Politicians can make good university leaders, but academics should also be encouraged to go into politics themselves, according to a Colombian rector who has done both.

Eduardo Crissien Borrero served for 16 years in the Colombian Congress and was previously in local politics before moving into higher education, eventually taking over as rector at the University of la Costa (CUC) in 2021.

¡°It¡¯s all about getting to know the right people and doing lobbying to establish contacts to bring in new professors,¡± he said of his work now.

¡°To work with people and to get to know the people, you have to have that charisma. I¡¯m a conflict negotiator so always I will start to establish the right connection for people.¡±

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Instead of being ¡°suspicious¡± as he initially feared, Borrero, who represents private universities on Colombia¡¯s National Council of Higher Education (CESU), said colleagues have appreciated his background in politics and view it as a good opportunity for the university.

Borrero is the son of Eduardo Crissien Samper, who was the founder of CUC and also a former politician.

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As useful as his political background has been in higher education, Borrero said he would like to see?more academics going the other way?¨C particularly because of what skills they could add to the level of debate in parliament.

¡°There¡¯s a lot of people in politics that are there for their own [gain] and for their own self-benefit. I think an academic will be more open-minded and [their] purpose will be more appropriate for the development of the country.

"You see people talking in Congress ¨C out of 10, only two or three know what they¡¯re talking about, the others are just doing it for show and to pressure the government to exchange for something.?Congress needs more qualified people right now.¡±

But despite his background, Borrero said that higher education institutions should not adopt political positions themselves ¨C advocating for institutional neutrality as the norm.

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CUC has been chosen to host the next edition of 91ÇÑ×Ó¡¯s Latin America Universities Summit, with key university leaders and policymakers from across the region set to?

Speaking to?Times Higher Education at?this year¡¯s summit in Brazil,?Borrero said this was the culmination of a 10-year process for the institution ¨C which began by trying to publish more scientific research papers and hiring more qualified researchers.

During this time CUC, which offers 91 academic programmes at undergraduate and graduate levels, has moved from producing fewer than 50 papers per year, to more than 500.

Despite promises to dramatically improve access to the country¡¯s universities, Colombia¡¯s left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, has done little to help the country¡¯s private universities since he was elected in 2022, according to Borrero.

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Yet, given the private sector educates 1.25 million students, he?urged Petro?to show more willingness to work with them as part of his government¡¯s?ambitions.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com