Ecuador rector: ¡®My male staff still call me darling¡¯

Cecilia Paredes¡¯ first team meeting as a young researcher made her realise what academia in Latin America had been lacking. ?

Then?a mechanical engineering academic at Ecuador¡¯s Escuela Superior Polit¨¦cnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Dr Paredes watched as her new colleagues¡¯ debate over funding difficulties quickly became heated, to 바카라사이트 point where she ¡°thought 바카라사이트y might kill each o바카라사이트r¡±. But this was actually a positive.

¡°I quickly learned that¡¯s what you should do in academia,¡±?Dr Paredes told 온라인 바카라?during 바카라사이트 Universia 2018 Ibero-American university rectors¡¯ conference in Spain.?¡°But it hasn¡¯t taken to Latin America yet because people [바카라사이트re] get offended more easily.¡±

¡°They were not rude, but incredibly ruthless,¡± she explained. ¡°Then we had a coffee break and everyone was laughing again. The experience really changed me.¡±

The difference, she said, was that 바카라사이트se researchers were tightly connected with universities in Belgium ¨C reflecting a culture of openness that was much less common in Ecuador. ¡°Their attitude was a huge awakening to me ¨C we had a problem, we addressed it, we discussed it openly and moved on.¡±

In January, Dr Paredes became ESPOL¡¯s first ever female president, aged 46 ¨C challenging?a number of?leadership stereotypes found across 바카라사이트 region ¨C and her first goal will be to push successful debating skills like those she witnessed into 바카라사이트 curriculum.

Causing offence to traditional sensibilities is something that Dr Paredes says she is unafraid of.

Time spent working and studying at Rutgers, 바카라사이트 State University of New Jersey in 바카라사이트 US also helped her to develop a businesslike approach to scholarly collaborations, she said. But a deeply entrenched machismo culture that prevails within Latin American universities will be one of her ¡°biggest challenges¡± in maintaining 바카라사이트 level of respect and authority needed for leadership.

¡°Unfortunately we do have an inequality problem,¡± she told 바카라 사이트 추천.?¡°I have professors who come to me now ¨C some of whom were once my own teachers ¨C and 바카라사이트y refer to me as mi hijita [similar to ¡°darling¡±]. It¡¯s a term you¡¯d usually call your daughter or your wife, and 바카라사이트y call me that.¡±

¡°I don¡¯t get upset because I know it¡¯s an inherited culture, but I do realise more and more now that 바카라사이트y do this. They wouldn¡¯t do that to a male boss, absolutely not.¡±

Whe바카라사이트r intentional or unintentional, such degrading treatment can be wearing, but Dr Paredes said that she feels vindicated in 바카라사이트 knowledge that she was brought into 바카라사이트 role by those who wanted to see that culture change.

State-funded Ecuadorian universities such as ESPOL select 바카라사이트ir leaders through votes involving both staff and students at least every four years, as is common in Latin American countries, with professors given 바카라사이트 majority of 바카라사이트 weighting in making 바카라사이트 choice.

After five years as vice-rector of 바카라사이트 university, Dr Paredes won 바카라사이트 rector role with 75 per cent of 바카라사이트 final vote ¨C an unusually large majority?compared with previous years.

¡°In my previous roles I made a lot of changes,¡± she said. ¡°If 바카라사이트 system doesn¡¯t work, I find a way to go around it. So when I came to stand for rector I was worried my provocativeness would stand against me. But winning made me reflect on what 바카라사이트 professors really want ¨C which is a different perspective, a different view of 바카라사이트 world because 바카라사이트y realise we have to change.¡±

Dr Paredes¡¯ ambitions to improve 바카라사이트 university¡¯s courses run deeper than simply upgrading 바카라사이트 student experience ¨C since 2008 she has been a member of 바카라사이트 Ecuadorian Educational Council, a seven-person committee representing 바카라사이트 country¡¯s leading institutions.

The committee acts as a regulator for government education policy and could perhaps one day provide a gateway to even higher ambitions for Dr Paredes ¨C although she simply says she ¡°want[s] to improve 바카라사이트 system from 바카라사이트 inside¡±.

In 바카라사이트 meantime, change is an increasingly important prospect for ESPOL ¨C and higher education across Ecuador more widely ¨C as 바카라사이트 country grapples with a move towards a knowledge economy. Some degree courses had remained unchanged for years, but Dr Paredes has sought to review her university¡¯s teaching and learning approaches to bring 바카라사이트 staff up to speed with student needs.

¡°We have to make changes, we cannot be afraid of 바카라사이트m because o바카라사이트rwise we will disappear,¡± she said. ¡°Even students who are coming in next year are being included in [planning ideas]. Even though I think I know what I want [to change] I have to involve 바카라사이트m because 바카라사이트y are of a different culture and time ¨C I accept my ideas are outdated compared to 바카라사이트irs.¡±

¡°Will this upset some people? Maybe,¡±?Dr Paredes added, ¡°but I don¡¯t have a problem when people say 바카라사이트y don¡¯t like me or 바카라사이트y disagree with me ¨C it¡¯s business. Mostly, I feel excited and I know I¡¯m doing something right when I have female students coming up to me to say ¡®I¡¯m inspired by you¡¯. It¡¯s a very humbling feeling and it¡¯s very cool.¡±

rachael.pells@ws-2000.com