Latin American university rectors select USACH as the site of an encounter among young scientists

The University of Santiago, Chile, will host the 28th Workshop for Young Researchers (JJI) organized by the Association of Montevideo Group Universities (AUGM) in 2020, a program that brings together hundreds of scientific papers from the network's Member Universities.

The decision was made unanimously by the latest Council of University Rectors of the Association of Montevideo Group Universities (AUGM), held in May in Porto Alegre, Brazil, with the participation of our university rector, Dr. Juan Manuel Zolezzi Cid, who has said that he is “very proud that the University has been selected.”

The international event to be held in Santiago looks to bring together nearly 800 academics and students all across Latin America and is aimed at promoting early ties among young scientists from countries in the region in order to drive their integration in works that create and develop interpersonal and scientific-academic networks to constitute regional scientific research groups.

For this reason, these Workshops are aimed at undergraduate, Master’s and PhD students who have authored or co-authored scientific-academic papers from the AUGM Member Universities (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay).

AUGM’s Support for the Public University

When selecting the university to host the next Workshop for Young Researchers, the Council of University Rectors of the Association of Montevideo Group Universities prepared a document stating their support for actions aimed at guaranteeing free public universities as an obligation of the State and a basic human right, as well as their support for the autonomy, academic freedom and scientific development of the member countries.

The declaration is in response to debates in some countries around the region that have certified that governments have adopted measures that place the maintenance and development of public universities at risk, contrary to the definitions adopted by UNESCO in the Global and Regional Conferences on Higher Education, which emphasize higher education as a public asset, universal human right and an obligation of the State.

This document was signed by 27 university rectors and representatives at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. At this meeting, our university’s rector, Dr. Juan Manuel Zolezzi Cid, valued the validity and timeliness of the declaration made by the Montevideo Group.

4th Congress on University Outreach

Chile will also host the 4th Congress on University Outreach of the Association of Montevideo Group Universities (AUGM), to be held this coming November 4-6th, under the title “Universities committed to the future of Latin America.” This encounter is aimed at opening up a space for understanding the current regional context and the role of universities with respect to social challenges and their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Congress is organized by four AUGM member universities (University of Playa Ancha, University of Valparaíso, University of Santiago Chile, and University of Chile), along with Ongoing Commissions on Outreach, Media and University Communications, and Artistic and Cultural Production of the Montevideo Group. This occurs 62 years after the 1st Latin American Conference on University Outreach and Cultural Promotion, held in Santiago, Chile.

All activities within this initiative will be held at the University of Santiago Chile and the University of Chile, and they look to respond, “to future challenges through methodological innovation, studies on university outreach and efforts to manage, systematize and evaluate programs and projects,” according to the first circular on the event.

Within this framework, the call for papers is open and aimed at the entire academic communities of Latin American universities, including professors, researchers, students, civil society organizations, social movements, public entities and/or institutions tied to outreach projects or programs. The deadline for submitting papers is next June 15th.