The entire Argentine university system is in Rosario to discuss the future of Argentina's public universities. The meeting is organized by the National Interuniversity Council (CIN), which brings together all the rectors and the UNR.
"For the University to address the challenges posed by the world we live in, it must undertake a second university reform that will allow us to build a much more modern, democratic, and participatory institution, but above all, will provoke a revolution in academic, pedagogical, and curricular aspects," said the Rector of the UNR during the opening of the First National Congress on University Innovation, which brought together rectors from across the country.
Under the motto "Teaching, Research, Management, and Territory," more than 3.000 professors, researchers, students, administrators, and academic authorities from across the country are gathering at the Rosario University City to discuss how to modernize the university system and adapt it to the challenges of the present.
Bartolacci urged us to review curricula, discuss the types of programs and programs we want to build, debate teaching methods, and consider what we do with artificial intelligence. "It can be a problem or an opportunity. What we can't do is look the other way as if nothing is happening, because it puts the entire traditional teaching and learning process at risk."
He also raised the possibility of successfully, creatively, and intelligently combining virtual and in-person modalities: “We know that a large part of the richness of universities and training lies in what in-person encounters produce, but virtuality also allows us to break down barriers that are often an obstacle to accessing higher education.”
He also referred to the architecture of the classroom, not only in terms of its layout but also what happens inside, so that these reforms ensure that everything that happens there remains relevant, because the young people entering the university today bear little resemblance to those who arrived a few years ago.
The Rector emphasized that "the reason our institutions exist is the students, the future professionals we provide for the country, and the core of the reforms we promote must be based on that." In this regard, he confessed that "sometimes we fail in this task because we consider the things we do based on the objectives of the institution, the researchers, and the teachers."
For Bartolacci, this is an important challenge given that "the world we live in is increasingly dehumanizing, and today's Argentina requires us to call for an epic struggle for inclusion, coexistence, and development, which challenges all of Argentine society."
He believed that these changes must emerge from a horizontal and participatory debate, but one that must be carried out quickly because "we take too long to bring about transformations, and if that doesn't change, the University runs a serious risk of becoming irrelevant." He emphasized that Simón Rodríguez's maxim, "we invent or we fail," is more relevant today than ever.
In closing, he emphasized that "if we need to make a firm stand, if we need to raise our voices, we will do so as many times as necessary, but we will also put the same energy into transforming the University, so that it continues to fulfill its mission well, functioning with its classrooms full of students, producing science and knowledge that are equal to the challenges that this society, which sustains us with its efforts, demands of us. Long live the Argentine Public University."
For his part, the Rector of the National University of San Antonio de Areco, Jerónimo Ainchil, stated that "if anything is felt here, it's energy, power, a desire to work, to do things, to question ourselves. We needed to come together to think about the University, about new ways of communicating and meeting with young people." He added: "That passion seen today is undoubtedly what keeps the University open."
He referred to an interview Latin American rectors had with Pope Francis, in which they received a strong exhortation to continue fighting for the human right to university education: "to conduct education with the mind, the heart, and the hands." "That is our greatest challenge, the recovery of values, of humanism, of action."
Meanwhile, Oscar Alpa, president of the National Institute of Statistics and CIN and rector of UNLPam, stated that "our Argentine University has a proud history: no tuition fees, unrestricted admission, free tuition, and a system that supports students, allowing more than two million to attend public universities and graduates to be characterized by excellence and social commitment." "We are proud to know that from Jujuy to Tierra del Fuego and from west to east, there is a public university in every corner of our country, because Argentine society aspires to this upward mobility," he added.
Over two days, conferences, panels, and workshops will focus on the pillars defining the future of higher education: teaching, research, management, and outreach. The conference will feature the presentation of more than 1200 academic papers and a dedicated space for innovative experiences that are currently setting trends in universities across the country, with the goal of inspiring and multiplying good practices.
In parallel, the CIN will hold its 94th Plenary Session of Rectors, where the current state of the Argentine university system will be analyzed and actions for the next semester will be defined, in line with the conclusions emerging from the congress. Rosario is not just the site of an academic meeting: it is the starting point for designing the future university, reaffirming the role of public education as a driver of social transformation and development for the entire country.
Journalist: Victoria Arrabal/Photographer: Camila Casero