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

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.

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


Quality and relevance

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.

New comparative data on the recognition of institutional autonomy worldwide

In a moment in which the autonomy of higher education institutions is on the news every other day, are you curious to know whether national governments recognize institutional autonomy by law? A new Policy Insight from UNESCO IESALC provides a global overview on the share of countries establishing institutional autonomy in higher education, with comparisons between regions and income groups.


Equity and Inclusion

Higher education as a space for valuing cultural diversity

In the framework of the celebration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, and as a contribution to achieving the objectives of the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Languages, four articles published in the journal Educación Superior y Sociedad address priority issues to advance in the appreciation of the cultural diversity of societies in the region and to ensure the educational rights of indigenous peoples.

UNESCO IESALC’s gender projects disseminated at Africa Gender Statistics Forum

Projects addressing gender-based violence in higher education and supporting women’s participation in Southern African universities were presented by partners.


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

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.

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


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

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

Registration for the second edition of the Campus IESALC sustainable leadership and governance programme is open until 31 August 2024.

Innovating in education: agile methodologies and digital enviroments course

Campus IESALC offers a course which will provide new resources and teaching skills to meet the needs of an increasingly digital student body that demands specific training according to their interests.


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

Network of rectors for sustainability

Within the framework of the III Ibero-American Convention of Rectors and Leaders of Sustainability and Sustainability Managers, the creation of the Network of Rectors for Sustainability was signed, an alliance that seeks to promote sustainability from higher education at a global level.

Green skills and sustainable learning: A collaborative path forward 

The goal of the roundtable side event at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, was to foster conversations and collaborative actions to make meaningful progress towards a shared vision for green skills and sustainable learning in higher education.