Organizers
Leadership Centers
Our organizations focus on collaborating across a range of partners to improve learning opportunities in school communities throughout Chile. The Leadership Centers arise from a 2015 Chilean Ministry of Education initiative that recognizes networking as a resource for identifying the educational system’s needs, generating knowledge to address them and working with school communities to develop solutions that increase our collective capacity to support students’ learning and development. The centers focus on harnessing leadership as a critical mobilizer for individual, collective, organizational and inter-organizational learning that enables educational improvement.
Each Leadership Center, partially funded by the Chilean Ministry of Education, is a consortium of institutions led by three of Chile’s most renowned universities:
Universidad del Desarrollo
CILED is a leadership centre headed by Universidad del Desarrollo, in association with Inacap, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Fundación Educacional Chile Dual, and Universidad de Tarapacá.
The Universidad del Desarrollo was the first independent private university founded in the city of Concepción in 1989 and its mission is to serve Chile by training professionals and generating knowledge that is useful and helps the country meet its 21st century needs and challenges. Today it has various university campuses in the cities of Santiago and Concepción where more than 15,000 students are trained in its various undergraduate and graduate programs of its ten faculties of Communications, Health Sciences, Law, Design, Economics and Business. Education, Government, Engineering, Medicine (Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo) and Psychology.
Currently, the university has 28 research institutes, centers and programs in various areas of knowledge, along with four doctorates: Doctorate in Sciences of Social Complexity, Doctorate in Economics and Business, Doctorate in Sciences and Innovation in Medicine and Doctorate in Sciences of Development and Psychopathology.
The Universidad del Desarrollo is accredited for 5 years (of seven-year maximum) in the areas of Institutional Management, Undergraduate Teaching, Links with the Environment and Research, positioning itself as one of the best independent private universities in the country.
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
C LIDER is a leadership centre headed by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV), in association with the Universidad de Chile, Universidad Diego Portales, Fundación Educacional Arauco, and Universidad de Magallanes.
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso is the fourth oldest higher education institution in the country and the first established in the region of Valparaíso. In its 92 years, our public vocation, along with a constant attention to society’s needs, has enabled us to offer a range of academic programs of excellence, aimed at meeting regional, national and international development and growth needs.
As a Catholic university, it offers value-oriented high-quality education with Christian principles that transform into a hallmark that distinguishes our alumni. They are professionals with a vocation to serve society, who stand out for their performance in the most diverse areas and their contributions to the common good and the country’s development.
PUCV holds the fourth place among Chilean universities according to the América Economía 2018 Ranking and ranks 23rd in the Times Higher Education Rankings Latin America 2019. Its nine colleges and 61 undergraduate programs serve more than 16,000 undergraduate and 1,600 graduate students. With more than 100 undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate programs, from arts and humanities to engineering, basic sciences, education, and theological studies, PUCV is a heterogeneous institution where students from different regions of the country and different disciplines meet.
In 2022, PUCV obtained accreditation for 7 years, out of a maximum of 7, becoming part of the select and small group of institutions accredited in the five areas assessed: undergraduate studies, institutional management, research, postgraduate studies, and community relations. In the last decade, PUCV investment to ensure the admission and retention of students who come from underserved communities is among the highest in the country.
Universidad de Concepción
+Comunidad is a leadership centre headed by Universidad de Concepción in association with the Fundación Educacional Seminarium, Universidad de Atacama, Fundación Chile, and Universidad Austral de Chile.
Universidad de Concepción is among the most prestigious, longest-standing universities in Chile. Founded in 1919, it is the third-oldest university and has three locations: Concepción, Chillán and Los Ángeles. The first university in central Chile, Universidad de Concepción is now a hub of education and tradition in Concepción. It houses one of the most complete Chilean art museum in the country, several athletic centers and a network of 11 libraries with a total of 100,000 volumes on the university’s different fields of studies.
In 2016, Universidad de Concepción became the first and only campus in Chile to be declared a national monument by the National Monuments Council.
The National Accreditation Commission recognized its current efforts with seven years of accreditation in institutional management, undergraduate teaching, postgraduate teaching, research and community engagement. This recognition draws students from all over Chile and the world.
Why the Leadership Centers?
- We work to improve the educational system by networking among different organizations, universities, foundations, school districts and schools from around the country.
- Through these networks we reach the educational community throughout Chile and Latin America.
- We are institutions that, in essence, work hand-in-hand with schools and other educational organizations to understand their needs and support their improvement processes.
- We have extensive knowledge of the Chilean national education system thanks to a strong professional team including senior and junior researchers who work in collaboration with international research centers and experts.
- We know we are better together and can only reach our goals through collaborative national and international networks.
- Our prestige in Chile has allowed as to have an impact on thousands of students, teachers and administrators around the country.
Partners

Fundación Educacional Oportunidad, ICSEI 2023 sponsor.
INACAP, ICSEI 2023 sponsor.