“There is a very genuine concern with Brazilian universities, both federal and state, for their autonomy, for their financing, for their role in national and regional development”, stated the executive secretary of the Association of Universities Grupo Montevideo (AUGM), Álvaro Maglia, who is at Unicamp for the meeting of AUGM advisory delegates. Maglia also regretted that a Brazilian university had already left the association this year due to budgetary blockages, which made it impossible to maintain academic mobility scholarships.
The secretary recalled that AUGM, founded in 1991, has a history of defending public education. At the time, he highlights, there was an attack by multilateral organizations on the public education project, through an attempt to implement a neoliberal policy. “The tendency was to end public education and, above all, public education, which is free and generates critical thinking,” he explains. In this way, he points out, eight rectors created the AUGM, both to resist attacks and to develop the strategic role of public universities in the development of the region.
Meeting advances AUGM’s strategic plan
During the meeting of advisory delegates, which takes place until this afternoon at Unicamp, representatives from public universities in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay discuss the actions developed by the association. One of the main objectives, in these two days, is to advance in the elaboration of a strategic plan for AUGM. Currently made up of 38 universities in the Southern Cone of Latin America, AUGM promotes cooperation and integration between educational institutions in the six countries involved in the network. Unicamp has been part of AUGM since 1999 and has hosted relevant events for the association, such as the IV Scientific Conference on the Environment, in 2001, and the II University Extension Congress, in 2015.
According to Elena Brugioni, delegated advisor to AUGM and the Executive Directorate of International Relations (DERI) at Unicamp, in addition to discussing the strategic plan, issues such as the recognition of diplomas and facilitating the movement of researchers between the universities' countries are also being considered. -member in order to strengthen regional cooperation. For Brugioni, joining the association and welcoming its representatives is of great importance for Unicamp. “Within Latin American cooperation, it is really one of the most important networks in which we participate,” she points out.
The executive director of International Relations at Unicamp, Mariano Laplane, at the opening of the meeting, said that the University has been seeking to make the most of the academic mobility opportunities provided by AUGM, and highlighted that this year all vacancies made available through the ESCALA exchange program were used. In order to enhance the dissemination of exchange programs, DERI promotes, on Wednesday (2), the first Latin American Universities Fair (FLAU).
Marcelo Knobel, rector of Unicamp, was also at the opening to greet the participants. He highlighted data about the University, inviting delegates to learn about the studies, research and projects developed on the campus. “It is a very strong university in research, there are a thousand doctoral theses per year and 1.400 master's theses, so you have an idea. We have five highly complex hospitals on this campus that serve a population of six million inhabitants around Campinas and also all areas of innovation.” Knobel also presented the Latin American Observatory (OLA), created this year to insert Unicamp as a center for thinking and interpreting themes related to Latin America.
