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

The results of the first year of work of the New Regional Convention for Latin America and the Caribbean were presented in Havana

Two new publications on recognition issues were presented and the Committee’s leadership was renewed, with Ecuador as vice-chair and Uruguay as chair for the second time

Basic guidelines for the recognition of Venezuelan academic degrees and diplomas

This publication is intended to be a reference guide and a tool to support public officials and institutions of higher education, mainly in neighboring countries, which receive a large number of Venezuelan migrants.


Quality and relevance

The transformation of higher education

Francesc Pedró | This contribution has opted for an approach to the transformation of higher education that attempts to describe and analyze trends of which we are just beginning to have signs.

A survey will analyse global trends in tertiary education quality assurance  

The instrument is multilingual, allowing each respondent to pick their preferred language from English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Chinese (traditional and simplified) and Portuguese. ¡Join us!


Equity and Inclusion

Report explores women’s participation in higher education in Eastern Africa

The study reveals advancements and challenges in the sector, contributing to evidence-based policymaking.

UNESCO IESALC deplores the recent seizure of the assets of the Universidad Centroamericana in Managua, Nicaragua

This action infringes the right to higher education of thousands of students and the foundational principle of academic freedom


Innovation

Role of UNESCO Chairs in building a sustainable future for all

Francesc Pedró discussed the contribution of UNESCO Chairs to the roadmap for the transformation of higher education.

Nigerian Youth Transforming Education through EdTech

UNESCO IESALC partners with former Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s “Future Perspectives” to address the United Nations Youth Declaration


CRES 2018

El documento final de la CRES+5 defiende una educación superior democrática, inclusiva y gratuita

Representantes de los países de América Latina y el Caribe defienden la educación superior como un derecho humano universal, un bien público social que debe ser garantizado por los Estados.

Higher education under debate

The largest higher education event in Latin America and the Caribbean (CRES+5) opened today in Brasilia, bringing together more than 35 countries.


Programs


The Right to Higher Education

Students are united by their diversity

UNESCO IESALC holds First Youth Dialogue on the Right to Higher Education in Latin America

Benefits of a rights-based approach to higher education

Higher education needs a rights-based approach “more than ever” in the context of successive world crises, an international conference held to mark World Access to Higher Education Day (WAHED) was told.


Futures of Higher Education

The UNESCO Roadmap for the Transformation of Higher Education: No More Business as Usual. An Interview with Francesc Pedró

The director of UNESCO IESALC reflected on the actions needed for global change through solidarity networking.

What do youth say about higher education in the future?

An in-depth consultation with more than 100 young people from 43 countries defined the challenges, improvements, and opportunities for higher education in 2050 in a new report by UNESCO


Academic Mobility

The results of the first year of work of the New Regional Convention for Latin America and the Caribbean were presented in Havana

Two new publications on recognition issues were presented and the Committee’s leadership was renewed, with Ecuador as vice-chair and Uruguay as chair for the second time

Basic guidelines for the recognition of Venezuelan academic degrees and diplomas

This publication is intended to be a reference guide and a tool to support public officials and institutions of higher education, mainly in neighboring countries, which receive a large number of Venezuelan migrants.


Sustainable Development Goals

International Women’s Day / Breaking ground: advances on the path towards gender equality in higher education leadership and STEM

To celebrate International Women’s Day, UNESCO IESALC and the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa will hold a webinar.

A green future for all

At COP28 a joint session on “Greening Higher Education” brought together stakeholders from various sectors and UNESCO regions as a first step to promote multi-stakeholder partnerships in achieving greening higher education for a more sustainable future.


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

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

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

The future of higher education: skills for the world of tomorrow

Some of the skills that need to be developed for tomorrow’s world of higher education include critical thinking, adaptiveness, global citizenship, resilience and creativity.


Capacity building

Successful completion of the UNESCO IESALC Workshop on Quality Assurance and Virtualization of Courses for Teachers and Quality Coordinators

A total of 80 people participated in the workshop, including coordinators of the quality areas of UNE’s faculty, teachers and administrative staff, led by professional experts from Spain, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela.

Lab Quality that unites us Itinerary

One of the most important programmes in which UNESCO IESALC has participated in 2023, and which has just concluded, is the LAB Training Itinerary Quality that unites us.


Technical cooperation

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 […]

UNESCO IESALC Advises Peruvian Universities on Projects to Improve Technology, Educational Innovation and Academic Management

On February 4, the Program’s first stage to strengthen university improvement plans ended with more than 14 virtual visits to 10 exemplary higher education institutions in Ibero-America The ability to respond to the abrupt interruption of face-to-face activities now depends on a digital environment. Many have had to become acquainted in a short period to guarantee pedagogical continuity. In this context, it is necessary to strengthen models of improvement plans that allow higher education institutions (HEIs) to establish a roadmap to develop the mechanisms required to ensure the quality and relevance of a face-to-face, non-face-to-face, and hybrid system. In this […]


Concerted advocacy

ESS Journal addresses digital transformation in higher education

The volume analyzes how new modalities are changing the way teaching and learning take place, and explores the potential of digital transformation to improve access to 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.