ADRU holds International Congress on Higher Education and Sustainability

As part of its 45th anniversary, the ADRU reiterates its commitment to the quality and relevance of education. 

Santo Domingo, D.R. 21 August 2025

The Dominican Association of University Rectors (ADRU) held its 2025 International Congress on 21 and 22 August under the theme “Higher Education and Sustainability: New Paradigms for Social and Environmental Responsibility”, with the participation of thirty universities throughout the national territory.

The meeting, held at the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU), was consolidated as a space for reflection, dialog and collective action in the face of the challenges and opportunities facing higher education in its transition to more sustainable, inclusive and responsible models.

During the working sessions, cooperation was promoted between higher education institutions and key players in the field of sustainability, with the aim of promoting joint initiatives that strengthen the relevance and quality of the Dominican education system.

In her opening remarks, ADRU President Dr. Odile Camilo Vincent highlighted that the central theme of the congress has been defined as a priority by the last UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education, in which ADRU member institutions participated alongside MESCyT. In that scenario, he said, Dominican universities made a commitment to the initiative Los Futuros de la Educación, which highlights the essential role of higher education in building a new social contract for education and in promoting sustainability.

Mr Camilo also stressed: “Today, as we discuss a profound reform of the education system, its regulatory framework and governance structures, the ADRU reiterates its commitment to the quality and relevance of education. Any reform must preserve what has been achieved, guarantee institutionality, ensure robust governance and respect for university autonomy, as well as timely and sustainable financing.”

For his part, the vice-president of the ADRU, architect Miguel Fiallo, stressed that the social and environmental responsibility of universities goes beyond the classrooms and commits them to society as a whole. “We are called, as institutions of critical thinking and integral training, to lead a paradigm shift that promotes a culture of sustainability and social equity,” he said. He added that “in this context, we reaffirm our continued support for any initiative aimed at transforming the education system,

its regulatory framework and governance structures, provided that these ensure consensus, active participation and recognition of the role of universities as essential actors in this process.”

The conference featured a keynote address by Dr. François Vallaeys, renowned international expert in University Social Responsibility, who addressed the challenges and new perspectives in the integration of sustainability in higher education. Vallaeys noted that, “To go to that place you don’t know, you must take the path you don’t know,” the path of university social responsibility.”

The inauguration was led by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Franklin García Fermín, who highlighted the importance of the event in the framework of the 45th anniversary of the ADRU: “This meeting brings together rectors, vice ministers, vice-rectors, social leaders, international organizations and students, protagonists of the educational transformation that the country demands.”

45 years of commitment to higher education

The inaugural event also commemorated the 45th anniversary of the ADRU, founded in 1980 in a context of the expansion of the Dominican university system. The Association currently comprises 30 higher education institutions, representing more than 85 per cent of the country’s student enrollment and 82 per cent of its teaching staff.

During these more than four decades, the ADRU has promoted key initiatives such as the creation of the National Council of Higher Education (CONES), the Dominican Association for Self-Study and Accreditation (ADAAC), the System of Quality Indicators of Higher Education, standards for university libraries and access to scientific databases.

With the International Congress 2025, the ADRU reaffirms its mission to inspire in the country’s universities new ideas, collaborative projects and concrete actions that strengthen a more equitable, sustainable and transformative higher education.