University outreach and other forms of social partnership as sources of learning to transform universities

Abstract

This article argues that the actions that are increasingly carried out by the secretariats, or pro-rectories, of social outreach of Latin American universities, as well as the various modalities of social partnership practiced by numerous university teams in an articulated way with their teaching and / or research, not only contribute to improving the quality of these other university functions, but also that these institutions carry out useful learning to transform themselves permanently, ensuring that their work is pertinent and relevant to the societies of which they are part, thus preventing them from accruing ivory towers, as they have frequently been criticized. This argument is supported by the results of the development of two lines of research. One of them carried out between 2011 and 2013, with the collaboration of the chairs of over than 200 university social outreach experiences and other modalities of social partnership developed by teams from 39 Argentine public universities with communities and social organizations. The other is a line of research and action, started in 2004 and still ongoing, dedicated to studying the relationships between higher education institutions and communities of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples in Latin America, aimed at formulating policy recommendations and institutional transformations that guarantee the rights of these peoples and contribute to improving the academic quality of these institutions.