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

Launch of policy insight on the recognition of foreign higher education qualifications

The document was presented at a webinar on 2 October with the participation of a panel with presidents of regional convention committees.

New insights into national strategies to enhance internationalization in higher education

Have you ever wondered how countries foster internationalization in their higher education systems? UNESCO IESALC’s latest Policy Insight explores this question by looking at the national plans adopted across 146 countries around the world to enhance internationalization in teaching and research.


Quality and relevance

How can higher education plans better measure policy success?

UNESCO IESALC’s latest policy brief reveals how comprehensive indicators can drive accountability and success in higher education. 

The role of higher education in national development plans: UNESCO IESALC’s latest report 

How do 66 countries incorporate higher education into their vision for the future? Discover key trends, challenges, and recommendations for strengthening the role of HE in national development.


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

Launch of policy insight on the recognition of foreign higher education qualifications

The document was presented at a webinar on 2 October with the participation of a panel with presidents of regional convention committees.

New insights into national strategies to enhance internationalization in higher education

Have you ever wondered how countries foster internationalization in their higher education systems? UNESCO IESALC’s latest Policy Insight explores this question by looking at the national plans adopted across 146 countries around the world to enhance internationalization in teaching and research.


Sustainable Development Goals

Canva

New brief on student mental health support in higher education released

UNESCO IESALC’s latest SDG brief explores how higher education institutions can enhance mental healthcare among students.

Launch of a new action group on Artificial Intelligence for sustainable development 

The new group, launched at the HESI Global Forum, is dedicated to the future of education and AI, strengthening global networks and addressing the technology readiness gap between high-income countries and others.


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

How can artificial intelligence shape the future of higher education? 

At the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2024, UNESCO IESALC designed an online training to explore the various aspects through which AI can shape the future of education, and the strategies and tools that education can mobilize to constructively engage with AI for the mutual benefit of education stakeholders

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.


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

Teachers’ quality in higher education: A global challenge

At the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education we commemorate World Teachers’ Day reminding the crucial role educators play in shaping the global future.

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.


Technical cooperation

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Carbon neutral university campuses: an imperative for accelerating climate action

In a world where time is a limited resource in the face of the climate crisis, the transformation of universities towards carbon neutrality can wait no longer. It is a vital step towards a more sustainable, equitable and resilient future for all.

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.


Concerted advocacy

Youth-informed policy papers on global goals released

A series of 5 white papers on SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) was recently launched, presenting a comprehensive youth-led vision to inform and support the outcomes of the 2024 Summit of the Future.

Call for papers for the ESS Journal’s edition on academic freedom extended

Articles encouraging discussion and analysis of the processes, risks and implications threatening academic freedom will be accepted until 18 October.