Horizonte 2018: Proposal for Ibero-American Higher Education Area
1. RECTOR
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ RUIPÉREZ
Horizonte 2018: A proposal for an Ibero-American Higher Education Area
The internationalization of Higher Education is an essential challenge
that demands immediate attention if we wish the new generations to be
prepared to tackle a world where the economy, businesses, politics and
culture are now, de facto, governed under global terms.
In 2018, the University of Salamanca is to celebrate its VIII Centenary
of Scholarship, and with this the Ibero-American Education System, since the
University of Salamanca was the “alma mater” of the first Ibero-American
universities, these taking the statutes of the Salamancan Studium as a model.
This could therefore be a timely moment to present a definitive final
project for the Ibero-American Higher Education Area (Span. acronym EIES):
we have time to work on cooperative programs; we have the time to create a
network able to finance the measures we wish to take, and we have time to
search for synergies and adapt our individual peculiarities so that this can be
a project for all of us.
The strengths, experience and capacity of the International Association
of Universities, IAU, could play a crucial role in the coordination of this
initiative, since in its ranks there are many agents who would eventually
become involved in this new EIES.
It thus seems appropriate that this could offer a benchmark to be
taken into account in the construction of the EIES, which, however, has
Patio de Escuelas, nº 1 37071. Salamanca. www.usal.es
Tel.: +34 923 29 44 11 Fax:+34 923 29 44 94 rector@usal.es
2. RECTOR
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ RUIPÉREZ
indeed already started to take actions in a more isolated fashion but actions
that still pursue the spirit we are trying to convey from the VIII Centenary of
the University of Salamanca.
A Brief History.
The uninterrupted course of the University of Salamanca began in 1218
with the creation by King Alfonso IX of Leon of the first Schools in Salamanca.
Years later, in 1255, Pope Alexander IV conceded these Schools the rank of
“Estudio General”, endowing the University with a status comparable to that
of Paris, Bologna, Cambridge and Oxford, with the right of its teachers to
impart their knowledge across the whole world.
The growth of the Salamancan Studium reached its apogee between
the 15th and 16th centuries, which saw the large expeditions leaving for the
American continent. This influence became extended across the whole of
Europe and scholars flocked to Salamanca to participate in this climate of
lofty scholarship and humanistic and scientific advances.
It is within this context that the German physician, humanist and
cartographer Hieronymus Münzer visited Salamanca and wrote about what he
saw there: “Nowhere in Spain can one find such eminent General Studies as in
Salamanca. I have been told that some 5,000 students are enrolled in the
different Schools there. The fertility of the land, thanks to which food can be
bought cheaply, together with the excellence of the teachers imparting
Patio de Escuelas, nº 1 37071. Salamanca. www.usal.es
Tel.: +34 923 29 44 11 Fax:+34 923 29 44 94 rector@usal.es
3. RECTOR
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ RUIPÉREZ
classes in different disciplines are undoubtedly the reasons why such an
extraordinary number of students attend the lectures there (…)”.
In that period, the University of Salamanca was witness to the birth of
the the Derecho de gentes (lit. The Law of Peoples), thanks to the tight
relations between the American continent and the important works of
Francisco de Vitoria, these latter in fact being the main precursors of current
International Law.
All this work carried out over the centuries has resulted in a rich
heritage that includes an old library (the oldest after Oxford and Bologna)
with 3,000 manuscripts (some from the 11th century), hand-written
parchments, incunabulae and some 40,000 books published since the start of
mechanical printing up to the 18th century.
The universal nature of the Studium was further strengthened when
the Spanish Crown established the first universities on American soil. Eighty
percent of those universities assumed a scaffold of statutes inspired by those
of Salamanca, this latter becoming the “alma mater” of old institutions in
Lima (1536), Santo Domingo (1538), Mexico (1551), La Plata (1552), Santiago
de la Paz (1558); Ntra. Sra. del Rosario (1619), San Francisco Xavier de
Chuquisaca (1621), San Carlos de Guatemala (1671); La Habana and Caracas
(1721), Santiago de Chile (1738), and a long etcétera lasting until 1812.
Patio de Escuelas, nº 1 37071. Salamanca. www.usal.es
Tel.: +34 923 29 44 11 Fax:+34 923 29 44 94 rector@usal.es
4. RECTOR
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ RUIPÉREZ
This international vocation was built up over the years and currently
our Institution has cooperative agreements with agencies across the world.
However, special attention is paid to the Ibero-American scenario, where its
network of agreements is especially intense, and it is now looking to further
bolster such projects with concrete initiatives such as the Network of
Brazilian Universities, of which I shall speak later.
In Salamanca, as in so many other universities, the efforts made
towards internationalization and the combination of tradition and future
vision have resulted in very good levels of scientific and academic excellence.
Nevertheless, recent decades have shown us that an adequate preparation of
future generations requires us to delve deeper into internationalization and
collaboration within the sphere of higher education. This international
dimension has given rise to a new need: to measure, in some way, the quality
of teaching and research and the ability to transfer knowledge. This has been
standardized by means of rankings, in which, in the long run, very different
models of the university must compete.
Rankings assess the strengths and weaknesses, without attending to
particularities but searching for common elements that do not always
describe the institution in question satisfactorily. In the case of higher
education systems the particularities of each institution mark the differences
among them, such that the construction of an EIES would help to provide
uniformity in assessable aspects. Thus, the “still shot” resulting from
Patio de Escuelas, nº 1 37071. Salamanca. www.usal.es
Tel.: +34 923 29 44 11 Fax:+34 923 29 44 94 rector@usal.es
5. RECTOR
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ RUIPÉREZ
assessments made in the international arena could be adjusted and made
more realistic, allowing a better starting point for collaborative efforts.
An example of success in this sense can be seen in the setting up
some years ago of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), whose
achievements are now recognized, and indeed lauded, within the
international context.
The creation of an Ibero-American Knowledge Area that would
include higher education, investigation and innovation, represents a
fundamental contribution to the future of thousands of young people who in
the coming years will be responsible for overseeing the region. In this sense,
one could speak of the first steps for the construction of an EIES in terms of
an original initiative encompassed within the Declaration of Salamanca
(2005), under the auspices of the Organization of Ibero-American States and
the Ibero-American General Secretariat, which permitted the formal creation
of work aimed at creating an EIES.
Before this, however, there were other minor proposals that
emerged from Institutions seeking collaboration with other Universities and
that had their own normative frameworks. This has given rise to different
models of integration, sometimes based on a formal integration through
intergovernmental agreements, sometimes based on real integration, and
others on integration derived from the daily activities of the universities
themselves.
Patio de Escuelas, nº 1 37071. Salamanca. www.usal.es
Tel.: +34 923 29 44 11 Fax:+34 923 29 44 94 rector@usal.es
6. RECTOR
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ RUIPÉREZ
The Ibero-American Summits provided partial agreements despite
certain unpropitious circumstances, such as the fact that in the nineties the
idea that the creation of networks such as these represented more of an
expense than an investment was widespread; this meant that their inclusion
in cooperative policies was discouraged.
Some of the first and best known programs with components related
to mobility in Ibero-America have been as follows:
The Mutis Program (1992) for third cycle university mobility for
Ibero-American students, approved at the II Ibero-American Summit of
Heads of State held in Madrid.
The Intercampus Program of the Spanish Agency for International
Cooperation (Span. Acronym AECI) for the mobility of students,
professors, and managers between Spanish and Ibero-American
universities.
The Mistral Program (1995) for student mobility, posited at the V
Ibero-American Summit at Bariloche, which never passed beyond the
design stage.
The universities themselves began to develop their own cooperative
projects with other entities and the institutions themselves propitiated
the creation of agencies such as the Ibero-American University Council
(Span. Acronym: CUIB) in 2002; the Ibero-American Network of Quality
Accreditation, or the Program for Exchange and Academic Mobility (Span.
Patio de Escuelas, nº 1 37071. Salamanca. www.usal.es
Tel.: +34 923 29 44 11 Fax:+34 923 29 44 94 rector@usal.es
7. RECTOR
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ RUIPÉREZ
Acronym: PIMA) launched by the Organización de Estados Ibero-
Americanos, OEI, whose aim is to promote interuniversity cooperation
with a view to achieving a better integration among the participating
universities and developing the Ibero-American dimension of higher
education.
Currently, the project also involves a commission for the creation of
the Ibero-American Knowledge Area, designated in 2005 by the
Organization of Ibero-American States under the mandate of the Summit
of Heads of State and Government.
The Commissioner, Félix García Lausin, has expressed his interest in
strengthening programs that have already been initiated under the
tutelage of the OEI, such as those related to innovation, industrial
property, the promotion of development, academic mobility, enterprise,
small and medium-sized businesses and youth employment.
Seven years have passed since that first step aimed at the creation
of an EIES was taken in Salamanca, and this has now attained a degree of
maturity that allows us to consider the possibility that, with the work that
can be developed from this point onwards, it will become a pole of
influence in the fields of education, investigation and innovation.
Such endeavours must necessarily confront some of the main
problems detected in the advancement of consolidation. One such aspect
is the absence of a unified system of accreditation that would provide
harmonized assessments and that would generate confidence among the
Patio de Escuelas, nº 1 37071. Salamanca. www.usal.es
Tel.: +34 923 29 44 11 Fax:+34 923 29 44 94 rector@usal.es
8. RECTOR
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ RUIPÉREZ
various institutions. In the EHEA, this was solved by means of the
introduction of ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credits. This
brought important changes and adaptations in the higher education
systems of the integrating countries. Without a reliable assessment
system, and one that will not generate rejection among the institutions,
the recognition of degrees is not possible and this therefore hinders the
activities of professors abroad from their respective frontiers, which in
turn perverts the aims of internationalization.
Mobility is another determinant element, and increasingly so, in
higher education policies, but also in those addressing the cooperation and
integration of nations and regions, since it allows the globalization
phenomenon to be tackled better. However, a large number of agents
have been involved, which has thus generated a highly varied tone in
programs already ongoing. International mobility has been promoted from
different areas of action: universities, governmental agencies,
cooperation agencies, and international agencies, with very disparate
results. Likewise, these mobility programs have moved from having
students as the core aim to incorporating professors, researchers and,
more recently, administrative staff. With this, we have managed to reach
a state where internationalization affects not only education but also the
ways in which the various institutions are organized, allowing us to
improve certain processes and other crucial aspects aimed at
consolidating strong and efficient institutions.
Patio de Escuelas, nº 1 37071. Salamanca. www.usal.es
Tel.: +34 923 29 44 11 Fax:+34 923 29 44 94 rector@usal.es
9. RECTOR
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ RUIPÉREZ
Finally, there is an element that could also act as a bolstering
mechanism if it is accorded its due importance: this is the language shared
by the Ibero-American community, mainly Spanish, but also Portuguese,
both of which are accessible owing to their closeness with the whole of
the Ibero-American community.
In this sense, the supremacy of English as the language of science
has forged a tendency to value the education and research presented in
that language in a more positive light. Spanish, by contrast, is also one of
the most widely spoken languages in the world, which should provide an
element of cohesion in the development of a new pole of attraction.
However, this is something that is simply not happening, as shown by the
figures relating to mobility and exchanges among the countries in Ibero-
America, which are very low, and according to data taken from the
UNESCO in 2010 Ibero-Americans still prefer the United States as their
destination, together with France and even Germany.
These are only some of the problems which the construction of the
Ibero-American Knowledge Area (Span. Acronym EIC) must face up to. It is
therefore necessary to immediately set up itineraries able to generate
policies that will surpass individual barriers, even those from our
respective legislations, and contribute to providing a definitive boost to
the EIC but at the same time respect the particularities of its integrating
elements.
Patio de Escuelas, nº 1 37071. Salamanca. www.usal.es
Tel.: +34 923 29 44 11 Fax:+34 923 29 44 94 rector@usal.es
10. RECTOR
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ RUIPÉREZ
The University of Salamanca wishes to support such actions and is
prepared to offer all its experience to a project whose results could
benefit millions of people. With this starting premise, we have already
begun work in this area, such that in 2018 it will be possible to release a
new Declaration inspired in the Bologna Accord, which finally gave rise to
the EHEA, but adapted to the specific geographic and cultural spaces of
Ibero-America.
Our extensive experience in the field of internationalization, which
as mentioned above can be said to have started in the 16th century, could
help by placing emphasizing and developing further the endeavours made
so far and offering greater insight into experiences that have already been
deemed successful. Examples are our Centre for Brazilian Studies and the
Ibero-American Institute, which have generated large numbers of
graduates and much research work, or the Japanese Cultural Centre and
the exchange programs in the Asia-Pacific zone. These actions show that
our horizons should be open and collaborative.
It is in this search for horizons and the wish to bring Ibero-America
up to the status of being a region of influence that we find the Salamanca
Network of Brazilian Universities, which became a reality in 2012 after
several efforts linked to the development of the Campus of International
Excellence of the University of Salamanca. This network comprises 11
Brazilian universities and that of Salamanca and is based on the mutual
recognition of degrees, the opening up of joint lines of research, and the
Patio de Escuelas, nº 1 37071. Salamanca. www.usal.es
Tel.: +34 923 29 44 11 Fax:+34 923 29 44 94 rector@usal.es
11. RECTOR
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ RUIPÉREZ
exchange of students with automatic recognition by host universities. I
believe that the construction of the EHEA(está bien o es el EIC?)= can be
forged via concrete models, such as that represented by this network,
where it is possible to come into contact with new ideas, detect
problems, and find solutions to them.
However, this is merely another initiative, to which one could add the
agreement recently signed between Columbian and Spanish Universities to
the same ends, and other initiatives that reveal the pathway that the
various institutions wish to follow and that clearly point to (the creation
of) an Ibero-American Knowledge Area.
This brief overview only aims to provide a framework for reflection
since its format leaves no scope for more. Nevertheless, it is clear that we
need a broad debate orchestrated around work teams formed ad hoc in
order to advance along the project, as has been posited by the
Commissioner. However, I believe that it was important to speak of these
matters in a forum such as this one, where an intense mingling of broad
experiences in international university associationism prevails: something
that will be crucial for putting the EIC definitively on track. The
integration of the broad experience of the IAU in the development of an
initiative such as the Ibero-American Higher Education Area could help to
speed up and set up actions whose possibilities of success have already
been tested.
Patio de Escuelas, nº 1 37071. Salamanca. www.usal.es
Tel.: +34 923 29 44 11 Fax:+34 923 29 44 94 rector@usal.es
12. RECTOR
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ RUIPÉREZ
Thus, although I have not gone into too much depth here it seems
reasonable to mention other aspects pending reflection, among others the
harmonization and recognition of educational systems; the creation of
networks within the sphere of research; the creation of an attractive
framework for patent filing and the diffusion of research and innovation
results; the creation of a pole of attraction directed at talent under the
auspices of the EIC, and funding.
The settling and debate of these aspects, as well as others that will
transpire during the construction of the EIC, require a timing and general
framework that will facilitate its implementation. This framework could
be the year 2018, and to help in its development it would be desirable to
see the creation of a commission that within the IAU will integrate the
representation of the member states and experts and agencies that, like
the Commission (OK?) of the IEC, are already working on the construction
of this space.
With the creation of this work team it will be possible to set up a realistic
calendar for the initiation of contacts and integration with the
governments of the member states. These are crucial aspects if the
proposals for advancement are to be realistic and to open the doors to a
new area for the development of knowledge linked to Ibero-America and
the millions of Ibero-Americans who see in education and research a
model of progress for forthcoming generations.
Patio de Escuelas, nº 1 37071. Salamanca. www.usal.es
Tel.: +34 923 29 44 11 Fax:+34 923 29 44 94 rector@usal.es