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ENCUENTRO INTERNACIONAL DE UNIVERSIDADES ESTATALES
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Academics have long contributed freely their specialist knowledge to public bodies and to a broader
public through lectures, debate, discussion or performance. It is part of the ‘halo’e ect of a university, and
depends entirely on the presumption that autonomous academics have the freedom and the duty to
promote learning. Academics’ reputations for independence and their credibility make them ideal
interlocutors in public and political debates.
In a globalised world, internationalisation has become a crucial issue, and an important function of
universities lies in their role in international engagement. Academics have maintained networks of
international links since the early days of universities, long before the phenomenon of globalisation was
universally recognised. The opportunity for universities to play an independent, mediating role in this
changing world is clear. Internationally, they are located in di erent cultures, but they share a common
ethos that permits them to collaborate across cultural divides and to deepen in their students an
understanding of the diversity of cultural assumptions. Over the last decade, universities have begun to
develop international corporate links and networks that are increasingly used to intensify dialogue.
Correspondingly, they try to increase student mobility.
Since debates on government policies for universities focus on science, technology and medicine, and
neglect the value of the humanities, it seems timely at least to mention the contribution of the
humanities to the functions of universities. Let me therefore end this part of my paper with a few brief
observations on the importance of the humanities. The humanities are concerned with what it means to
be human: the stories, the ideas, the words that help us make sense of our lives and the world we live in.
How we have created it, and are created by it. They give voice to feeling and artistic shape to experience,
exploring issues of morality and value.
Research in the humanities and social sciences is concerned with issues that are essential to stability,
good order, creativity and inspiration in society. In these disciplines are gathered the thinking, learning,
and explanation of what binds and what separates human beings. They provide an understanding of why
and how we express di erently our common characteristics of being, as well as how we di er as
individuals, groups and cultures. Recent history demonstrates how supremely important the
dissemination of that understanding is to stable and healthy societies. Globalisation has created political
complexity by bringing once distant cultural assumptions into close proximity, with the media – the
internet and TV – playing an important role. A society that is aware of intercultural di erences and the
di erent ways of thinking and feeling is, of course, not immune to divisive competition and destructive
con ict. But ignorance is the surest route to panic, hatred and devastation. It is therefore vital to promote
an informed and balanced awareness of cultural di erence, and of basic knowledge concerning
intercultural communication and understanding.
Research in the humanities promotes an understanding of our own and other cultures and religions.
Through its humane values, it provides crucial support for civic virtues. The acknowledgement that moral,
social and political progress has not kept pace with mastery of the physical world shows the need for
more intensi ed research in the humanities and social sciences. Major contemporary issues, policies for
health, education and penal reform, the consequences of climate change and the development of new
energy systems require engagement across the whole disciplinary spectrum if they are to be rationally
addressed.
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”
154
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 conclusiones del Encuentro
226
Francisco Brugnoli
226
CONFERENCIA DE CIERRE
232
Mónica Jiménez, Ministra de Educación
232
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