Academics representing various universities from Arica to La Serena will participate in a 5-day seminar, organized by the University of Antofagasta, in collaboration with the Luksic Scholars Foundation.

With the return of in-person events, Babson College, a leading university in teaching entrepreneurship worldwide, will be conducting the fourth version of the “Symposium for Entrepreneurship Educators“ in Antofagasta.

Over 40 professors from various study centers in the north of the country are to participate. The program aims to elevate the art and the way of teaching entrepreneurship and is a unique learning opportunity for professors to broadly establish a strong spirit of entrepreneurship towards their students, managing to transform undergraduate and postgraduate teaching towards an entrepreneurial approach.

This year’s edition, which is focused on digital transformation, is organized by the University of Antofagasta via its Transfer and Licensing Office, in collaboration with the Luksic Scholars Foundation, and will take place at the Enjoy Casino in Antofagasta until Friday, May 27th.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Workshops, classes, and presentations are part of the usual activities of the seminar, and for the first time this year, there will be a visit to the Port of Antofagasta and the company Enaex Chile SA, both of which implement innovation and transformation projects in their functions.  

Scholars will receive insight into the logic of business thought and action, and how it can be taught and applied to students. They will also learn about the entrepreneurial mindset, recognizing the key aspects of the process and the content of teaching in entrepreneurship, through the case study method and the growing importance of other methodologies based on experience and action.

For Dr. Luis Alberto Loyola, rector of the University of Antofagasta, this initiative “aligns with the guidelines of the university’s mission and its connections to other higher education institutions in the country. We are proud of this virtuous alliance, which via the Luksic Scholars Foundation, allows us to deliver tools of the highest level to teachers throughout the northern macrozone in such a priority area such as entrepreneurship.” He also highlights the hard work of the Transfer and Licensing office. 

The Luksic Scholars Foundation is looking forward to resuming this symposium in person. Ben Thompson, Head of Programs, stated that “the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Chile is growing and evolving in leaps and bounds, and therefore, it is necessary for academics to be able to acquire new knowledge to pass on to their students, especially regarding digital transformation given that most areas are moving in this direction. We are happy to be able to contribute to this objective, promoting instances such as this symposium, in which participants can share experiences with leading academics from Babson College.”

Classes will be taught by Babson College academics, Andrew Corbett and Matthew Allen, experts in innovation and entrepreneurship, who have vast experience from previous versions of the “Symposium for Entrepreneurship Educators”, for the universities of the northern zone of Chile.

Matthew Allen, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Babson College, highlighted that “the main objective is to help participating professors teach entrepreneurship in a more effective way. The idea is to take the base that they bring as university professors and entrepreneurs in some cases, and give them tools that complement their teaching theory and their practical experience by sharing the methodologies that we use at Babson.”

BABSON COLLEGE

Babson College is one of the leading entrepreneurship colleges in the United States. The institution’s goal is to develop a growing international number of educators of innovative entrepreneurship. The program has already reached 6,173 educators from more than 1,475 institutions around the world.

This symposium has been conducted in numerous countries and regions of the world, such as Argentina, China, Ecuador, Ireland, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Russia, Scotland, Switzerland, Venezuela, and Costa Rica.

During the year 2021, more than 80,000 people in Chile enrolled in postgraduate diplomas, master’s, or doctorate degrees in order to specialize in different areas of expertise. If you are also considering enrolling in a post-graduate program, these five tips may be helpful for you.

Continuing to study after a pregraduate degree is a decision more people are choosing to undertake. According to data provided by the Higher Education Information Service (SIES), there were 80,189 men and women in Chile who completed a post-graduate diploma, master’s, or doctorate program in the year 2021.

Of that total, 34% of students opted for post-graduate diploma programs, 58% opted for master’s degrees, while the remaining 8% chose to pursue the highest academic degree awarded by a university: a doctorate. 

When comparing these figures to those of 2020, which had a total of 60,946, a notable interest can be seen amongst those living in Chile who are deciding to pursue additional studies. However, choosing which postgraduate program is not always an easy decision, which is why we have outlined some guiding tips.

Define your goal: whether it is to get a better job or to specialize in a certain area, it’s important to define the purpose behind your decision to enroll in a postgraduate program. Once you have this laid out, you will be able to move on to the second step. 

Analyze the labor market: acquiring new knowledge can be enriching, however, understanding the labor market is also important. When you have already decided on which graduate program you want to do, it is recommended to evaluate the projected trends in your area of interest in order to prepare for the market’s future needs.

Organize your time to study: usually, those who decide to undergo a postgraduate degree have dual work and family responsibilities. With this in mind, it may be worth considering programs that adapt to your schedule, such as evening programs and/or blended or online programs offered by different institutions.

Consider the financing: many institutions nowadays offer scholarships or financing opportunities for their students. Check out the different options offered by each academic institution as well as their pricing and payment methods. Additionally, some companies may contribute financially towards their employees’ studies as a way of investing in their professional development.

Compare course curriculums: much like undergraduate degrees, postgraduate diplomas, master’s or doctorate degrees may have different areas of focus depending on the university. In order to choose the specialization that best suits your requirements, you should review and compare the curricula of different institutions to get a point of comparison.

Source: EducaLT (information only available in Spanish)

After a year’s wait, 10 professors from different Chilean universities were finally able to participate in the Babson Luksic Fellows program, which consists of a one-week deep dive on campus at Babson College in the United States. The objective of the program is to prepare entrepreneurship professors with the knowledge and skills to adapt to changes and seek innovative solutions. 

Seminars, classes, and practical excursions were part of the activities that 10 professors from Chilean universities participated in via the Babson Luksic Fellows program, organized by Babson College and supported by the Luksic Scholars Foundation. The experience took place on Babson’s campus in the US from March 27th to April 1st. 

The visit, which was originally scheduled for 2021, but finally carried out in 2022 due to the pandemic, invited Luksic Scholars to experience what it is like to work alongside Babson professors solving problems related to business and within a society that is constantly changing. 

The 2021 cohort

During the week spent at Babson, this group of Luksic Scholars selected exclusively by Babson College to partake in this program, were able to acquire knowledge designed to strengthen their professional development. Five of the 10 participants tell us about their experiences:

• “The mentoring and support we received at Babson will allow us to incorporate new practices being developed in various fields such as entrepreneurship, venture financing, ideation, gamification, alongside many more.” 
  -Raúl Valdés, Founder of RetailPivo, and Professor of Entrepreneurship II and Information Technology at Universidad del Desarrollo

• “Dare to innovate; even taking small steps can lead to building something great. Sometimes we may see many opportunities in front of us, which can make it difficult to understand where to start, and one of the greatest lessons I learned from this trip is to build a viable path that allows you to build big changes little by little.”
  -Luciana Mitjavila, Director of the MBA Full-Time International Programme and Business Challenge MBA at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez

• The “Entrepreneurial Thought and Action” course taught me how entrepreneurs act under increasing levels of uncertainty and how to find opportunity even when the whole world sees chaos. It also taught me how to develop and change my mindset, the growth mindset, and why it is important to train students/colleagues to accept mistakes through process and effort.”
  -Yuliya Ossipovich, Consultant for Universidad de Chile and Director of Product Marketing for Anica S.A. 

• “The experience at Babson has been really fantastic for both my teaching and research activities. They were extraordinarily supportive of my idea of developing a new MBA course that will now be available in the second semester at UAI. The interactions at Babson have helped me to implement ideas that I had but had not yet been able to transform into something concrete. The Babson faculty has been very generous in their contributions.”
  -Flavia Cardoso, Assistant Professor at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez 

• “The ideation process, the interaction and dynamism of the classes, prototyping processes, and connection is all a part of what I have learned through this program, which will be incorporated in the pilot incubation program that’s being carried out at AIEP later this year.”
  -Carolina Castillo, Head of Early Entrepreneurship at the AIEP Professional Institute 

The Babson Luksic Fellows Program, founded in 2011, forms part of the wider portfolio of academic opportunities offered by The Luksic Scholars Foundation. It encompasses a 5-day residential program for Babson SEE-Chile alums to experience an extended learning journey to Babson College. To date, 59 professors representing more than 25 universities have participated.

A new agreement has been reached with Sciences Po for the support of two scholarships for Chilean students admitted to a Master’s program at the university, as well as the participation of five Chilean faculty in the Teaching and Learning Workshop hosted by Sciences Po’s Institute for Skills and Innovation taking place this year.

Building on the legacy of the Sciences Po – Quiñenco Scholarships that were awarded in 2020 and 2021, it was decided that future financial support for Chilean students at Sciences Po provided by the Luksic family would be coordinated through the Luksic Scholars Foundation. A final agreement encompassing both programs mentioned above was signed in April 2022.

The new funding program for the Master’s has been named the Luksic Scholarship, and has been made available to students who received an offer to study a two-year Master’s program at Sciences Po to begin in the 2022-2023 academic year, requested financial aid, and met the requirements for the funding. As with the previous scholarship, eligible candidates must be Chilean citizens and residents (without any other European nationality) and must meet the university’s criteria for academic excellence and demonstrated financial need. The final selection and adjudication of the scholarship is carried out exclusively by the admissions team at Sciences Po, with no input from the Luksic Scholars Foundation.

In addition, the agreement reached between Sciences Po and the Luksic Scholars Foundation also provides support for five Chilean university professors with experience in pedagogical strategies and innovation to participate in the annual Teaching and Learning Workshop hosted by Sciences Po’s Institute for Skills and Innovation that will take place in June 2022. In 2022, the theme of this workshop is “Re-Thinking Pedagogy in the Post-Covid Era.” Participants are selected by the team at the Institute that is organizing the workshop.

Together, the Luksic Scholars Foundation and Sciences Po look forward to supporting the Chilean candidates participating in the above-mentioned programs, as well as developing further opportunities in the future.

Sciences Po is France’s leading university in the social sciences and has been educating decision-makers in the public and private sectors for the past 150 years. Today it is a world-class, multidisciplinary research university with a strong international focus, including a student body with 49% international students from 150 different countries.

The Luksic Scholars Foundation supports learning experiences that connect Chile with universities around the world and vice versa and fosters the development of a global network of Luksic Scholars.

In collaboration with 16 internationally-recognized universities, the Luksic Scholars Foundation offers a portfolio of more than 30 undergraduate and postgraduate programs through which more than 1,650 Chilean and foreign people have benefited; 65% of whom are Chilean seeking to improve their skillset and knowledge, as well as contribute to building a better society. 

These are the figures that summarize the 22-year history of Luksic Scholars, an initiative that was born in 2000 by the Luksic Family, and that was formally established as a foundation two years ago in order to continue promoting academic learning experiences that connect Chile with people and universities around the world.

Since its inception, Luksic Scholars has collaborated with academic institutions to implement programs in countries such as China, Croatia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and, of course, Chile. The Foundation’s work has provided access to programs such as a master’s degree in public policy, public administration, economics, business, global leadership, and law, in addition to symposiums on entrepreneurship, educational conferences, and research grants for a variety of fields. 

Currently, the work of Luksic Scholars is based on three main pillars: facilitating the access of Chilean talent to programs at international institutions via collaborative agreements; connecting those who have participated in these programs to a wider global network in order to provide them with more opportunities in their professional and academic careers, and; supporting the presence of Chile within international university offices. 

Looking toward the future, the Foundation plans to continue promoting education as a tool that creates collaborative networks in a globalized world, in which Chile has much to contribute to the exchange of knowledge.

The Luksic Scholars Foundation is part of the Fundación Luksic; the first and oldest of the Luksic family foundations that bring together and supports much of the family philanthropy.

Within the realm of international universities, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is considered one of the most recognized academic institutions in the field of Social Sciences for its role in training future leaders, academics, and other relevant actors for the public sphere. 

In 2020, the Foundation Luksic Scholars created a new scholarship for Chilean students admitted to the Masters in Public Policy (MPP) and Public Administration (MPA) programs at LSE. To date, 16 Scholars have completed these programs, which last nine months and two years, respectively. Five of them, belonging to the 2020, 2021, and 2022 cohorts, share their experiences and note that the experience has made a difference in their professional careers.

The plans of some of these young students, especially those who started their programs in 2020, were nearly at stake due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Olivia Mullins, a lawyer who completed her MPP that same year, says, “the pandemic was a huge blow that threatened my plans to study at LSE, and I wouldn’t have been able to be there without this scholarship. The courses I took were both fascinating and challenging. I was able to meet people from every corner of the world, and with a wide variety of experiences and outlooks.”

The cross-cultural component of this program was also reflected in the experience of María Josefina Hubner, a lawyer, who finished her MPP in 2021: “LSE’s culture and community represent a unique mix of international backgrounds. The active student life, public lectures, and exposure to diverse political views are teaching me as much as the courses,” she stated. 

As for the MPA program, students work to acquire new knowledge about politics and public administration from a global perspective. Reflecting on her post-program goals, economist, María Ignacia Pinto affirms that “after graduation, I will work to translate the knowledge received into efficient public reforms to ensure equality of opportunities in Chile and drive social change.”

A similar motivation, to contribute in a transversal way to cultural changes in the country, is also shared by economist Camila Arroyo, who attended the same program. She says, “Chile’s critical situation will require professionals capable of rethinking economic policy from all spectrums: from the creation and implementation of public policies to structural reforms in terms of citizen participation, education, health, and social security.”

Ignacio Loeser, an economist set to graduate this year, joined the MPA in 2020 and only after his first few months at LSE defined the institution as “a modern and global university where you learn from great professors and brilliant classmates from all around the world.”

Finding new teaching methodologies that interest and attract students is one of the greatest challenges faced by teachers around the world. In response, the Luksic Scholars Foundation has opened calls for two academic opportunities at Sciences Po and Babson College, aimed at university professors who are seeking to incorporate innovative methodologies in their classrooms or who work in the area of entrepreneurship, in order to enhance their professional development. 

–SCIENCES PO–

To address the challenges in education from a global perspective, the Institute for Capabilities and Innovation Sciences Po will hold an international Teaching and Learning Workshop whose call considers the participation of five Chilean academics supported by the Luksic Scholars Foundation. This opportunity is part of the ‘Faculty Seminar at Sciences Po.’

This year’s program theme is “The Future of Pedagogy Post-COVID” and will take place from June 7th to June 10th in Paris, France. 

Who can apply?

This program is for professors from Chilean universities who work in any discipline; deans and administrators of higher education institutions with a mission focused on pedagogical and educational innovation; and teachers who research within the area of ​​pedagogy. 

Interested candidates can apply via this digital form. Applications close on April 22nd. 

–BABSON SEE CHILE–

Also during the month of April, the annual Symposium for Entrepreneurship Educators, organized by Babson College and supported by Fundación Luksic Scholars, is open to professors from Chilean universities. This program, known as Babson SEE Chile, will take place over the course of three days, from June 13th to June 15th, in Santiago, Chile, during which teachers will learn the relevance of the way in which knowledge is transmitted.

Via this initiative, Babson College seeks to develop an international network of innovative educators in the field of entrepreneurship. Some of the topics to be addressed are managing classroom challenges; immersion-based teaching; market tests and experimentation, and learning from failure, amongst others. 

Who can apply?

Professors from Chilean universities who teach and/or research entrepreneurship. Applications close on April 25th and must be sent via the following form.

Selection and admission decisions are made exclusively by the universities. The Luksic Scholars Foundation has no interference in the application, admission, selection or awarding of financial support processes.

On June 22nd, 2021, the 13 recipients of the Luksic Scholars Fund were announced. This initiative was a novel funding opportunity through which the Luksic Scholars Foundation granted US $46,000 to encourage the development of academic research and participation in executive education courses amongst the members of its community. 

Of the total number of beneficiaries, 46% were able to research topics ranging from entrepreneurship, climate change, and citizen participation and politics, including science & technology and the effects of the pandemic on school systems. 

The Scholars who were granted professional support were able to participate in executive execution courses carried out respectively by seven nationally and internationally recognized universities such as London School Economics, Harvard University, MIT, Universidad de Chile, and Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. The topics of the Scholars’ courses included circular economy, business, sustainability, politics, and the Chinese fintech market, among others. 

Seven months later – upon the closing the Fund 2021 – the winners have commented on their experiences and how the results of their projects or courses have impacted their professional development.

Researchers

Sebastian Uriarte, a professor of entrepreneurship, conducted research on working with hybrid entrepreneurs. He says, “I was able to study hybrid entrepreneurs (those who simultaneously work as paid employees and run a business) globally, who make up about 20% of entrepreneurs around the world. I found that these entrepreneurs are more likely to recognize opportunities and create more innovative ventures when they are part of a team.”

Another interesting analysis was developed by Alejandro Cataldo, an academic at Universidad de Talca, who researched family and economic effects of technostress on students due to online classes. Among the conclusions of the study, the professor detailed that “technostress caused by online classes is a complex problem that requires coordination amongst national education, housing, and health policies. As such, the inequality of Latin American countries amplifies the negative effects of the digital divide which have become more evident due to COVID.”

Josefa Villarroel, Director of the Observatory of Entrepreneurship Policies in Chile, investigated the entrepreneurship ecosystem of Easter Island. Through the use of surveys and field visits, she was able to discover how entrepreneurship develops in this culture, the role women play, and the main challenges presented given the territory’s geographical isolation.

Another research project was led by Dr. Xiao Chen, Assistant Professor of Management at the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada. His investigation explored the link between climate change and organizations’ social, environmental, and governance performance. The results will be published in 2022.  

Lastly, in politics, Loreto Cox, Assistant Professor at the School of Government of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, alongside Carmen Le Foulon, Ph.D. in Political Science, studied how electoral participation shifted after the change in the electoral system in Chile. Some of the study’s conclusions show that the new, more proportional system strongly increased the number of candidates on the ballot, which resulted in a significant increase in invalid and blank votes. According to the research, this would have mostly affected groups with lower levels of education due to the complexity of an extensive ballot.

Executive education courses

As for professional support stream of funding: the seven Scholars who participated in an executive education course were able to acquire knowledge specific to their professional development in areas such as entrepreneurship, international business, innovation, interpretation, and data recovery; all with the aim of continuing to build bridges and connecting realities and cultures around the world. These were the programs that the recipients participated in:

• Alejandra Astorquiza – Marketing digital: estrategia, procesos y ROI, IESE Business School, Universidad de Navarra
• Alexis Celis – Venture Capital: Investing in Early-Stage Startups, Columbia Business School
• Belén Guede – Diplomado de Estudios Chinos, Universidad de Chile
• Francisco Castañeda – Business, International Relations & the Political Economy, The London School of Economics and Political Science
• Ivana Marsic – Disciplined Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Approach for Building Innovative Products and Ventures, MIT
• Paulina Gutiérrez – Formando Directores, Universidad Adolfo Ibañéz
• Simon Smart – Circular Economy and Sustainability Strategies, University of Cambridge Judge Business School

The Luksic Scholars Fund 2021 was a funding opportunity for up to US$ 5,000 offered by the Luksic Scholars Foundation to the members of its online network in line with the Foundation’s commitment to supporting the continuous learning and personal development of the Scholar community.

The opinions and conclusions presented in the works carried out by the Scholars who received funding from the Luksic Scholars Foundation are the sole property and responsibility of those who have expressed them and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Foundation.

In establishing this Fund, the Foundation does not endorse or support these opinions or conclusions as it has only sought to motivate Scholars to develop academic research and carry out executive education courses that allow for their professional development.

In collaboration with the University of Oxford, the Luksic Scholars Foundation created the Oxford Blavatnik School of Government Luksic Scholarship for Chileans pursuing a Master’s in Public Policy at this School, located in Oxford, United Kingdom. The first Luksic Scholarship was awarded in 2014 and since then, 10 other Luksic Scholars have received support via this scholarship opportunity. The 2020-2021 cohort of Luksic Scholars graduated in August of last year and the 2021-2022 cohort has now arrived on-campus to start their MPP journey.

The 2020-2021 cohort of Luksic Scholars graduated from the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University in the United Kingdom under particularly difficult circumstances due to the pandemic; nonetheless, despite the hardships, the level of camaraderie and teamwork created between this group of three helped turned their MPP program into a great experience.

One member of this cohort, Luksic Scholar Camila Valenzuela (who, since graduating, has taken up a position as an Advisor at the Cabinet of the Minister of Labor and Social Security), says, “studying abroad during a time of lockdowns and restrictions was challenging, especially with my young kids at home, and all of these previous notions I had of what it would be like to obtain a Master’s degree abroad had completely changed – it became more about survival.” 

Camila credits having an amazing study group by her side as one of her biggest pillars of support and one of the most impactful aspects of studying this specific program. “We learned to rely on each other and be there for one another, and this interestingly goes hand-in-hand with an MPP program and learning about public policy – one learns how to work well in teams, divide responsibilities, and build groups of support”, she adds.

As the 2020-2021 academic year came to an end, Camila and the rest of her cohort were introduced to the newest generation of Luksic Scholars: Francisco Carrillo and Miguel Pelayo, Class of 2021, to pass along first-hand advice before the latter two embarked upon their own MPP journey, which began in September of this year. 

Francisco Carrillo, an economist from Universidad de Chile, and the first in his family to receive a university degree has years of economic experience in both private and public sectors. During his previous position at Chile’s Ministry of Social Development, he directed a new program called Clase Media Protegida which aided in the digital transformation of social services in Chile – an initiative that won a National Innovation Award. Francisco aspires to continue learning more about social protection systems and believes that Oxford’s MPP will be able to provide him with the necessary capabilities to design and implement public policy in the social development sector.

Miguel Pelayo, a Law graduate also from Universidad de Chile, seeks to use his skills to find solutions to matters pertaining to climate change and occupational standards. A testament to this is a recently-designed strategy that Miguel helped to craft while working at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which aimed to alleviate adverse effects in the labor market in Chile caused by the pandemic. In terms of his future aspirations, Miguel sees himself in an NGO or public institution continuing to serve the public good in Chile and inspiring others to do the same. He sees Oxford’s MPP as key to this, allowing him to strengthen his policy-making and analytical skills.

Since the start of the collaboration between the Luksic Scholars Foundation and Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, 11 Luksic Scholars have stepped foot on Oxford’s campus to receive their Master’s in Public Policy with the support of the Oxford Blavatnik School of Government Luksic Scholarship*; an opportunity for Chileans pursuing a Master’s in Public Policy (MPP) at this School. The MPP program specifically aims to give students critical tools to find answers to public policy challenges and to develop the academic knowledge and professional skills to address some of the century’s most complex public policy challenges.

*Selection and admissions decisions are made exclusively by the University of Oxford.

The Harvard DRCLAS Regional Office in Santiago de Chile has organized an academic forum, sponsored by the Luksic Scholars Foundation, which is set to follow the constitutional process in Chile over its two years of duration and provide open, high-caliber conversations about specific and relevant issues that Chileans will face as the country moves through this process.

The initiative was launched in December 2020 and has since then held five events through which varying perspective shave been discussed regarding the current work of the Constitutional Convention, such as representativeness, the future of Chile’s economic model, and the voting of the regulation that will govern this process. Academics, professionals, and opinion leaders from across the political spectrum, and from around the world, have participated in these conversations.

The forum is chaired by Steve Levitsky, Director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS), Marcela Rentería, Executive Director of the DRCLAS Regional Office in Chile, and Jimena Codina, Manager of the Andes & Southern Cone Program; and has an Advisory Committee composed of seven academics, six of whom have completed the Luksic Scholars Foundation’s “Harvard DRCLAS Luksic Visiting Scholars” program:

• Cristián Rodríguez Chiffelle – Former Head of Trade and Investment Policy, World Economic Forum; Former Executive Director, InvestChile.
• Claudio Fuentes – Professor, Universidad Diego Portales; Constitutional Laboratory Coordinator, Universidad Diego Portales.
• Verónica Figueroa – Professor at the Institute of Public Affairs (INAP), Universidad de Chile.
• Juan Pablo Luna – Professor, School of Government and the Institute of Political Science, Universidad Católica.
• Sebastián Soto – Professor, Department of Public Law; Director of the Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, Universidad Católica.
• Sol Serrano – National History Award 2018; Professor of History, Universidad Católica.
• Claudia Heiss – Professor and Head of the Political Science Department and & Institute ofPublic Affairs (INAP), Universidad de Chile.

More than 150 participants, representing over 24 countries including Chile, the United States, Peru, Spain, and Mexico, have participated in the events.

The topics that have been in each webinar are as follows:

The first event was the launch of the forum, held on December 2nd 2020, in which Claudia Heiss, Steven Levitsky, Juan Pablo Luna, and Sebastián Soto introduced the initiative and its main objective: to debate and discuss issues such as social rights, the future of Chile’s economic model, restoring legitimacy to a political system that has lost public trust, the promises and limitations of a “green” Constitution, the potential role of direct and participatory democratic institutions, and how to improve democratic representation, especially that of women, indigenous peoples, and other historically under-represented minorities.

The second event, “Constituent Elections in Chile: How to provide representation during a representation crisis?”, was held on January 29th, 2021 and discussed how the public trust in political parties has reached historic lows and how the massive protest movement of 2019 led to the process of drafting a new Constitution. Toward the end of the event, new alternatives of representation were raised, along with the kinds of consequences these could have on Chilean democracy.

On March 19th, 2021, the forum’s third webinar titled “Constitutional change and social demands: Can the gap be closed?” took place. It analyzed whether the process of drafting a new Constitution could effectively address the social demands that have shaken Chile and restore public confidence after the social outburst of 2019.

“Why should you care about the Convention’s regulation?” was the main question proposed and discussed at the forum’s fourth event which was held on May 4th, 2021. The speakers debated whether the internal procedures that will govern the operations of the Constitutional Convention will have an impact on both the way in which Chile’s new constitution is written, as well as the content of its provisions.

Lastly, the forum’s most recent event, “The new Constitution and the Chilean Economy: A break with the past?“, was held on June 16th, 2021 in which Dani Rodrik, Claudia Sanhueza, Rodrigo Valdés, and Rodrigo Vergara addressed concerns that arose regarding the future of Chile’s economic model, as well as the opportunities and constraints the Convention faces as they rewrite or adjust economic rules, especially after May 16th elections, which ended in a decisive support of independent representatives over political parties, and thus, turning politically to the left.

The organization of this academic forum is in collaboration with:

• Faculty of Law, Universidad Católica
• Faculty of Government, Universidad Católica
• Institute of Political Science, Faculty of History, Geography and Political Science, Universidad Católica
• Institute of Public Affairs, Universidad de Chile
• Instituto Milenio Fundamentos de los Datos
• Constitutional Laboratory, Universidad Diego Portales
• Harvard Chilean Student Association

For more information about this forum, you can visit https://drclas.harvard.edu/chile-es as well as Harvard DRCLAS’ official YouTube channel to access the previous sessions’ full recordings or their respective summarized versions. You can also check out the following podcast, supported by Harvard DRCLAS, which references topics and ideas discussed throughout this forum:https://cooperativapodcast.cl/la-convencion-de-chile?ts=20210819135654&categoria=la-convenci%C3%B3n-de-chile