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The CRUCH Commission on University Coexistence and Mental Health organized a webinar to promote collective reflection on collaborative conflict management, integrating theoretical perspectives and national and international experiences.
The event was attended by international expert Mara Hernández; the Superintendent of Higher Education, José Miguel Salazar; and specialists from CRUCH universities.
As part of the further development of the recommendations in the CRUCH report "University Wellbeing: Keys to Coexistence and Mental Health," the University Coexistence and Mental Health Commission of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities held the webinar "Collaborative mechanisms for conflict resolution: A current challenge" on Thursday, November 27.
The objective of the seminar, which brought together more than one hundred participants, was to promote a collective reflection on the collaborative management of conflicts in the university setting, integrating theoretical perspectives, institutional experiences and action plans.
The co-chairs of the Commission, Patricia Astroza (Coordinator of the Student Welfare Department of the University of La Serena) and Valeska Grau (Student Mediator, Ombuds Office of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile), appreciated the interest in the seminar and commented that this initiative is part of the commission's lines of work for the period 2025-2027.
Valeska Grau explained that the commission agreed to delve deeper into one of the main issues raised in the report "University Welfare: Keys to Coexistence and Mental Health," which relates to the positive and preventive management of conflict.
Regarding the webinar, Patricia Astroza noted that during the registration process, participants were invited to submit questions to guide the discussion. “We received more than 40 questions on topics such as collaborative mechanisms; mediation and restorative justice; university life; institutional culture; prevention; conflict management; reintegration; and others. This reflects the most relevant concerns currently facing universities,» Astroza said. .
International and national experiences
One of the highlights of the event was the conference “Conflict Management and University Coexistence: Theory and Practice,” presented by Mara Hernández, an academic at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and director of DialógICa. In her presentation, she emphasized the need for a comprehensive coexistence policy and for working at the everyday relational level, with a focus on positive classroom management.
The panel “New forms of conflict management in Chilean universities: opportunities and challenges” was then held, with the participation of the Superintendent of Higher Education, José Miguel Salazar; the representative of the Ombuds network and university mediators, and Ombuds of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Pilar Cox; and the lawyer from the Legal Department of the Alberto Hurtado University, Elena Gutiérrez.
During the conversation, the benefits of mediation were explored, as well as the importance of the ombudsman in addressing conflicts in university settings, and the need for coordinated and interdisciplinary work. Furthermore, when faced with conflicts, the need to incorporate measures aimed at generating transformative and restorative processes, rather than punitive and sanctioning measures, was emphasized.
At the end of the seminar, the subcommittee coordinator Collaborative mechanisms for conflict resolution Rosa María Olave, director of the Mediation and Conflict Resolution Program at Alberto Hurtado University, stated that the event “helped us learn about models and experiences in universities in other countries, reflect on the formative role in the classroom, understand the advantages of mediation in university conflicts, the role of the ombudsman, and analyze the critical issues when conflicts escalate and action is delayed.”.
Watch the seminar again HERE
Text and photograph: CRUCH Communications
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