New Center for Educational Leadership begins its public work with an academic meeting on school improvement

With the aim of contributing to the improvement of the school system from a territorial, collaborative and evidence-based perspective, the Center for Leadership for the Transformation of Educational Territories (CELITED) It achieved its first public milestone with the Academic Meeting “Keys to School Improvement in Diverse Contexts”The activity took place within the framework of UC International Education Summit 2026 and the XV Inter-American Conference on School Management and Leadership.

CELITED is a new educational leadership center funded by the Ministry of Education, awarded through the Competition for Projects for the Creation of Educational Leadership Centers, and implemented by the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, through its Faculty of Education, in partnership with the Universidad de Antofagasta and the Catholic University Silva Henríquez. Its purpose is to strengthen leadership capacities at the territorial, managerial, teaching and student levels of the school system, promoting contextualized, sustainable and collaborative educational improvement processes.

The event featured the participation of the international academic Dr. Jiafang Lu, director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change at the Joseph Lau Luen Hung Charitable Trust and professor at the Hong Kong University of Education, who addressed the challenges of school innovation and collaborative leadership from a comparative perspective.

During the meeting, Ivan MessinaThe coordinator of the Educational Leadership team at the Ministry of Education highlighted the importance of collaboration between universities and the State: “These kinds of initiatives reflect a fundamental strategic alliance to support educational establishments in their improvement processes. Innovation in leadership is a challenge for the country today, requiring joint and sustained work.”

From the territories, Orlando GalazThe head of the Technical and Pedagogical Support Unit of the SLEP Gabriela Mistral, valued the exchange space: “Listening to experiences from other contexts allows us to recognize that many educational challenges are universal. Collaborative work and continuous improvement are key to advancing our practices and the quality of public education.”.

For its part, the Dr. Jiafang Lu He emphasized the dialogic nature of the activity, “This seminar was an in-depth conversation with academics, authorities, and school administrators, which allowed us to reflect collectively on what drives sustainable school innovation. It was a particularly meaningful experience.”.

At the close, the CEO of CELITED and academic at the UC Faculty of Education, Dr. Ernesto TreviñoHe concluded that this first meeting marks the beginning of the Center's work, “This activity allowed us to gather key lessons on innovation, collaboration and school improvement, which will guide the actions that CELITED will develop in Chile during the coming years”.

With this milestone, the Leadership Center for the Transformation of Educational Territories reinforces its commitment to the development of applied knowledge, the training of educational leaders and the link with the territories, contributing to a sustained improvement of the school system from a perspective of public policy and inter-institutional collaboration.

Learn more about this award at the following link: https://educacion.uc.cl/noticias/facultad-de-educacion-uc-encabezara-nuevo-centro-de-liderazgo-educativo-impulsado-por-el-mineduc/