At the meeting of Rectors and Rectors held in San Pablo, the debate focused on academic cooperation, regional integration and the defense of public higher education.
The 89th Session of the Council of Rectors of the Association of Universities Montevideo Group (AUGM) met between June 30 and July 1 in São Paulo, Brazil, with the participation of representatives from public universities in Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The Rector of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR) Franco Bartolacci was part of the meeting of top authorities of the Montevideo Group Association of Universities, where the defense of public education, scientific cooperation and regional integration were discussed in a complex context for Latin American universities.
This year's meeting had a special character as it was held jointly at two prominent member institutions celebrating institutional milestones: the Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), on its 50th anniversary, and the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), which commemorates 60 years of history.
During the plenary session, the Rectors reviewed the network's strategic lines of work. The central themes of the agenda focused on internationalization, academic mobility, innovation, scientific cooperation, and, very firmly, the common challenges in defending the public university system in the face of budgetary challenges and technological transformations in the region.
New regional leadership
During the closing session, and in accordance with Argentina's turn to lead the network, the Council of Rectors elected Jhon Boretto, Rector of the National University of Córdoba (UNC), as the new president of AUGM. He will be joined in the vice-presidency by Suzane Gonçalves, Rector of the Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG).
Regarding this transition and the regional landscape, the authorities agreed on the need to consolidate collective responses and deepen ties of institutional collaboration. Faced with rhetoric that seeks to discredit the scientific system and the funding problems replicated in various South American countries, strengthening blocs like the AUGM is essential to sustaining a robust, relevant, and transformative higher education system that addresses social realities.
The Montevideo Group Association of Universities continues to consolidate itself as one of the most dynamic spaces for integration in the region, promoting fundamental student and faculty exchange programs (such as the ESCALA exchange programs), permanent research committees and the traditional Young Researchers Conferences in which the UNR always plays a leading role.