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At the plenary session held this morning at the Catholic University of the Holy Conception, the rectors analyzed the response from the Undersecretary of Higher Education to the 14 proposals presented by the Council. The Undersecretary of Higher Education, Víctor Orellana, praised the CRUCH's deliberative process.
The "Future Teachers 2026-2029" agreement was also signed, in partnership with the Ministry of Science, the Undersecretariat of Higher Education, CENIA and the Kodea Foundation, which seeks to build capacity in universities to incorporate AI and digital technologies into the curricula of teacher training programs.
This morning, the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) extensively analyzed the response of the Undersecretary of Higher Education to the “Analysis Document on the new public financing for Higher Education (FES)”, which the Council presented to the Ministry of Education in mid-October.
Earlier this week the undersecretary sent the response to said document and, within the framework of the session of this November 27 held at the Catholic University of the Most Holy Conception (UCSC), the rectors expressed their points of view and deliberated on the next courses of action.
“We, as the Council of Rectors, have agreed that the Ministry of Education’s response enables us to continue working collaboratively on improving the project, through the necessary guidelines for its future development and strengthening,” he stated. Executive Vice President of CRUCH, Emilio Rodríguez. Two CRUCH committees, the Economic and the Legal, will contribute to this process.
For his part, the Rector of the UCSC, Cristhian Mellado, The head of the CRUCH Economic Commission – along with the rector of the University of Talca, Carlos Torres – emphasized that it is very important "to work together on the FES project guidelines, since it is a project that we are very interested in seeing move forward, given that the CAE is not sustainable over time.".
He Undersecretary of Higher Education, Víctor Orellana, He stated that "we value the deliberation held by the Council of Rectors. We have established a set of foundations that create enabling conditions to move forward with the bill and work on the necessary amendments to refine the proposal. This progress is a demonstration and result of the fluid dialogue with the higher education system, which must continue to be deepened and improved in preparation for the bill's passage.".
Regarding the impact of the upcoming presidential elections on the project's progress, Rector Rodríguez stated that “regardless of the government in power, the project should continue to move forward. We do not provide political support for bills or any government; rather, we establish certain strategic and academic guidelines that we consider plausible, relevant, and reasonable for improving public policy and having a far-reaching impact on our nation's development.”.
The CRUCH document puts forward 14 proposals for improving the instrument in the following dimensions: university autonomy; state funding conditions for students; comprehensive, stable and timely funding; and cross-cutting aspects for sustainable implementation. See related news.
IA agreement to train future teachers
Another important aspect of the session was the signing of the collaboration agreement "Future Teachers 2026–2029", in conjunction with the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation (MinCiencia); the Undersecretariat of Higher Education; the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA) and the Kodea Foundation.
The alliance seeks to build capacity in CRUCH universities that offer teacher training programs so that they can lead the incorporation of knowledge in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies into teacher training curricula.
Regarding the relevance of this agreement for the universities of the Council, the executive vice president of CRUCH, Rector Emilio Rodríguez Ponce, pointed out that “it is good news for the country to move forward in this direction, in a collaborative work between the public and private sectors, with a view to the development of the country and the training of teachers in the context of the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence.”.
Regarding the impact of this public policy, The Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Aldo Valle, He commented that this contribution from the private sector, coordinated by the ministry he heads, is a clear sign that there is a capacity to advance common good goals and public objectives for education. "We need our educational system to incorporate these competencies as soon as possible, so that student teachers can begin receiving this training now, because the country's development requires it," he stated.
The project will train 75 academic educators each year, who will then transfer this knowledge to their students, potentially impacting more than 3,300 future teachers. The goal is for universities to have the capacity to teach AI independently within four years, integrating it into their curricula and accreditation processes.
In this context, the Head of Training and Upskilling at CENIA, Víctor Morales, He commented that «we reaffirm our enthusiasm for collaborating with the 'Future Teachers' initiative and scaling up AI training within CRUCH universities. Following a successful pilot program, our goal is to reach more than 6,000 students, based on the conviction that artificial intelligence is not just an instrumental tool, but a cornerstone of pedagogical development. We will maintain our commitment to providing content and academic evidence to effectively put this technology at the service of people and the future of education.‘.
The program will be implemented by the Kodea Foundation using the "Train the Trainer" methodology, which builds capacity within the academic staff and ensures the continuity of learning beyond the project's duration. Furthermore, CRUCH universities will receive a "Digital Teaching Kit" with updated training pathways, guides, and resources to replicate this knowledge later.
Text: CRUCH Communications
Photos: UCSC Communications
Collaboration: MinCiencia Communications and CENIA Communications
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