The UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) is the specialized institute of the United Nations system with the mission to contribute to the improvement of higher education in member States. The Institute organizes its activities around working programs that reflect the priorities set biannually by its Governing Board and approved by the UNESCO General Conference. From research, capacity building, technical cooperation, and concerted advocacy, four major work programs contribute to fulfill its mission.


Priorities


Internationalization and Academic Mobility

The results of the first year of work of the New Regional Convention for Latin America and the Caribbean were presented in Havana

Two new publications on recognition issues were presented and the Committee’s leadership was renewed, with Ecuador as vice-chair and Uruguay as chair for the second time

Basic guidelines for the recognition of Venezuelan academic degrees and diplomas

This publication is intended to be a reference guide and a tool to support public officials and institutions of higher education, mainly in neighboring countries, which receive a large number of Venezuelan migrants.


Quality and relevance

The transformation of higher education

Francesc Pedró | This contribution has opted for an approach to the transformation of higher education that attempts to describe and analyze trends of which we are just beginning to have signs.

A survey will analyse global trends in tertiary education quality assurance  

The instrument is multilingual, allowing each respondent to pick their preferred language from English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Chinese (traditional and simplified) and Portuguese. ¡Join us!


Equity and Inclusion

New project will map routes to higher education for Venezuelan refugees and migrants

On World Refugee Day, UNESCO IESALC launches regional project to support the right to higher education of Venezuelan refugees in Latin America and the Caribbean

How does gender-based violence occur in higher education institutions?

In May and June 2024, UNESCO conducted four induction workshops to introduce the research on gender-based violence in higher education to representatives of higher education institutions and other stakeholders in the four countries participating in the project: Cuba, Mexico, Zambia and Zimbabwe. These workshops aimed to introduce the project, build partnerships, and engage with selected higher education institutions in each participating country.


Innovation

Innovation and “educational pact to help reduce gaps” | La Voz

In the first panel of the year’s “Voices that add up” series, four specialists debated the role of higher education in the face of the emerging demands of the labour market.

50 young changemakers from Nigeria take part in the “Innovation to Transform Education Training”

The idea of this project is to support the role of youth by equipping them with project, policy and innovation skills.


CRES

Ibero-American Network of Networks for Sustainability to be established

Rectors from the region confirmed in Brazil their commitment to a vision of sustainability, development and efficiency through the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda.

CRES+5 final document defends democratic, inclusive and free higher education

Representatives of Latin American and Caribbean countries defend higher education as a universal human right, a social public good that must be guaranteed by states.


Programs


The Right to Higher Education

Nine regional and thematic consultations provide analysis and proposals on the right to higher education

A suite of reports presents the key findings from a series of regional and thematic consultations on the right to higher education as an integral component of the evolving right to education.

Students are united by their diversity

UNESCO IESALC holds First Youth Dialogue on the Right to Higher Education in Latin America


Futures of Higher Education

The UNESCO Roadmap for the Transformation of Higher Education: No More Business as Usual. An Interview with Francesc Pedró

The director of UNESCO IESALC reflected on the actions needed for global change through solidarity networking.

What do youth say about higher education in the future?

An in-depth consultation with more than 100 young people from 43 countries defined the challenges, improvements, and opportunities for higher education in 2050 in a new report by UNESCO


Academic Mobility

The results of the first year of work of the New Regional Convention for Latin America and the Caribbean were presented in Havana

Two new publications on recognition issues were presented and the Committee’s leadership was renewed, with Ecuador as vice-chair and Uruguay as chair for the second time

Basic guidelines for the recognition of Venezuelan academic degrees and diplomas

This publication is intended to be a reference guide and a tool to support public officials and institutions of higher education, mainly in neighboring countries, which receive a large number of Venezuelan migrants.


Sustainable Development Goals

UNESCO IESALC among those to chair the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI)

This July 15, the HESI 2024 World Forum – a special event of the High Level Political Forum – will address the future of higher education for sustainable development.

Second public consultation on policy white papers for SDGs leading to the Summit of the Future

The public consultation aims to gather innovative inputs for the development of youth-led policy white papers on the five Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under review on this high level political forum cycle: SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).


Response to COVID-19

Article points to key areas of higher education in Latin America during pandemic

The latest issue of the Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, published the article Closing Now to Reopen Better Tomorrow? Pedagogical Continuity in Latin American Universities During the Pandemic, by Francesc Pedró and Débora Ramos, director and academic specialist respectively at UNESCO IESALC.

The futures of higher education were discussed in Lima

The Universidad en Internet (UNIR) held last May, in Lima, the Congress “The Futures of Higher Education”, with the participation of 40 universities and institutions, including UNESCO IESALC represented by its director, Francesc Pedró. The event served to reflect on the great challenges facing higher education, as a result of digitization and changes arising from the pandemic. It was attended by the mayor of Lima, Miguel Romero; the president of UNIR, Rafael Puyol; the rector of UNIR, José María Vázquez; the Spanish ambassador to Peru, Alejandro Enrique Alvargonzález; the secretary general of the OEI, Mariano Jabonero, among other personalities. Pedró […]


Digital Transformations

UNESCO Digital Learning Week addressed the emergence of artificial intelligence

UNESCO IESALC presented the guide “Harnessing the Era of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education. A Primer for Higher Education Stakeholders”

Primer addresses harnessing the era of artificial intelligence in higher education

The handbook explores how technological developments are currently being used and how to integrate them in a practical and ethical way into knowledge generation

ChatGPT, artificial intelligence and higher education

This blog post is based on the interventions of Dr Francesc Pedró, Director, UNESCO IESALC and Dr Axel Rivas, Director of the School of Education at the University of San Andrés and Academic Director of the Applied Education Research Centre San Andrés, Argentina, during the UNESCO IESALC webinar ChatGPT, inteligencia artificial y educación superior held on 17 April 2023. It also draws from UNESCO IESALC’s publication, ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education—Quick Start Guide.

ChatGPT, artificial intelligence and higher education: What do higher education institutions need to know?

UNESCO IESALC held a webinar to discuss its possibilities and challenges in higher education, a Quick Start Guide and an interactive seminar, which will begin in April 2023.


Transforming Education

50 young changemakers from Nigeria take part in the “Innovation to Transform Education Training”

The idea of this project is to support the role of youth by equipping them with project, policy and innovation skills.

Latin American youth propose 6 lines of action to transform education

Six young people propose pillars for achieving change in the region through innovative learning


Capacity building

New course for rectors and vice-chancellors driving change towards sustainable universities

Registration for the second edition of the Campus IESALC sustainable leadership and governance programme is open until 31 August 2024.

Innovating in education: agile methodologies and digital enviroments course

Campus IESALC offers a course which will provide new resources and teaching skills to meet the needs of an increasingly digital student body that demands specific training according to their interests.


Technical cooperation

Presentation of 14 academic-pedagogical management improvement projects that will benefit public universities in Peru

They were developed with the technical support of UNESCO IESALC, as part of the Program to Strengthen Improvement Plan Projects, financed by the PMESUT of the Ministry of Education Lima, 29, 2022.- During 192 hours of training and technical assistance 43 project managers and university teachers received personalized advice with quality mentors, as part of the Program for Strengthening Improvement Plan Projects aimed at improving the academic and pedagogical management of public universities in Peru. The program was designed by UNESCO IESALC within the framework of call 6 called “Improvement of Academic and Pedagogical Management in Public Universities”, financed by […]

UNESCO IESALC Advises Peruvian Universities on Projects to Improve Technology, Educational Innovation and Academic Management

On February 4, the Program’s first stage to strengthen university improvement plans ended with more than 14 virtual visits to 10 exemplary higher education institutions in Ibero-America The ability to respond to the abrupt interruption of face-to-face activities now depends on a digital environment. Many have had to become acquainted in a short period to guarantee pedagogical continuity. In this context, it is necessary to strengthen models of improvement plans that allow higher education institutions (HEIs) to establish a roadmap to develop the mechanisms required to ensure the quality and relevance of a face-to-face, non-face-to-face, and hybrid system. In this […]


Concerted advocacy

“We must try to give more opportunities in higher education to those who have less”

Francesc Pedró, director of UNESCO IESALC, said in an interview with the Bolivian newspaper El Deber, that beyond the merits, UNESCO is committed to the universal right to higher education.

ESS Journal has a new editorial team

The next issue will be dedicated to governance in higher education.