Luksic Scholars Foundation

What We Do

We support the creation of leaders and agents of change, the development of a critical mass of people with modern competencies, and the generation of knowledge from a local perspective.

Our Programs

Our Work

We are committed to contribute to Chile's ongoing development by establishing vital connections between the country and international academic networks. Our aim is to facilitate access to diverse opportunities that empower Chileans to cultivate their leadership, skills, and knowledge on a global scale.

1,800+

participants, and growing

65%

of recipients are from Chile

foreign university centers established in Chile

Pinhas Zamorano

Luksic Scholarship at Sciences Po

Camila Valenzuela

Luksic Scholarship at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford

Ignacio Loeser

Luksic Scholarship at LSE — Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Diego Celentano

Faculty Exchange Luksic Grants

Loreto Cox

MIT Political Science Luksic Fellowship

Josefa Villarroel

Babson SEE and Babson Luksic Fellows

The Luksic Scholars Community

We have an active community of more than 1,000 people who have participated in the programs that we support. They are known as Luksic Scholars. We seek to accompany them before, during, and after their program, as well as provide them with opportunities through which additional networks and ties can be made.

Scholar Stories

“The Luksic Scholarship allowed me to fulfill one of my greatest dreams, to study a master's degree in Public Policy at LSE. I am deeply grateful to have had this tremendous opportunity, which has allowed me to grow personally, academically, and professionally, opening a horizon of new challenges in my career.”

María Josefina Hubner, recipient of The Luksic Scholarship at LSE, 2020

Our History

The Luksic family's work in the area of international academic philanthropy began in the early 2000s. Whilst the companies of the family's economic group were internationalizing, Andrónico Luksic Craig established links with universities in different countries to help Chileans access global opportunities.

Over the next twenty years, these ties grew in innovative ways, often representing the first institutional connections between these universities and Chile or even Latin America.

In 2020, Luksic Scholars was born to give continuity to these projects, with a team formed to continue the spirit of innovation and direct these efforts towards the needs of the country.

THE BEGINNING

The first program was established in 2000 in collaboration with the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) at Harvard University in the United States to support Chilean academics. Two years later, the same academic center would open its first office abroad in Chile with support of the Luksic family.

About DRCLAS Office

2000

SUPPORTING EDUCATION IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN CHILE

In 2006, the Babson Symposium for Entrepreneurship Educators (SEE) was held in Chile for the first time in collaboration with Babson College in the United States. It became the first of several editions aimed at providing Chilean teachers, researchers, and university administrators with new entrepreneurship methodologies to use in their classrooms and careers.

2006

EXPANDING TO ASIA AND EUROPE

With the internationalization of the Luksic Group's companies, the first programs outside the Americas were established. To strengthen ties with China, an exchange program was created between MBA students from the University of Chile and Tsinghua University in Beijing. To support the development of modern competencies in the public sector in Croatia, the first executive education program in the portfolio was carried out by the Harvard Kennedy School.

2007

THE FIRST POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS

With the vision of fostering new leadership, agreements were signed with the MIT Department of Political Science, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Graduate School of Education and the School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University, in the United States, to offer scholarships to Chilean and Croatian candidates in postgraduate programs related to public policy and education.

2008 - 2011

CONNECTING THE WORLD TO CHILE

During 2012 and 2013, the Luksic family supported the respective establishment of the Columbia Global Centers | Santiago and the MIT Sloan Latin America Office in Santiago. The latter, as in the case of Harvard DRCLAS, was the university's first international office. Also during this time, agreements were signed with the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and the University of Notre Dame and Boston College in the United States to support academic exchange projects, both research and administrative.

About Columbia Global Center

2012 - 2013

EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES

Based on the success of the first programs, new alliances were forged and existing activities expanded. Scholarships were created at the Blavatnik School of Government of the University of Oxford (United Kingdom), Sciences Po (France) and Tsinghua University (China), the latter as part of the Schwarzman Scholars program. The Babson College SEE program extended to the north of Chile via a collaboration with the Universidad de Antofagasta in order to address the realities of different universities in this region. A second exchange between Chile and China was also created,with the Faculty of Economics and Business of the Universidad de Chile, Fudan University, and Peking University. Also during this time, the fourth foreign university center was inaugurated: the Tsinghua University Latin American Center.

About MIT Sloan Office

2014 - 2019

LUKSIC SCHOLARS AND COMMUNITY

In 2019, the Luksic Scholars Community was created to bring together all those who had participated or had been participating in a program supported by the family. This process culminated with the establishment of Luksic Scholars, an entity whose purpose is to provide continuity to the family’s vision in this field and support all the aforementioned participants. During this period, the Foundation’s program portfolio was organized into 3 areas: “Public Service”, “Business and Entrepreneurship, and “Academia and Education”.

About Tsinghua Office

2019-2020

NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR LUKSIC SCHOLARS

In 2021, "The Luksic Scholars Fund" was launched, an annual fund for members of the Luksic Scholars Community that provides financial support for initiatives that strengthen their academic or professional development.

2021

FOCUSING ON THE NEEDS OF THE COUNTRY

New strategic pillars were defined to guide the management of the program portfolio towards the development of talent and knowledge that can respond to the global challenges that Chile faces today. Within this context, the “Business and Entrepreneurship” area was closed down, while two new areas were established: “Sustainability” and “The Data Revolution”.

2022

There is nothing more important than the education of our future leaders."

Andrónico Luksic Craig

The Luksic family is committed to creating economic and social welfare by generating opportunities, fostering talent, and expanding knowledge in all sectors of Chilean society.

The Luksic family controls one of the largest and most diverse business conglomerates in Chile, with an active presence in the copper mining sector through Antofagasta plc, as well as in the industrial and financial sectors through Quiñenco S.A. It is also one of the largest owners and operators of hotels in Croatia.

Learn More

Andronico Luksic, hands folded, looking calmly at camera

From the Founder

Throughout my life, I have devoted considerable time and effort to searching the globe in the pursuit of business interests, friendships, novel ideas, and different points of view. And it has been alongside multicultural teams that I have achieved not only many of my proudest professional accomplishments but also such personal milestones such as ascending Mount Everest and the Seven Summits of the World.

My experiences worldwide have shown me that, in the increasingly interdependent world in which we live, education has a critical role to play in promoting cross-cultural understanding and in helping to deepen the relations between individuals from different nations.

This belief has helped inspire my family and me to contribute to a broad variety of educational initiatives which all flow – in one way or another – into and through a global network of Luksic Scholars, from the remote corners of Chile to destinations around the globe.

Indeed, we feel that the value that our academic contributions lies not only in the credentials that the Luksic Scholars earn but also in the personal bonds that they forge with their counterparts. It is our hope that the Luksic Scholars’ international connections and collaborations will continue to grow and evolve as we continue to sustain this network with new and innovative programs, especially in Chile.

Andrónico Luksic Craig