The Minister of Justice, Luis Cordero, spoke at this Thursday's session and requested the collaboration of the CRUCH universities. The president(s), Rosa Devés, highlighted the importance of participating in this public policy through the contribution of different areas of knowledge.

The session also addressed topics related to R&D&I financing for universities, CRUCH's participation in the new Doping Control Commission, among others.

With the participation of the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Luis Cordero; the Minister of Sports, Jaime Pizarro; the Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation (CTCI), Aisén Etcheverry; and the Undersecretary of Higher Education, Víctor Orellana, the last plenary session of the year of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) was held this Thursday, November 30 at the University of Talca.

One of the central topics of the session was Minister Cordero's presentation about the “National Search Plan; Truth and Justice”, after which he requested support from the CRUCH for the implementation of the plan, which was approved unanimously.

In this regard, the president(s) of the CRUCH and rector of the University of Chile, Rosa Devés, pointed out that “the commemoration of the 50 years of the Coup d'état has led us, among all of us, to propose this public policy that we recognize as fundamental and we will be there with our knowledge. That is why universities are so important when matters of this importance occur in a country. There we look at the universities, at this knowledge.”

Minister Cordero asked the CRUCH to designate representatives for the Monitoring Committee, which must ensure compliance with indicators associated with the goals of the plan, and for an Academic Committee. “The National Search Plan requires very significant interdisciplinary work, from data by artificial intelligence to forensic anthropology, geography and history, psychology and forensic medicine (…) There are a number of disciplines that are concurrent and very relevant to address the development of the plan, but also for what it leaves in terms of memory and that means work on archival issues in a different way,” commented the minister, who appreciated the reception of the CRUCH.

It is worth remembering that President Gabriel Boric signed the decree that makes the National Search Plan official, together with Minister Luis Cordero, on August 30.

For his part, the rector of the host university, Carlos Torres, pointed out that “in the CRUCH institutions we can contribute from various disciplines. In the case of UTalca, there is the work that can be carried out from the Heritage Documentation Center for the digitization processes, also in the reading and processing of information through artificial intelligence and also from the work carried out by the Center for Minority Rights and Diversity Management, which has a focus on what Human Rights are.”

The session also addressed topics related to the financing of Research, Development and Technological Innovation (R&D&I) for universities; the participation of CRUCH in the Doping Control Commission; and the presentation of the report of the CRUCH Commission for Strengthening Pedagogies “Teaching changes lives”, which raises proposals for strengthening initial and continuing teacher training.

PAES and Budget 2024

Meanwhile, the Undersecretary of Higher Education referred to the success of the application of the Higher Education Access Test (PAES), whose regular administration ended this November 29.

In relation to the 2024 Budget Law, he believed that, in a context of fiscal adjustment, there is important progress. “There continues to be an increase in the resources available to universities and there continues to be an expansion of the sector, which is so relevant for the construction of critical mass, scientific, cultural and knowledge capabilities for development,” said Orellana.

R&D&i financing for universities

Another relevant topic of the session was Structural Financing of R&D&I for universities. In this regard, the Minister of CTCI, Aisén Etcheverry, commented that from the Ministry "we have been working for several months to complement the science financing model with more structural initiatives." He stated that “science is the path to development, therefore, it requires financing to accompany this process and, although the mechanisms we have have been very successful, they are insufficient for the level of maturity that our system has.”

In this scenario, he pointed out that "today we had the opportunity to continue discussing how we can move towards structural financing of science and technology, which puts precisely this sector at the service of the country's development."

Specifically, the minister presented two programs: Impulsa CTCI and Misión Frontera. The first seeks to promote the contribution of regional universities to territorial development and decentralization processes, through the financing of R&D&I capabilities, including their respective management and institutional governance. The second is aimed at enhancing the contribution of universities with maximum institutional accreditation to national development, through support for the development and strengthening of R&D&i capabilities that can provide answers to complex missions.

CRUCH in Doping Control Commission

Other presentations in this session were that of the Minister of Sports, Jaime Pizarro, who referred to the National Doping Control Commission, a new body that seeks to ensure the effective operational independence of the Commission in the implementation and execution of the National Program. Anti-doping.

He explained that the senior management of the entity will correspond to a Superior Council, which must be made up of five regular members and, for its formation, he requested the CRUCH to appoint representatives.

This new instance is due to the need to adapt national regulations to the new standard of the World Anti-Doping Code through the modification of Title V of Law No. 19.712.

Source: CRUCH Communications.