International Relations Committee met at Austral University

The first 2013 workshop of the International Relations Commission was held at the Austral University of Valdivia, chaired by Rector Victor Cubillos (Austral University) and with the participation of Rector José Rodriguez (Federico Santa María Technical University), as well as representatives from the International Relations Offices of most of the universities in the Council of Rectors.

The first 2013 meeting of the International Relations Committee of the Council of Rectors aimed to plan the internationalization efforts of the Council's universities. To this end, the study prepared by the Executive Directorate of the Council of Rectors (CRUCH) on "Institutional Conditions of the International Relations Offices of CRUCH Universities" was analyzed, defining a 2013-2014 action plan and incorporating contributions from innovative international programs such as IASTE (Germany), the Chile-France Performance Agreement, and proposals from the Organization of Inter-American Universities (OUI) for Chile and Latin America.

The Rector of Austral University, Víctor Cubillos, emphasized the challenge of formulating a set of strategic proposals to strengthen the internationalization of higher education at all levels and in all areas, and the importance of moving forward together in a participatory manner on this task. He noted that the objective of these meetings is “to define proposals for our major project this year: the internationalization of the CRUCH institutions. To achieve this, intensive internal work by our committee is necessary, as well as understanding the possibilities available to us.”.

Furthermore, the executive director of CRUCH, María Teresa Marshall, outlined the work commitments for this year, highlighting among them the meeting agenda, the creation of an information charter, the recovery and dissemination of best institutional practices for internationalization, meetings with foreign universities, the strengthening of ties with Latin America, and the organization of an international seminar at the beginning of 2014. In this regard, Rector José Rodríguez emphasized the importance of sharing spaces for dialogue in which it is possible to analyze successful experiences and promote exchange and learning among peers.

As concrete results of the meeting and with the idea of following up and supporting these activities, a working group was formed made up of Pía Lombardo, from the University of Chile, Alejandro Rodríguez, from the University of Valparaíso and Mauricio Lolas, from the University of Talca.

The commission scheduled a follow-up meeting in the city of Talca, where it expects to discuss in depth student mobility programs and the progress of the Transferable Credit System to facilitate these strategies. Furthermore, it was agreed to hold a meeting with the authorities of OUI, a network of which CRUCH is an active member, and which is chaired in Chile by Rector Víctor Cubillos.