Webinars
ABOUT THE WEBINARS
The preparatory webinars for the 5th Universia International Rectors Meeting aimed to bring together a large variety of perspectives and reflections centred around how the university contributes to the progress of society. These webinars were based on the three main areas of the Meeting: "Supporting lifelong learning", "Boosting entrepreneurship and innovation", and "Promoting networks and interconnectivity".
During 70 minutes of dialogue, panellists analysed, from different perspectives, the main global challenges and opportunities where higher education can add value in the coming years. The conclusions were used as a reference in the "Valencia Declaration", which gathered the commitments of the rectors to create progress in universities through different and specific lines of action, with the aim of continuing to contribute to the progress of society.
Topic 1: SUPPORTING LIFELONG LEARNING
Video summary
Important quotes
Andrea Inamorato
Founder and CEO of Saĝo Education (Brazil)
"Digital humanities have to go hand-in-hand with digital competences in order to prepare students for social interaction".
Cipriano Ángel Sánchez García
Rector of the Universidad Anáhuac (University of Anahuac – Mexico)
"Continuous education should be a commitment rather than a priority".
Javier Bustamante Romero
Rector of the University of Engineering and Technology – UTEC (Peru)
"The key to the development of lifelong learning at university is to encourage transdisciplinary approaches and collaboration with the industry".
María Iraburu
Rector of the Public University of Navarre (UPNA – Spain)
"We have an opportunity to be more of a university than ever before. The current challenge does not distort our mission, instead it strengthens it".
Rolando Rocancio Rachid
Rector of the Universidad de La Sabana and president of MetaRed ESG Colombia
"The university must ask itself how it can serve on a large scale to improve society".
Topic 2: BOOSTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION
Video summary
Important quotes
David Pistoni
Co-founder and CEO of Zeleros (Spain).
"I can think of few ecosystems in the world like universities, where so many ideas are generated organically on a daily basis. Universities are the perfect place for start-ups to emerge".
Federico Valdés
Rector of the Universidad del Desarrollo UDD (University for Development – Chile)
"Are we teaching future doctors to be innovative and entrepreneurial or only to be good at science? Are we giving them the opportunity and showing them the value of that?".
Julio Fernández Techera
Rector of the Catholic University of Uruguay (Uruguay)
"At university, we must encourage applied research and direct funding to research related to areas of priority for our social and economic reality".
Teresa Olivi
Rector of Blas Pascal University (Argentina)
"The university must work collaboratively, internally and externally, to achieve better use of resources and impactful outcomes".
Evilazio Francisco Borges Teixeira
Rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS – Brazil)
"Entrepreneurship is linked to a set of competences, skills and attitudes that need to be awakened and cultivated as a cross-curricular discipline".
Emídio Ferreira dos Santos Gomes
Rector of the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal)
"Attracting big companies to university can help promote the generation of entrepreneurial projects".
Topic 3: Promoting networks and interconnectivity
Video summary
Important quotes
Arno Meerman
Founder and CEO of the University Industry Innovation Network (Netherlands)
"Just because we are not all universities or not all research organisations, doesn't necessarily mean that we have to work into competition, it's far more about collaboration that will serve us when it comes to the impact that we are looking to create through employability, economic growth and enhancing our knowledge society".
Sally Mapstone
Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews (United Kingdom)
"Big issues, such as climate change, sustainability and poverty alleviation will only be addressed by the bet minds collaborating and working together".
Anja Steinbeck
President of University of Düsseldorf (Germany)
"Cutting edge research and young motivated people are the main values that universities can bring to the table when they cooperate with other stakeholders".
Marisa Kelly
President of Suffolk University (United States)
"The innovation that comes from our faculty, the ability, the desire, the willingness to be disruptive, the talent that comes from our students, to use that on behalf of solving challenges, solving societal problems, is a very important element that put us in a unique position to collaborate with others to move things forward".
Final webinar: University and Society
Video summary
Important quotes
Felipe González
Former President of the Government of Spain
"I would ask universities, when they think about university and society, to think about the society that we are living in and what role universities can play in the society we are living in".
Yoani Rodríguez
Rector of Universidad Anáhuac Oaxaca (Mexico)
"It's a given that we train great professionals in all spheres and fields of expertise, and it's a given that we will continue our research and to bring knowledge, but we will do so in a way that means we teach people who are really going to make society the better place to which we aspire".
Héctor Masoero
Rector of UADE (Argentina)
"Our greatest challenge as a university is how to integrate technology and education to ensure that students can get into quality employment, while ensuring that we provide good, supportive human education, all in a short time frame".
Marcia Abrahão Moura
Rector of Universidade de Brasília (Brazil)
"So, the role of our universities is to educate people, conduct high-level research and also welcome people from different parts of the country, at different socioeconomic levels, and none of this could be achieved without the strengthening of democracy".
Miguel Angel Castro
Rector of Universidad de Sevilla (Spain)
"Some universities only create richness that exacerbates differences, while others that believe in the values of humanity create just the opposite, based on equality of opportunities and a global perspective of the problems faced by the planet and by humanity".