As part of a newly established research network between CHEER and three Chilean Universities, three Chilean delegates visited CHEER at the University of Sussex from 26-28 November 2018 to share latest trends and policies on higher education and internationalization.

The delegates were:

• Dr Carolina Guzman-Valenzuela, Associate Professor at the Institute of Education, University of Chile
• Dr Juan Pablo Queupil, Center for Research in Inclusive Education, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaiso
• Dr Ana Luisa Muñoz-García, Center for the Study of Policies and Practices in Education, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Activities engaged in during the visit included a meeting with Professor Kelly Coate, Pro Vice Chancellor for Education and Students and Co-Director of CHEER, at which was discussed the efforts being made in both Chile and the UK to improve student experience - and the challenges. Professor Coate described the tools used in the UK to evaluate and assess the performance of universities in delivering a fulfilling and rewarding student experience - notably the National Students Survey which collects undergraduate students' feedback biannually.

The three Chilean delegates also took part in an Open Research Seminar at which all three presented. Based on an analysis of patterns of publication of papers in higher education in Latin America, the geopolitics of academic collaboration in the construction of knowledge were examined. It was suggested that international academic collaboration and the construction of knowledge in the social sciences require spaces to think critically. Studies show that Social Network Analysis can provide insightful information for the extension of collaboration networks in educational research. In studying patterns of successful co-authored articles from Web of Science dataset, Chile was found to collaborate with more countries from the Global North than within its own region. In addition, studies on research policies and the contemporary feminist movement in Chilean higher education suggest gender policies in the construction of knowledge should be theorized from a feminist perspective.

The next stage of the collaboration between CHEER and Chile will be a seminar in Chile entitled 'Knowledge, Internationalization and Gender in Higher
Education' in April 2019 (23-26 April). 

The following academics will work together with doctoral scholars to exchange knowledge and forge a future research agenda:

• Professor Bronwyn Davies (Melbourne University, Australia)
• Professor Louise Morley (University of Sussex, England)
• Professor Liisa Husu (Orebro University, Sweden)
• Dr Gritt Nielsen (Aarhus University, Denmark)
• Dr Ana Luisa Munoz (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile)
• Dr Carolina Guzman (Universidad de Chile)
• Dr Juan Pablo Queupil (Universidad Cardenal Silva Henriquez)