Dr. Tito José Crissien
Tito José Crissien, former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation of Colombia and Honorary Member of the Royal European Academy of Doctors (READ), was featured in reports by Radio Caracol, Colombia’s leading radio network, and by Colombia’s Universidad de la Costa, where Crissien served as rector, following his admission to the Royal Academy on 6 May. The recipient read the speech “From the Transmission of Knowledge to the Creation of Value: the Emergence of the Third-Generation University”, in which he addressed the challenges facing universities in Latin America and proposed a new model that he called the third-generation university, which places the creation of economic value as the main institutional mission. He was answered on behalf of the Royal Corporation by the Numerary Member and Vice-President of the Governing Board, Rafael Urrialde.
For Universidad de la Costa, the admission of its former rector and academic adviser represents new international recognition for its community. “Tito José Crissien has become the only Colombian to belong to this select group. The Royal European Academy of Doctors is one of the most prestigious academic corporations in Europe and brings together leading scientists, researchers, businesspeople, intellectuals and internationally recognised leaders who have made significant contributions to the development of knowledge, innovation and society. For Universidad de la Costa, this recognition is a source of great institutional pride and reaffirms its commitment to academic excellence, innovation, internationalisation and the transformation of higher education. This achievement not only honours Crissien’s career, but also strengthens the university’s presence in high-level international academic settings, consolidating the institution as a Latin American benchmark in research, innovation and value creation for society”, the university states.
Radio Caracol, for its part, highlighted the debate on the future of higher education that the new Colombian READ academic brought beyond the American continent. “During the ceremony, members of the academy highlighted the relevance of his proposal for the current debate on the strategic role of universities in economic and social development. The institutional response was delivered by the Vice-President of the READ Governing Board, Rafael Urrialde, who stressed the conceptual solidity of the vision presented and its contribution to strengthening university models geared towards the generation of social value”, the broadcaster explains in the news section of its website.
For Crissien, a leading expert on the academic world in Latin America, the dominant university models —the Humboldtian university focused on research, Burton Clark’s entrepreneurial university and Wissema’s Third-Generation University, geared towards the economic valorisation of knowledge— remain insufficient to respond to this social reality, as they prioritise scientific production as the main driver of development, leaving the training of productive talent in second place. In response, during his admission to the READ, he proposed a third-generation university model committed to training highly qualified talent capable of integrating into the labour market, addressing real problems, and generating economic and social value. “Latin America does not need more universities. It needs different universities. The quantitative expansion of enrolment, without a qualitative transformation of the institutional model, is producing a generation of young people with degrees but without trajectories; with knowledge but without the ability to create value; with expectations but without viable futures; with credentials but without the skills to transform their economic and social realities”, he concluded.
