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The Director of the UC Graduate School, Diego Cosmelli, and the Rector of the UCN, Rodrigo Alda, highlight the collaboration and work with ANID, MinCiencia, and CNA. They also value the inter-institutional collaboration and actions to promote internationalization.
For the next two years, the commission will be led by the Director of Postgraduate and Post-Graduate Studies at the University of Chile, Osvaldo Salazar, together with the new acting rector, Cristián del Campo SJ, from the Alberto Hurtado University.
A few weeks ago, the Postgraduate Commission of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) elected its new directive for the next two years, thus ending the term of its president's administration of almost five years: Diego Cosmelli, Director of the Graduate School of the Pontifical Catholic University (UC).
On the same occasion - January 21 - the work of Rector in charge of the commission, Rodrigo Alda, from the Catholic University of the North (UCN), who for four years supported the management of this body and positioned the key issues in the plenary session of the Council.
Rector Alda gives a positive assessment and comments that “the CRUCH Postgraduate Commission is one of the most active within the system and, under the leadership of Diego Cosmelli and the board, a series of challenges were addressed. In particular, it was necessary to find solutions to the visa problems of foreign students, as well as the flexibility of financing instruments in the final phase of the pandemic, among others.”.
Cosmelli, who assumed the presidency in 2020, emphasizes that during his tenure, “the commission consolidated its role as an advisory body in the development, promotion, internationalization, and quality assurance of postgraduate studies in Chile.” Regarding key areas, he specifies that “we actively worked on the articulation of strategic policies, on engagement with national and international stakeholders, and on responding to emerging challenges, such as the crisis stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.”.
Main achievements
Among the commission's main achievements during the 2020-2025 period, the coordination and collaboration with key stakeholders in the system stand out: the National Research and Development Agency (ANID), the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation (MinCiencia), and the National Accreditation Commission (CNA). There has also been significant progress in inter-institutional collaboration and internationalization, as well as in dialogue with the political and educational systems.
Diego Cosmelli mentions that “one of the most relevant milestones was the mediation with ANID during the pandemic, which allowed for flexibility in the deadlines and conditions of the National Doctoral Scholarships, as well as coordinating responses between ANID and the CNA to guarantee the continuity of the accreditation and funding processes. Through our participation in the Technical Advisory Committee of the ANID Human Capital Sub-Directorate, we were able to influence the competition rules and support the work on the new ranking calculation model for applications to Chile Scholarships and national scholarships.”.
According to Cosmelli, “another fundamental achievement was the implementation of a new competition model for Doctoral Theses in the Productive Sector, which was presented in 2024 and represents a key step towards linking doctoral research with the country's economic development.”.
Undoubtedly, the Covid-19 health emergency marked this period of management. “In the area of accreditation, we faced the challenge of delays in the processes resulting from the pandemic. From the commission, especially in 2020, we worked on feedback and revision of the new postgraduate accreditation criteria, which resulted in criteria much better adapted to the reality of postgraduate programs in Chile,” says the former president of the commission.
Additionally, discussion and working sessions were organized with the CNA to analyze the implementation of the new accreditation criteria, as well as to address emerging issues "such as diversity in doctoral training and the possibility of establishing professional doctorates in Chile," Cosmelli indicates.
Regarding inter-institutional collaboration and internationalization, efforts were made to establish partnerships with other CRUCH committees—the Vice-Rectors for Research and Internationalization—to develop joint strategies. “A key outcome of this work was the signing in 2022 of an agreement Collaboration Agreement between the National Migration System (SerMig) and the CRUCH, "This has significantly reduced visa processing times for individuals (academics, professionals and their families) and foreign students joining CRUCH Universities for studies of more than 6 months," Cosmelli notes.
During 2024, “we achieved a greater presence of the commission in strategic decision-making spaces. We presented the progress and challenges of postgraduate studies to the Commission of Academic Vice-Rectors (CoVRA) with the participation of the Undersecretary of Higher Education, and we organized a plenary session in January 2025 with the attendance of the Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Aisén Etcheverry, and the President of the CNA, Andrés Bernasconi,” he emphasizes.
In terms of operational management, the Commission held more than 35 working meetings focused on improving the internationalization of Chilean postgraduate studies (with CNA, MinCiencia, ANID, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SerMig and ProChile, among other organizations).
Finally, through the update of the CRUCH website with a postgraduate program search engine, The accessibility and visibility of advanced training at the Council's universities was improved.
The challenges ahead
Looking to the future, Diego Cosmelli says that “despite the progress made, the postgraduate agenda in Chile continues to face significant challenges that require continuity in the work of the commission. In this regard, the leadership of Osvaldo Salazar, Director of Postgraduate and Continuing Education at the University of Chile and the new president of the Postgraduate Commission, along with the new rector in charge of the commission, Cristián del Campo SJ, from Alberto Hurtado University, is key.”.
From Rector Alda's perspective, it is necessary to continue advancing in at least 3 areas: accreditation, articulation with the Ministry of Science and coordination with the Regional Governments.
“It is very important to evaluate and monitor the application of the new criteria and standards in postgraduate accreditation. In this same context, it is extremely important to make systematic progress with the accreditation of medical specialties,” the rector points out.
Cosmelli adds that it is necessary to strengthen collaborative work with the CNA "to introduce innovations in the postgraduate curriculum, incorporating new doctoral training models and more flexible accreditation criteria.".
“On the other hand, it will be very important for the new directive to deepen the articulation with the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, based on the diagnoses that the CRUCH universities will carry out through the Research Fund for Universities (FIU), both in the territorial or border modality, since in this space there are multiple options to generate synergies with the postgraduate programs,” Alda points out.
It is also necessary to strengthen the link with ANID “ensuring an effective and sustained relationship for the financing and development of doctoral and master's studies in Chile. Here, the search for mechanisms of articulation with the Regional Governments (GORES) to channel funds to the promotion of postgraduate training in the regions is definitely an element to consider,” emphasizes Cosmelli.
Rector Alda agrees, stating that "in some regions, competitions for postgraduate scholarships relevant to the needs of each territory have already been implemented.".
Finally, to consolidate the functioning and role of the commission within CRUCH, Cosmelli emphasizes that it is necessary to implement its new regulations, as well as to promote coordination with other commissions of the Council (of Academic Vice-Rectorates; Internationalization; Research; and of University Coexistence and Mental Health, among others).
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