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QS University Rankings: Latin America Welcomed by Regional Experts
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QS University Rankings: Latin America Welcomed by Regional Experts
Staff Writer
Updated Mar 05, 2016Save
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QS’s new ranking of universities in Latin America has been welcomed by regional experts for its role in giving greater global prominence to the region’s top institutions.
The QS University Rankings: Latin America launch event at Canning House (London, UK) on 4 October 2011 featured an opening speech by Professor Maxine Molyneux, Director of the Institute for the Study of the Americas and an internationally recognized expert on the region.
Welcoming the new regional ranking, Professor Molyneux outlined the role it would play in bringing the quality of Latin American universities to wider attention, and gave a fascinating overview of some of the challenges the region will face in continuing this development in coming years.
Highlighting regional achievements
“This exercise draws attention to the significant achievements that Latin America has made in higher education, and serves as a reminder that a good number of universities have attained international standing for the quality of their research and teaching programs”, Molyneux stated.
She argued that the QS exercise will help promote international exchange and collaboration: “Knowledge exchange across borders – whether through publications and conferences, research networks, students studying abroad or faculty visits – is an essential and growing part of academic life.”
Latin America has enjoyed a decade of consistent economic growth, and is a region with great potential, Molyneux argued. “The region is today more dynamic and optimistic, and more committed to addressing its long-standing deficits in social provision. Latin America has sustained impressive average levels of growth for over a decade, and it has shown itself capable of addressing some of its deep-rooted problems of inequality and poverty.”
Indeed, recent figures show that the sustained growth enjoyed by Latin American economies over the course of the last decade has allowed for greater levels of investment in higher education. Brazil spent US$8.4bn on research and development in 2007, and participation rates across the region have grown rapidly during the last decade.
Social and economic development
Molyneux attributes this increased emphasis on higher education to the pressures of global competition, and the rising demand for knowledge and highly skilled labour.
“The rising enrolment in both secondary and higher education has increased social mobility, and led to a growing middle class,” she argued. “Universities are seen by governments as contributing to social and economic development and face rising expectations in terms of training and producing high-quality research.”
As well as serving the needs of the local population and national economies by increasing enrolment, governments are now also looking to their elite institutions to stimulate growth through research and development.
Molyneux pointed out that universities have increased the proportion of faculty with doctorates, and have placed more emphasis on research and international recognition. These region-specific factors are all measured in the new QS rankings methodology, devised following extensive consultation with Latin American universities.
While there is plenty of cause for optimism regarding the potential of this upwardly mobile region, Molyneux stressed that there are still many challenges to overcome. Latin America remains the world’s most polarized continent in terms of wealth distribution, though Molyneux cited a recent study showing a decline in inequality in 12 of 17 countries surveyed.
Challenges to be overcome
Challenges faced by universities include a lack of foreign language skills, the social barriers presented by the proliferation of fee-paying private institutions, and the infrastructural pressures exerted by the growth in admission.
“While expansion in participation is a laudable aim, if it is a government goal then the resources have to be set aside to ensure that the quality of education does not suffer”, Molyneux warned.
Indeed, Molyneux warned that with government funding being until recently comparatively scarce, universities have depended on outside sponsorship, which can threaten academic integrity by risking the imposition of external agendas.
Though support in the form of funding has generally grown across the continent, particularly in nations such as Brazil and Argentina, higher education reform in the region still faces barriers including inflexible public management rules, bureaucratic inefficiency, and politicized administrations.
They may face challenges, but Molyneux’s talk emphasized the great potential of Latin American universities as a key driver of economic growth and social development in this newly dynamic region. QS University Rankings: Latin America provides a timely measure of this progress, and gives a new level of international exposure to the many high-quality institutions in the region.