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ENCUENTRO INTERNACIONAL DE UNIVERSIDADES ESTATALES
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The purpose of the League is to advocate these values, to in uence policy in Europe and to develop
models of best practice through mutual exchange of experience. High quality in research and teaching
should be promoted both within and without the league; both as an aim in and for itself, in order to
improve the quality of teaching and research in the universities which are members; and because of the
importance of well-functioning universities for society. Therefore LERU concerns itself with all matters of
higher education; with quality measurement, with best practice regarding research as well as teaching;
with the role, rights and functions of PhD-students and postgraduates; with the functions di erent types
of university should ful l, and related issues. These issues should be explored with regard to best practice
models, and by experts, that can only be found within the university system.
In order to in uence policy in Europe, LERU takes up questions discussed by the European Parliament,
submitting papers to the committees which set up the agendas for the new rules concerning higher
education to be implemented in Europe. These papers are based on the experience of the member
universities, and on the best practice identi ed within the League. In order to enhance the impact of LERU
as the voice of European research-intensive universities, the membership has been enlarged from
originally 12 to 20 universities. If one looks at the regional distribution, the drawbacks are apparent and
were taken up by an evaluation of the League after ve years: By basing membership in the League
strictly on criteria of academic excellence, worked out by a membership committee which takes into
account the newest ndings in quality measurement and rankings, the members are not spread evenly
throughout Europe – with an obvious blank in the South-East. However, European Commissioners have
by now accepted LERU as a voice of European research universities. The discussion concerning a further
enlargement of the League according to a mixture of scienti c and strategic criteria has not yet been
resolved; at the moment, there is a preference for academic excellence as well as breadth of topics and
research orientation. In spite of the regional bias, the papers published by LERU are welcomed by the
respective European institutions, since these documents are said to give balanced and very informed
accounts of current problems, and are based on a broad experience as well as excellent models of best
practice.
Apart from politically in uential topical papers, which are more often than not instigated by projected
legislation or questionnaires handed out by European Commissions, LERU has tackled the problem of
delineating the role and function of a comprehensive university in a modern, globalised world. In order
to justify its authority in demanding a certain degree of autonomy and of pursuing the goal of basic
research, the value of the modern comprehensive university focussing on basic research has to be
ascertained. My following remarks on the features and functions of a modern research university are
therefore not my personal opinion, but based on the paper “What are universities for?” written by
Geo rey Boulton and Colin Lucas and published with the unanimous consent of the member universities
of LERU.
2. Features and Functions of a Modern Research University
In contrast to prevalent ideas about universities, it should be understood that the ‘western’ university
based on the principle developed by John Henry Newman and Wilhelm von Humboldt has provided an
almost universal model for higher education, a model that has been emulated with great success in
several continents. More often than not, these universities have acted as sources of radical thought and
social progress. Inmany countries they have led the way in developing concepts that are increasingly vital
if we are to address many of the complex challenges to national and global societies.
DIA 2: DESAFÍOS DE LAS UNIVERSIDADES PÚBLICAS PARA EL SIGLO XXI
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CONFERENCIA: “Estado actual y proyecciones de las Universidades Públicas de los Estados Unidos”
142
Jaime Chahín
142
CONFERENCIA: “Responsabilidad del Estado respecto a la Sustentabilidad de la
Universidad Pública Nacional”
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Juan Manuel Zolezzi, Consejo de Rectores.
155
PANEL: “Financiamiento de las universidades estatales: antecedentes y perspectivas para el siglo XXI” 161
Juan Manuel Zolezzi
162
Luis Ayala
162
María Olivia Mönckeberg
172
Felipe Morandé
180
Hugo Fazio
185
CONFERENCIA: “La Mercantilización de la Educación, el ejemplo de la Universidad”
185
Roger Dehaybe
185
CONFERENCIA: “Enseñanza Superior, Universidades Públicas y Universidades de Clase Mundial.
Relación entre estos términos y las Políticas de Investigación y Desarrollo en Brasil”.
186
Hernán Chaimovich
186
PANEL: “Futuro de las Universidades Públicas en Chile”
193
Sergio Pulido
193
Jorge Las Heras
197
José Antonio Viera-Gallo
202
José Joaquín Brunner
205
Ennio Vivaldi
212
Ricardo Núñez
220
CONFERENCIA: Alcances y conclusi nes del Encuentro
226
Francisco Brugnoli
226
CONFERENCIA DE CIERRE
232
Mónica Jiménez, Ministra de Educación
232
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