UCM Proposes a «New Deal» with Science at International Meeting

julio 14, 2023

The vice-rector of Research and Postgraduate Studies of the Universidad Católica del Maule, Hernán Maureira, said that universities must evaluate research from dimensions other than merely quantitative during a conference held in Colombia.

A «new deal» with science was proposed by the vice-rector of Research and Postgraduate Studies of the Universidad Católica del Maule (UCM), Hernán Maureira, during a meeting organized by the Inter-University Center for Development (CINDA, in Spanish), which brings together 37 institutions of higher education in Ibero-America.

The meeting, which annually brings together the vice-rectors of research and innovation belonging to the network, took place at the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia.

«We need a new deal with science, and I expressed this. The space where research is looked at only from a quantitative point of view is running out. The economic resources that are invested are usually measured through the impact of publications in certain prestigious indexed journals, but we must also take a look at them from the social sciences and see how to include in that same evaluation different dimensions such as art and social sciences. This is very enriching,» said the authority.

Among the objectives of the eleventh version of the forum, which included the participation of entities such as the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, the Università degli Studi di Genova and the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, was the recognition of areas of collaboration, such as technology transfer, the university-industry relationship and open science.

«This instance allows us to align with the concerns that universities have regarding the management of research. A global problem is how to transform research practices into a culture, in order to contribute from the sciences to solve more local problems or dilemmas,» said Maureira, who holds a doctorate in Physical Activity and Health Sciences.

Soledad Aravena, director of the University Policy and Management Program at CINDA, expressed a similar opinion.

«The universities see it as an important challenge to act jointly to strengthen their research work, for example, by encouraging group applications for international funding in thematic areas of shared interest. They also see the need to enrich the skills of researchers to perform various tasks that are currently relevant in this field […], and there is the challenge of building systems and tools to balance the role of the researcher with the teaching function of academics,» she said.

The UCM joined the network last October in the framework of a board meeting that the organization held in Montevideo. «The University has grown significantly and the challenge now is to consolidate that growth and give it a strong foundation in the international arena,» said Rector Claudio Rojas on that occasion.

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