Representatives of public and private Higher Education institutions from the Coquimbo Region and the Province of San Juan participated in the event.

Within the framework of the XXIII Meeting of the Paso de Agua Negra Integration Committee, the ''Table of Universities'' was formed, in which the Rector of the ULS, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, was elected by the members as president of this body , which seeks to lay the foundations for joint work between the Higher Education institutions of the Coquimbo Region and the Province of San Juan. 

For his part, the rector of the National University of San Juan, Dr. Oscar Nasisi, was elected secretary of the Board.

The Table of Universities is made up of delegates from both countries, among which representatives of universities and professional institutes stand out.

On the occasion, Rector Avilés emphasized that ''the work of this Table once again proves that the academic world has no borders and that this is the starting point for a series of new challenges that lie ahead of us, in the framework of this Paso Agua Negra integration project.

Main themes

After an intense day of work, the Commission, in which more than 20 representatives of academic institutions from Chile and Argentina participated, managed to define a series of relevant topics for the development of joint work, the foundation of which lies in the contribution that the academic world that serve for effective integration between both countries, considering Higher Education as the intellectual engine of the development of the regions involved.

Due to the above, the Universities Board proposed the areas of Teaching, Research and Liaison as central axes. In this regard, topics such as: student mobility; academic internships; new offer of undergraduate courses and technical courses; implementation of Postgraduate and Postgraduate programs taught jointly; initial teacher training; development of research and innovation projects; creation of a Bibliographic and Information Center for Academic Work carried out by both countries; and most importantly, the formalization of a Network of Higher Education Institutions around the ''Coquimbo-San Juan Macro Zone''; among other initiatives.

In the work session, the Commission received a visit from the governor of Elqui, Américo Giovine, and the vice-governor of San Juan, Sergio Uñac.

It should also be noted that the University of La Serena, through its academics, also participated in other commissions such as Commerce, Production and Tourism, associated with the opportunities and challenges that arise for both countries and specifically for businessmen. of San Juan and the Coquimbo Region.

Representatives from the public and private sectors participated on the occasion, including the academic from the Department of Food Engineering, Elena Lara, who pointed out that ''the problems that both regions have are very similar, and so is our production. We have made contact with Argentine peers who have been interested in food analysis and processing. We have already established contact and we hope in September to have something put together in projects, exchange and training, among others.''