The CUDU

Description

The UNESCO Chair of Higher Education Management (CUDU) is a permanent center for analysis, reflection, and consultancy in university governance, management, and policy, with a particular focus on engineering and technology universities. CUDU serves as a reference platform for strategic dialogue between universities, institutional leaders, and social and economic agents, aiming to anticipate and address the current and future challenges of higher education and contribute to strengthening its leadership, impact, and commitment to society.

Vision

To consolidate CUDU as an international benchmark in university management and governance, capable of influencing the academic, institutional, and public debate on the future of higher education, and contributing to more open, responsible, innovative, and socially committed universities.

Mission

CUDU's mission is to generate knowledge, strategic guidance, and institutional capacities to improve the management, governance, and impact of universities. In particular, CUDU aims to:

• Promote reflection and debate on the major challenges of higher education and the role of universities in relation to citizenship, employment, innovation, lifelong learning, and territorial development.
• Analyze and provide consultancy on university management and policy, responding to the needs of universities, administrations, and social and economic agents.

Generate and disseminate applied knowledge, as well as promote international cooperation, to strengthen the role of universities as engines of socioeconomic development and innovation, in both developed and developing countries.

Activities

To fulfill its mission, CUDU promotes the following key activities:

• Coordination of the UPC Think Tank, an idea laboratory composed of experts of recognized academic and professional prestige on the role and future of higher education institutions.
• Consultancy for higher education institutions in the design, development, and implementation of strategic plans in the institutional, teaching, and research areas.
• Preparation of studies on the positioning of universities in their main areas of action, based on comparative indicators and strategic analysis, in order to support institutional decision-making.
• Design and execution of capacity-building projects in leadership and university management aimed at management teams, administrators, and faculty.
• Organization of specialized seminars, symposia, and workshops on key topics of university leadership and management.
• Collaboration with national and international research groups in advancing scientific knowledge in university governance and management.
• Active participation in the network of UNESCO Chairs in Higher Education, promoting cooperation, knowledge exchange, and international projection.