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The alternate executive vice president of CRUCH, Hans Richter, pointed out that “although we do not yet know the details and the budget has to go to discussion and approval in Parliament, there is good news regarding the fact that the items that the Government is proposing have an increase in the general education system in Chile at all its levels and, in particular, in higher education.”.
The plenary session held at the University of La Frontera, in Temuco, was attended by the Undersecretary of Higher Education; the Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation; and representatives of the Executive Secretariat of Citizen Participation, as well as the Presidential Commission for Peace and Understanding.
Hans Richter, the alternate executive vice president of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH), described as "good news" the announcement by the Undersecretary of Higher Education, Víctor Orellana, regarding the fact that the proposed 2024 Budget Law for higher education will have "an expansive logic in spending and not a contractionary one.".
Rector Richter stated that “this is good news because we all know the country is going through complex times. We have to rebuild areas devastated by weather conditions, there is a rising dollar and inflationary processes; therefore, it is a difficult budget to put together, and the Chilean government's willingness to support education and higher education, despite these current constraints, is a very good sign, which we at CRUCH receive with great expectations.”.
The executive vice president of CRUCH and also rector of the Austral University of Chile, added that “although we do not yet know the details and the budget has to go to discussion and approval in Parliament, there is good news regarding that the items that the Government is proposing have an increase in the general education system in Chile at all its levels and, in particular, in higher education there is an increase for traditional universities.
At the CRUCH plenary session held this Thursday, September 28, at the University of La Frontera in Temuco, in addition to Undersecretary Orellana, the Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation (CTCI), Aisén Etcheverry, participated; and representatives of the Executive Secretariat of Citizen Participation and the Presidential Commission for Peace and Understanding presented their work.
Challenges in Artificial Intelligence
In her address, the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation emphasized the importance of developing Artificial Intelligence. “This is an area where universities have a significant role to play (…) and given that it is one of the pillars of CRUCH's work, I offer you this role so that we can work together on it,” Etcheverry stated.
According to Richter, while there are collaborative networks and important projects, it is necessary to increase investment, as well as "continue to coordinate our universities and research institutes to truly become key players in the development of artificial intelligence. This is an enormous challenge, and universities, with their national and international networks, will obviously join the work being coordinated by the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications.".
On the other hand, the minister referred to the Science Festival that will take place nationwide from October 1 to 8 and which has the participation of universities from CRUCH.
Finally, the minister emphasized that “countries do not develop without science and technology, and university presidents are fundamental to the nation-building we are doing, which is achieved by meeting regularly, having these conversations, and being able to delve deeper into these issues.”.
Contribution to the constitutional process 2023
The plenary session also received Carlos Rilling and Ignacio Irarrázaval, from the Executive Secretariat of Citizen Participation, an entity created to work on the design and implementation of participation mechanisms within the framework of the 2023 constitutional process.
The Executive Secretariat, led by the University of Chile and the Catholic University, coordinated the network of accredited universities in the country and worked on the design and implementation of participation mechanisms so that citizens could raise their needs and issues relevant to their communities. These mechanisms were operational between June 7 and July 7, 2023.
The exhibitors from the Executive Secretariat highlighted the participation of approximately 270,000 people in the 346 municipalities of the country, and 1,640 Chileans residing abroad.
In this regard, Undersecretary Orellana pointed out that the participatory process “would not have been possible in any case without the participation of the universities of Chile, which constituted the axis and the force to be able to bring participation to the territories.”.
Presidential Commission for Peace and Understanding
Another of the speakers invited to the plenary session was Víctor Ramos, Executive Secretary of the Presidential Commission for Peace and Understanding, who thanked the work of systematizing the recommendations to the State of Chile regarding land and rights of the Mapuche people, which was carried out by ten universities of the CRUCH and delivered to the President of the Republic in June.
The Commission, created in July of this year, was born from a cross-party agreement between the 19 political parties that have representation in Parliament and its purpose is to establish a new relationship between the State of Chile and the Mapuche people.
In this context, Ramos invited all university presidents to participate in the next stage of the process, which will involve a diagnostic assessment, facilitate dialogue among the various stakeholders, and produce a report with proposals that contribute to peace and understanding. The final report will be submitted to the President of the Republic and the National Congress in November 2024.
According to the Executive Secretary, universities are the “most stable and highly regarded institutions among the public for discussing national issues, and that is why we have come to request their collaboration.” He added that “their experience in participation, their knowledge of interculturality, such as that which the University of La Frontera has been developing for so long, will be valuable assets to present to the commissioners.”.
In this regard, the Rector of the University of La Frontera and host of the session, Eduardo Hebel, pointed to the commitment that universities must have to their territory, "which I believe is a fundamental emphasis, given that each region has its own particularities and challenges.".
New rectors
Thursday's session included the first participation of Fernanda Kri, rector of the University of O'Higgins (UOH), and Francisco Urra, rector of the University of Aysén (UAysén), who took office in early September.
Rector Urra holds a PhD in Computer Engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, where he was an academic between 2011 and 2017. In 2018 he joined the University of Aysén, where he also served as Head of the Department of Natural Sciences and Engineering and Director of Planning and Quality Assurance.
Meanwhile, Rector Kri, who previously served as Vice-Rector of UOH for almost three years, holds a PhD in Informatics from the University of Montreal and has extensive experience in university management and leadership positions at the Ministry of Education, where she was head of the Institutional Financing Department of the Higher Education Division.
Text: CRUCH Communications.
Photos: University of La Frontera.
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