Editorial. University Networks, Alliances, and Consortia

More than a century ago, a large group of Latin American intellectuals converged around the striking ideas of modernity —such as the universal right to education or the autonomy of university institutions. The university reflection networks that originated in Cordoba, Argentina, extended all the way to Mexico City. They engaged dozens of creators in a fertile dialog about the direction science, art, and knowledge would take on the continent. This dialogue involved numerous participants from various universities. At the birth of “Latin American,” magazines such as Amauta, by José Carlos Mariátegui, and Sur, by Victoria Ocampo, articulated the most progressive of Hispanic America, bringing the influence of Mexican muralism to the south and bringing poetry from there as never read before. To synthesize this vast set of movements, curator Natalia Majluf titled Redes de vanguardia [Avant-garde networks] to a historical exhibition that traveled from Lima to Madrid in 2019, in which it was possible to see the links the founders of this new vision —born in dialogue with José Vasconcelos’ utopia of continental unity— established with each other. Today, we can no longer understand university work without collaborative work networks among institutions and individuals. This issue of UNAM Internacional is a privileged sample of that reality, particularly of how, from UNAM, we create and participate in networks to project ourselves to the world.

There is no doubt that humanity is heading towards a global, tightly interconnected future —today, it already is to a large extent. There is no denying the importance of international cooperation and —as a tool for achieving this objective— creating networks that articulate our diversity to strengthen our capabilities and multiply our possibilities, especially in the educational and academic spheres. Collaborative work has been gaining importance in all areas, as it fosters innovation, broadens access to knowledge everywhere, and improves how we use shared resources, thus fostering social change and continuous learning. This supports the will to move towards a more promising and sustainable future.

However, network organization is not only helpful to encourage the exchange of that which makes us better. Still, it is also a mechanism within the reach of forces opposed to social welfare and of violent powers. Networks that engage in crime, from those that do it behind the anonymity of the Internet to traffic illegal content, to the large and ominous drug cartels, know this perhaps better than anyone else. Hence, the need to articulate ourselves, not only technically, but also ethically: to establish networks that build, that contribute, that improve, that heal; to form consortia and associations that allow us to contribute equitably to our efforts, coordinate with our peers, and to ally ourselves to facilitate our growth, our development, and our well-being. In the face of the informal organizations of illegality, the networks of searcher-mothers. In the face of organized and armed opposition to human mobility across borders, solidarity networks that help migrants. In the face of international corporations that concentrate and monopolize resources to manage the economy, the solidarity of higher education institutions articulated throughout the world. These networks are a priority to train professionals capable of solving the major problems afflicting our
lives.

We dedicate this fifth issue of UNAM Internacional to this: to take stock and approach the systematization of how UNAM explores and connects with the world’s leading universities, organizations, and people committed to the world. As these pages show, it is almost impossible to describe in detail each of the networks in which UNAM has an impact in one way or another. Not only do we create networks within UNAM that allow us to remain an identity in plurality and distance, but we do not cease to throw out strands that seek to establish themselves as new nodes in the network of our global presence.

The following pages include contributions on international cooperation from national networks such as ANUIES (National Association of Universities and Higher Education Institutions) and international networks such as Public Macro-Universities Network, Magalhães, CONAHEC (Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration), and others; on the promotion of educational innovation represented by the COIL model from a Latin American network coordinated by the University of Veracruz; on the creation of a transnational campus with the participation of several European universities; on the internationalization strategies adopted by different UNAM networks, including leading participation in an international Spanish language certification system; and on the creation of an interdisciplinary Latin American network that promotes gender equality.

Finally, a visual article in this issue highlights part of UNAM’s extensive museum heritage, with photographs and information on university spaces where knowledge from all disciplines is safeguarded, researched, and disseminated.

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