terms, and we hope to continue making concrete progress throughout the year,” said Miguel O'Ryan.
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