Rio de Janeiro, world capital of higher education as it hosts the 3rd Universia International Meeting of university presidents

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Universia, the largest network of Spanish and Portuguese speaking universities, is holding the 3^rd Universia International Meeting of university presidents, where over two days (July 28 and 29) representatives from over 1,200 universities will analyze the future of universities, their capacity to respond to society's current demands and the reach of Ibero-American universities in a global context.  The list of participating universities and their countries of origin can be found at: http://www.universiario2014.com/paises/?culture/es-es/.

The meeting, which has the theme 'The university of the 21st century: A reflection from
Ibero-America', was announced at a press conference in November 2013 by Emilio Botin, Chairman of Banco Santander and Universia.  There, he stated that "More education and more people in universities mean greater progress for countries. Rio will be the world summit for higher education in 2014."

Universia, promoted by Banco Santander through its Santander Universities Global Division, is the most important network of universities in the world, bringing together 1,290 universities from 23 countries representing nearly 17 million people at universities (teachers, students, and administrative and services staff).  The first meeting was held in Seville in 2005 and was attended by 500 chancellors.  Five years later, the second meeting of chancellors took place in Guadalajara, Mexico, attended by 900 chancellors and representatives from Ibero-American universities, with their conclusions being brought together in the so-called 'Guadalajara Agenda.'

This 3rd Universia International Meeting of Chancellors will, with the face-to-face meeting to take place in Rio, be the culmination of a participative process of over 20 months of work and activities undertaken online, through which over 100,000 people at universities have enriched the face-to-face debate taking place on July 28 and 29 with their contributions.

Over the two days, chancellors from universities in Ibero-America and other continents and regions will contribute to placing the vision and reach of Ibero-American universities in a global context through debates on 10 tables about different issues: 'Universities today: how are we seen? How do we see ourselves?'; 'Universities and students: do our universities meet students' needs?'; 'Universities and lecturers: what do lecturers need? Which lecturers do we need?'; 'Organization, government and finance: what do we need to change?'; 'Universities and ICT: to what extent do we need to reinvent ourselves?'; 'Teaching quality and development: does it meet social needs?'; 'Research, innovation and transferral: is a leap forward feasible?'; 'Universities, society and environment: do we engage in the challenges of our time?'; 'Universities and social context: how can we contribute to the development of our communities?', and 'Internationalization: what goals?  How fast?  With what strategies?'

The participants in the debate tables can be found at:
http://participa.universiario2014.com/debates/debatesrio.

Given the key role of technology in facilitating learning and teaching, and as an innovation in relation to previous meetings, a digital application has been developed to facilitate the creation of a large academic network for communication and collaboration at an international level.  All of the preparation of the meeting issues and sessions has been done online and through social networks.  In addition, the chancellors attending the meeting will be able to access the different debates on tablets, which will be available to facilitate activities and contact between participants.

The meeting is supported by Banco Santander through its Santander Universities Global Division (www.santander.com/universidades), which has supported Universia in all its activities since it was created in the year 2000.  All the information on the meeting is available at: www.universiario2014.com.

CONTACT: Santander Universities Global Communication: Ana Nunez, +34 615 90 29 46 or Sonia Perez, +34 615 90 74 04 or Marta Gallardo, +34 615 371 838 or Ignacio Marin, +34 615 901 256

SOURCE Banco Santander S.A.