Cordoba, Argentina, April 13 2018 – On April 12th and 13th the Third Academic Summit bringing together countries from Latin America, the Caribbean, and the European Union was held at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, in Argentina.
The summit involved the participation of a wide range of actors in the field of higher education under the theme, “Building a Common Euro-Latin American and Caribbean Space for Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation.”
The numerous gatherings and workshops organized for the summit offered an excellent showcase for the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE), highlighting its mission to strengthen and increase the availability of internationalization mechanisms to improve the quality of education and to promote institutional transformation in higher education institutions across the Americas in accordance with the needs and challenges of their local contexts.
Dr. David Julien, IOHE’s Executive Director, moderated the second panel on the theme, “Concrete Steps for building a Common Euro-Latin American and Caribbean Space for Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation” alongside Dr. Guillermo Tamarit, President of Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dr. Arq. Héctor Floriani, IOHE regional vice-President for the Southern Cone region and president of Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Mr. Pedro Henríquez Guajardo, director of IESALC/UNESCO and Mr. François Pernot, director of the European and International Department for the High Council for Evaluation of Research and Higher Education (HCERES).
The presence of Patricia Rojo from Universidad Nacional de Rosario in her role as IOHE Regional Executive Secretary for the Southern Cone region and member of EMULIES-IOHE Board of Directors gave emphasis to the IOHE program, “The Space for Women Leaders from Higher Education Institutions in the Americas” (EMULIES) and drew attention to its important role as a platform for advancing gender equality and inclusive university management. Patricia Rojo took part in the discussions and shared conclusions on policies concerning gender and the integration of women in universities alongside Dr. Agustina Rodriguez Saá, rector organizer of Universidad Nacional de los Comechingones, Argentina, and Dr. Monica Szurmuk from Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Marking the one-hundredth anniversary of educational reform and the signing of the principles of university renewal in 1918, the Third Academic Summit aimed to establish a concrete roadmap for the creation of a bi-regional space for higher education. This plan of action will be delivered to the Ministers of Education in each Latin-American, Caribbean, and European Union country to serve as a basis for drafting a treaty to launch the “Cordoba Process” for university integration between the two regions, a process in which IOHE intends to play a major role.
“While the global university community meets to build a common space for discussion and, especially, action, the role of IOHE has never been so central for strengthening the ties that bind us. With a new Chilean President and the renewal of our leadership in Argentina and the Southern Cone, we are well prepared for CRES-2018 and will continue efforts in this direction,” said Dr. David Julien, Executive Director of IOHE.