Commission for Links with the Environment
In their first day of face-to-face work, which took place on July 27 and 28 at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, vice-rectors and directors of the Community Engagement area of the CRUCH universities shared experiences to define a work plan with a view to 2024.
The Commission's leadership appreciated the broad participation in the event, as well as the spirit of collaboration and willingness of all its members to work together to benefit the country.
The first day of in-person work of the Community Engagement Commission of the Council of Rectors and Rectors (CRUCH) was successfully concluded. This meeting brought together a large majority of representatives from the area, who shared experiences and presented on the structure, main advances and challenges of community engagement in their respective institutions.
The event, which took place on July 27 and 28 at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, was organized by the Commission's board, which is chaired by the General Director of Community Engagement at the Catholic University of the North, Olga Valdés de la Torre; the Vice-Rector of University Relations at the University of the Andes, Matías Vial Valdés; the Vice-Rector of Institutional Relations and Community Engagement at the University of Concepción (UdeC), Ximena Gauché Marchetti; and the Vice-Rector of Community Engagement at the University of Magallanes, Melissa Flores Águila; who are accompanied by the Rector of the University of Concepción (UdeC), Carlos Saavedra.
“We are very pleased with the turnout for this first in-person working session. This demonstrates the enthusiasm for working together and the Commission's vision, which gives us the impression that this collaborative work will certainly be very productive for all our universities,” commented Olga Valdés.
Likewise, Melissa Flores, Vice-Rector for Community Engagement at the University of Magallanes, highlighted the opportunity to share experiences and delve deeper into topics such as reporting and platforms; impact and measurement of contributions; cross-cutting themes and mission alignment; and networking objectives in working groups. “We appreciate that each university had a space to share its progress, its main achievements, and also the challenges its institution faces. The group dialogues and their conclusions will also allow us to develop a well-standardized, systematic work plan for the remainder of the year,” she noted.
Collaborative work to contribute to the country
Along with this event, the Commission, which was established on May 23, has held monthly working meetings to gather information for developing a work plan for 2024. “In a very short time, this Commission, the newest within the CRUCH (Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities), has already accomplished a great deal. Since the idea of creating this Commission arose, more and more universities have joined, and we hope this will strengthen networking. That is precisely the role of community engagement: an exercise in collaboration between universities, which the system needs, which our universities need, and certainly the country needs, so that our actions are much more relevant,” emphasized Ximena Gauché.
Matías Vial, in turn, highlighted the work being done to contribute to the country, emphasizing the collaborative spirit and willingness of all members of the Commission. “I would emphasize the collaborative nature and generosity in sharing their own experiences and also being open to learning from what others are doing. I believe that is what we need to make Chile a better country, and that is what we are called to do in terms of community engagement,” he said.
Along the same lines, Melissa Flores added, “We have a public, regional, political, and mission-related commitment to the development and quality of life of the people who live in our territory and beyond. So I also believe that the upcoming discussions will focus on how we can balance what is being demanded of us as universities in the area of accreditation with the mission that each institution has regarding the contribution it makes to its territory.”.
The Commission, which will present its work plan during this second semester, will hold its next face-to-face meeting at the University of Magallanes during the month of December, at which time the 2024 board will be elected, which it was agreed must consider aspects of representation in terms of territoriality, type of university and gender equity.
Text: CRUCH Communications
Photos: CRUCH, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and University of the Andes.
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