The UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) is the specialized institute of the United Nations system with the mission to contribute to the improvement of higher education in member States. The Institute organizes its activities around working programs that reflect the priorities set biannually by its Governing Board and approved by the UNESCO General Conference. From research, capacity building, technical cooperation, and concerted advocacy, four major work programs contribute to fulfill its mission.


Priorities


Internationalization and Academic Mobility

Diploma Supplement, a milestone for Uruguayan higher education

It is a voluntary document that accompanies diplomas and contains standardised information on their characteristics. Its implementation will facilitate access to the labour market for new professionals, said the director of education of Uruguay.

Network to push regional recognition of qualifications | University World News

In Havana, Cuba, a network was formally established as the operational arm for the implementation of the Regional Convention on the Recognition of Studies.


Quality and relevance

New insights into different models of higher education governance

Have you ever wondered to what extent countries differ in their governance of higher education systems? UNESCO IESALC’s latest Policy Insight explores this question by analyzing the structures and responsibilities of governmental units across 146 countries.

Launch of UNESCO HE Policy Observatory for Europe and North America 

Earlier in May, the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education (IESALC) organized the second launch webinar for the Higher Education Policy Observatory with a focus on the Europe and North America region. This event also featured a high-level policy panel discussion on the role and uses of data in guiding higher education policy.


Equity and Inclusion

New Insights into national access quotas for higher education 

Quotas are tools that set aside a number of seats in higher education systems for underrepresented student groups to increase inclusion and diversity. Are you curious to know which national governments around the world use them? A new Policy Insight from UNESCO IESALC showcases which of the 146 countries documented in the HE Policy Observatory have established national quotas.

Contributions of Afro-descendants to the democratisation of higher education

To commemorate the International Day for People of African Descent, these reflections highlight the contributions of the struggles to recover and value the knowledge and epistemic knowledge of black and indigenous peoples in Latin America to higher education, including the institutionalisation of quota policies or affirmative action and the corresponding installation of anti-racism in the agenda of institutions, among others.


Innovation

World Bank Group Youth Summit will focus on digital transformation

The World Bank Youth Summit 2024, in which UNESCO IESALC is an official partner, focuses on how young leaders leverage technology to address global issues.

Innovation and “educational pact to help reduce gaps” | La Voz

In the first panel of the year’s “Voices that add up” series, four specialists debated the role of higher education in the face of the emerging demands of the labour market.


CRES

Ibero-American Network of Networks for Sustainability to be established

Rectors from the region confirmed in Brazil their commitment to a vision of sustainability, development and efficiency through the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda.

CRES+5 final document defends democratic, inclusive and free higher education

Representatives of Latin American and Caribbean countries defend higher education as a universal human right, a social public good that must be guaranteed by states.


Programs


The Right to Higher Education

Breaking barriers in higher education for and with students with disabilities 

Broad and meaningful partnerships are needed to ensure quality, inclusion and equity in higher education, is one of the conclusions of the UNESCO IESALC side event at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum.

Nine regional and thematic consultations provide analysis and proposals on the right to higher education

A suite of reports presents the key findings from a series of regional and thematic consultations on the right to higher education as an integral component of the evolving right to education.


Futures of Higher Education

Day 5- University networks debated the futures of higher education in the region and the world

To close UNESCO IESALC’s anniversary week, representatives of higher education networks in Latin America and the Caribbean discussed the futures of higher education.

The Future University in the Eyes of Today’s Students

The article presents what today’s students think about the university of the future, their hopes and fears towards 2050


Academic Mobility

Diploma Supplement, a milestone for Uruguayan higher education

It is a voluntary document that accompanies diplomas and contains standardised information on their characteristics. Its implementation will facilitate access to the labour market for new professionals, said the director of education of Uruguay.

Network to push regional recognition of qualifications | University World News

In Havana, Cuba, a network was formally established as the operational arm for the implementation of the Regional Convention on the Recognition of Studies.


Sustainable Development Goals

UN unveils tool to track universities’ SDGs performance | University World News

Higher education institutions worldwide are being encouraged to focus on achieving global sustainability targets with the help of a new United Nations-sponsored reporting and measurement resource.

Participate in the greening higher education survey

We invite you to participate in a comprehensive survey designed to gather case studies and insights on innovative practices in Greening within Higher Education Institutions and beyond.


Response to COVID-19

Article points to key areas of higher education in Latin America during pandemic

The latest issue of the Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, published the article Closing Now to Reopen Better Tomorrow? Pedagogical Continuity in Latin American Universities During the Pandemic, by Francesc Pedró and Débora Ramos, director and academic specialist respectively at UNESCO IESALC.

The futures of higher education were discussed in Lima

The Universidad en Internet (UNIR) held last May, in Lima, the Congress “The Futures of Higher Education”, with the participation of 40 universities and institutions, including UNESCO IESALC represented by its director, Francesc Pedró. The event served to reflect on the great challenges facing higher education, as a result of digitization and changes arising from the pandemic. It was attended by the mayor of Lima, Miguel Romero; the president of UNIR, Rafael Puyol; the rector of UNIR, José María Vázquez; the Spanish ambassador to Peru, Alejandro Enrique Alvargonzález; the secretary general of the OEI, Mariano Jabonero, among other personalities. Pedró […]


Digital Transformations

Artificial Inteligence and inequities

Emma Harden-Wolfson, researcher at UNESCO IESALC, explains in recent article that, although generative AI tools have spread rapidly in education systems, there are multiple inequalities in access to these tools.

UNESCO Digital Learning Week addressed the emergence of artificial intelligence

UNESCO IESALC presented the guide “Harnessing the Era of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education. A Primer for Higher Education Stakeholders”

Primer addresses harnessing the era of artificial intelligence in higher education

The handbook explores how technological developments are currently being used and how to integrate them in a practical and ethical way into knowledge generation

ChatGPT, artificial intelligence and higher education

This blog post is based on the interventions of Dr Francesc Pedró, Director, UNESCO IESALC and Dr Axel Rivas, Director of the School of Education at the University of San Andrés and Academic Director of the Applied Education Research Centre San Andrés, Argentina, during the UNESCO IESALC webinar ChatGPT, inteligencia artificial y educación superior held on 17 April 2023. It also draws from UNESCO IESALC’s publication, ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education—Quick Start Guide.

ChatGPT, artificial intelligence and higher education: What do higher education institutions need to know?

UNESCO IESALC held a webinar to discuss its possibilities and challenges in higher education, a Quick Start Guide and an interactive seminar, which will begin in April 2023.


Transforming Education

50 young changemakers from Nigeria take part in the “Innovation to Transform Education Training”

The idea of this project is to support the role of youth by equipping them with project, policy and innovation skills.

Latin American youth propose 6 lines of action to transform education

Six young people propose pillars for achieving change in the region through innovative learning


Capacity building

Start of the UNESCO IESALC Training Program in Pedagogical Design and Experiential Methodologies at the Zamorano University of Honduras.

The program will be facilitated by experts in higher education and transformative pedagogy who will continuously mentor participants to ensure a deep and meaningful learning process.

New course for rectors and vice-chancellors driving change towards sustainable universities

Registration is opened for the second edition of the Campus IESALC sustainable leadership and governance programme.


Technical cooperation

UNESCO IESALC and the University of Puerto Rico sign agreement to promote development in Latin America and the Caribbean

The institutions committed to develop and promote: strategic alliances, training programmes, scientific events and research, and technical assistance to expand the offer of distance education, among other cooperation activities.

Presentation of 14 academic-pedagogical management improvement projects that will benefit public universities in Peru

They were developed with the technical support of UNESCO IESALC, as part of the Program to Strengthen Improvement Plan Projects, financed by the PMESUT of the Ministry of Education Lima, 29, 2022.- During 192 hours of training and technical assistance 43 project managers and university teachers received personalized advice with quality mentors, as part of the Program for Strengthening Improvement Plan Projects aimed at improving the academic and pedagogical management of public universities in Peru. The program was designed by UNESCO IESALC within the framework of call 6 called “Improvement of Academic and Pedagogical Management in Public Universities”, financed by […]


Concerted advocacy

Greening skills and jobs pillar of the Greening Higher Education Strategy

As part of the International Conference & POP Festival for Youth-Led Climate Action 2024, UNESCO IESALC organized a series of workshops aimed to harness the power of higher education and advocate for youth- and student-led climate action.

Advancing SDG 17: youth-led partnerships and innovations for sustainable development 

In the framework of the United Nations Summit of the Future, UNESCO IESALC launches a series of youth-led papers on the SDGs. The fifth one emphasizes the importance of youth in achieving SDG 17 and advancing the 2030 Agenda through cross-sector partnerships and collaborations.