The Ibero-American Universities Union is born
The University of Barcelona, the University of Buenos Aires, the Complutense University of Madrid, the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the University of São Paulo are reference institutions, and in most of the cases they lead the main international scientific rankings in their countries. Now the five centers gather to create the Ibero-American Universities Union (UIU), aiming to have a coordinated voice regarding topics which affect the signing universities, which are important for Ibero-America in the field of knowledge.
The University of Barcelona, the University of Buenos Aires, the Complutense University of Madrid, the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the University of São Paulo are reference institutions, and in most of the cases they lead the main international scientific rankings in their countries. Now the five centers gather to create the Ibero-American Universities Union (UIU), aiming to have a coordinated voice regarding topics which affect the signing universities, which are important for Ibero-America in the field of knowledge.
In the signature event, the Rector of the University of Barcelona, Dídac Ramírez, stated that this union of universities wants to “have an influence on the public policies in the university field” and provide “a joint voice on the topics affecting the universities”. The Rector of the University of Buenos Aires, Alberto Barbieri, highlighted how the alliance can enter “certain topics, regarding the needs of society”, and made reference to the first action lines that are to be done, regarding the smart cities and the Zika virus disease. “We are references and possible means of solution for some problems” he said. The Rector of the Complutense University of Madrid, Carlos Andradas, said that the project “is a very natural alliance” and highlighted the common characteristics of the five centres: “We are generalist universities, big and historic universities”. Enrique Luis Graue Wiechers, Rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, highlighted the social commitment of the five universities. He also commented on the common elements of the university centres: “We are united by history, because we are public universities, plural, and laic, with high positions in international rankings”. At the end, the Rector of the University of São Paulo, Marco Antonio Zago, put emphasis on the cultural factor that brings together the Ibero-American countries and said that “We are the most significant universities of this cultural world”.
In 2008, before the crisis arrived, Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula invested more than a 4% on global expense in research and development, and they had an economic power near the 10% of the global GDP. A 10% of the best 500 universities of the world were also from Ibero-American origins. These are figures that show a solid university system that can promote the progress of the area if having the right means.
Another of the targets of the alliance is to develop reports on relevant and strategic topics for Ibero-America. The Union will start its task with two work teams made up by five universities that will join their work to carry out research around Zika and the smart cities. These five universities will also promote the internationalization and academic and research collaborations, as well as student and teaching staff mobility among both sides of the Atlantic.
The five universities that form the UIU collect more than 900.000 students and more than 100.000 lecturers and researchers, apart from more than 600 bachelor degrees, 2.000 master degrees and post-degree studies and 500 active doctorate programs.