UC Chile strengthens its participation in Universitas 21 Network and Asia
UC Chile’s delegation arrived in Shanghai, China, with the purpose of strengthening collaboration with other member universities of the Universitas 21 Network and sharing its progress in inclusive global mobility and global teaching with international partners. During the event, UC executives gave two workshops focused on these areas.
photo_camera The UC Chile delegation, headed by the Vice President for International Affairs, Lilian Ferrer, participated in an international meeting with leading universities of the world. Photo by Universitas 21.
The 2024 version of the Annual Meeting of Global Education and Senior Leaders of Universitas 21, organized by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, took place in Shanghai, China, between October 23 and 25.
An event that brought together authorities and executives from member universities of the network, to showcase their progress regarding the topics of student experience, education and innovation.
Founded in 1997, the Universitas 21 Network is globally recognized for its strategic importance, comprising 29 leading universities focused on advancing knowledge, research, internationalization, and innovation. UC Chile joined the network in 2012 and is one of only two Latin American universities to be part of U21.
For the first time, the network gathered Senior Leaders U21 alongside academic and internationalization representatives from member universities in a global meeting to share challenges and achievements related to the Student Experience and Educational Innovation clusters.
Within the framework of the UC Chile Development Plan 2020-2025, which emphasizes internationalization strategies and policies, UC Chile has actively implemented initiatives with a global focus in both curricular and extracurricular areas, international relations, and global mobility. This has established the university as an institution open to global dialogue and collaboration with international partners.
The UC Chile delegation, led by Lilian Ferrer, Vice President for International Affairs and Senior Leader for U21, also included:
- Cristian Díaz Castro: Director of Global Mobility.
- Maribel Flórez: Director of Global Learning.
- Chantal Jouannet: Director of the Center for Teaching Development.
Vice President Ferrer highlighted the outstanding presence of UC Chile in this major event, where the work model developed in collaborative global teaching and inclusive international mobility was presented.
“Without a doubt, this meeting allowed UC Chile to show its progress in internationalization, integrating the academic field and its impact on the profile of students. This reinforces our vision of a globalized future that increasingly calls for a collaborative professional perspective that transcends borders”, Ferrer said when referring to the event.
At the Senior Leaders U21 meeting, Vice President Ferrer led the conversation on the commitment of higher education institutions as agents of dialogue in the face of the world's current conflicts, stressing that UC Chile has been focused on creating permanent spaces for reflection and conversation.
In addition to that, Cristian Díaz Castro, Director of Global Mobility UC and Maribel Flórez, director of Global Learning UC, conducted two workshops in different clusters focused on UC Chile's experience in initiatives about internationalization at home and global mobility.
After the Senior Leaders U21 meeting had ended, the UC delegation embarked on a mission to other cities in China and Indonesia, to strengthen relations with international partners and define future work plans in relation to upcoming projects.
The future of education in a globalized world
For the first time, the Universitas 21 Network combined the Student Experience and Educational Innovation clusters with the global reunion of Senior Leaders. This new format fosters a shared vision and creates a space for open dialogue to address the current challenges of higher education from a global perspective.
As part of this year's innovative agenda, the Global Learning Office and the Global Mobility Office, alongside international partners, conducted two workshops showcasing UC Chile's experience in student mobility and collaborative global teaching.
Both workshops explored the future of internationalization and its impact on curricula and student experiences, emphasizing personal and professional development through an intercultural, inclusive, and innovative lens.
The first workshop, “COIL: Comparing Experiences and Insights from Across the Globe,” focused on Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). Participants examined UC Chile's experience, shared definitions of COIL, and discussed examples to establish a common understanding of this methodology.
Maribel Flórez, Director of Global Learning, led the workshop, describing it as a valuable opportunity to share experiences and enhance the use of COIL within the network. "It is extremely gratifying to see how UC Chile can lead a workshop on global teaching in such an important network as U21, collaborating with other member universities to improve through shared experiences," she emphasized.
Simultaneously, Cristian Diaz Castro, Director of Global Mobility, represented UC Chile in the second workshop, “From Chile to New Zealand: Case Studies for Enhancing International Experiences for Indigenous Students and Students with Disabilities.”
This workshop highlighted UC Chile's pioneering efforts in developing mobility programs that diversify access for indigenous students and those with disabilities. Real-life case studies from UC Chile demonstrated how planned interactions between university stakeholders, guided by design thinking methodologies, have led to successful outcomes in mobility programs for these groups.
Participants engaged in meaningful discussions about the challenges of global mobility from the perspectives of equity, interculturality, and inclusion. The workshop encouraged continued collaboration among partners, fostering a global commitment to these essential pillars for the future of higher education.
Strengthening relations with Asia
After the Senior Leaders U21 meeting, the team from the Office of the Vice President for International Affairs traveled to China and Indonesia to strengthen relationships and explore new opportunities for collaboration with university authorities and strategic partners.
Vice President Ferrer, along with Maribel Flórez, Director of Global Learning, visited several cities in China, where they met with representatives from various universities and partner institutions of UC Chile.
Ferrer visited Nanjing to meet with leaders of the Phoenix Publishing Group and Nanjing University, institutions that have collaborated closely with UC Chile for over 15 years through the UC Chile Confucius Institute.
Maribel Flórez visited Tsinghua University in Beijing, where she held coordination meetings with Professor Tao Tao Chen, director of Tsinghua University’s Latin American Center.
These discussions focused on the upcoming China-LatAm Youth Challenge to Alleviate Poverty, an initiative that will adopt a COIL format in the first semester of next year, inviting students to create interdisciplinary solutions for eradicating poverty from a multidimensional perspective. Flórez was also invited to visit the university's Global Competence Development Center.
Cristian Díaz Castro, Director of Global Mobility, traveled to Indonesia to strengthen ties with Gadjah Mada University, the only university in the country with which UC Chile maintains mobility agreements.
He also met with representatives of Yayasan Pohon Sagoe, an organization with which UC Chile has collaborated through the Pallqa Leadership and Global Cooperation Program. This initiative, launched in 2023, enables UC Chile students to contribute to local community development in Indonesia through health and education projects.
“Meeting in person with partners and colleagues we’ve worked with side by side for so many years reinforces our community's commitment to international collaboration and development. It is a unique exchange of knowledge and expertise where students, academics, and local actors form a single team working for the common good and fraternity,” said Cristian Díaz Castro, Director of Global Mobility.
As the final stop of his mission, Díaz was welcomed by Dr. Henky Herzon Hetharia, Rector of Universitas Kristen Indonesia, to sign a cooperation agreement aimed at implementing a joint project by 2025 between the two institutions.
Building on three years of collaboration with Yayasan Pohon Sagoe, the Global Mobility Office, in partnership with the UC Chile School of Civil Construction and with support from Universitas Kristen Indonesia in Maluku, Indonesia, secured funding from SELAVIP for an international project. This initiative will develop a water system for the indigenous community of Wansar, located on Boru Island in the Moluccas Archipelago.
