The fifth Brazil-South Cone meeting of the Union of Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean (UDUAL), a network that brings together higher education institutions in the region, takes place on October 9th. In addition to the meeting of professionals and researchers dedicated to the topic of internationalization and integration between universities, the event will be dedicated to the discussion on university autonomy, with an opening conference focused on the topic. The debate about the challenges of remote teaching is also part of the program.
The meeting is organized by Unicamp, whose rector, Marcelo Knobel, is president of the entity's Brazil region, and by UDUAL. In addition to the conferences, which will be broadcast on UDUAL Facebook page, network members will discuss the entity's work plans for the next year. The deans of Brazilian and Southern Cone educational institutions who wish to participate in the meeting can register on the form made available by UDUAL.
The focus on cooperation actions between universities in Brazil and the Southern Cone integrate and guide the agenda. Check out the full schedule here
university autonomy
The opening lecture of the meeting, entitled “University Autonomy in Brazil: challenges and permanent threats to public Higher Education”, takes place on October 9th, at 11am, and will be taught by professor at the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT) Paulo Speller, a researcher who was previously vice-president of UDUAL and general secretary of the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI). UDUAL emphasizes that the defense of autonomy is a priority theme for its activities and that it was chosen due to the current context of violations of the autonomy of Brazilian universities.
For the executive director of International Relations (DERI) at Unicamp, Mariano Laplane, the discussion of the axis is extremely relevant at a time of threats to the autonomy of Brazilian universities and, in particular, universities in São Paulo. “It is a time when it is worth stopping and discussing autonomy, because without autonomy universities will have enormous difficulty in playing their role and delivering their contribution to society”, he assesses.
According to the professor, it is important that this debate be held at Unicamp and in the region, considering that Bill (PL) 529/2020 is being processed in the Legislative Assembly of the state of São Paulo (Alesp), which, among its articles, proposes a confiscation of the reserves of educational institutions. “We are in the middle of a discussion at Alesp where the fate of the reserves that universities accumulate precisely to get through periods of crisis like the one we are going through is being discussed. Without financial support, autonomy becomes an unviable principle”, he observes.
Remote teaching challenges
Another major topic to be discussed at the meeting is remote teaching, widespread in an emergency due to the pandemic. The discussion panel, which takes place at 12:15 pm on October 9, will have representatives from UDUAL and Mexican and Brazilian educational institutions. For Mariano, this is a topic that will be present for a long time, posing great challenges. The role of UDUAL in this scenario, the professor emphasizes, has been important in guiding several universities in the region.
“The topic of forced and emergency transition to remote teaching has worried the whole world and UDUAL has been promoting courses and training for university professors. We, at Unicamp, made the transition with great effort, but not all universities have the resources to do this alone”, he assesses. For the director of DERI, the work of UDUAL, in this context, further showed the importance of cooperation networks. “Through UDUAL, many universities had access to knowledge, experiences and training. That was really important,” he says.
UDUAL
UDUAL is a cooperation network of Latin American and Caribbean universities and higher education institutions. Founded in 1949, the entity works in favor of internationalization, quality teaching and research aimed at solving social, environmental and cultural problems in the region. More than 200 universities in Latin America and the Caribbean are affiliated with UDUAL, including Unicamp.
