In the last 7 years, more than two thousand professionals have been trained in the best universities in the world thanks to the Carlos Antonio López Scholarships (BECAL), a figure that rises when professionals benefit from other scholarships, funds or loans for studies are incorporated. There are also foreign professionals interested in settling in Paraguay, as long as there are conditions for their professional practice. The challenge, in this context, is to build a favorable ecosystem to take advantage of highly trained human capital and for it to contribute to the country’s development.
A dialogue promoted by the Paraguay Now platform brought together its members with authorities and members of the Board of Directors, both from civil society and the private sector, from the Fund for Excellence in Education and Research (FEEI) on this topic. , the BECAL Program and the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT).
“Our first challenge was to send fellows. Now they are returning and our challenge is how to take advantage of their knowledge for the advancement of the country”, expressed the Minister of the Technical Planning Secretariat (STP), Viviana Casco.
He added that “it cannot be that young scholars do not have opportunities and have to leave, and this depends largely on the work with the private sector.” In this regard, Patricia Dos Santos, from the private sector, expressed that “the selection of personnel is a thermometer of the economy, and the urgent demand for human resources today is for technology positions.”
On this point, Antonieta Rojas, counselor of CONACYT and rector of the Universidad Comunera del Paraguay, pointed out that it is necessary to generate evidence that allows knowing what high-level academic training the current labor market requires, in order to invest in these areas as a priority. . Matilde Bordón, Resident Representative of the World Bank in the country, reiterated the World Bank’s commitment to continue supporting the country in actions aimed at sustainable and inclusive development.
Alumni also participated in this dialogue, and shared their experiences. Rubén Urbieta, former BECAL fellow and vice-chancellor of the Columbia University of Paraguay, raised what are -in his opinion- the conditions for former fellows to effectively insert themselves in the country and contribute to its development. “We need legal certainty and financing with preferential rates for industries or initiatives or innovations in non-traditional areas, such as services or knowledge.”
For her part, Gisella Peralta, a dialogue speaker from Paraguay Now and a professional currently residing abroad, expressed that when thinking about the generation of an ecosystem favorable to the use of qualified professionals, one should think not only within territorial limits. “We must take advantage of virtuality so that highly qualified people who are abroad and want to contribute to the country can do so.”
On this point, Fernando Rivarola, a dialogue speaker from Paraguay Now and a former Becal fellow, recalled the National University’s impediment to teaching foreigners. “A foreigner, even if he is a Harvard professor, cannot teach at the National University. This cannot continue.”
The main objective of this meeting was to define guidelines to promote a national strategy for the strategic use of qualified professionals. Carlos Galeano and Linda Vera, dialogue partners from Paraguay Now, presented the “Paraguay Agenda”, a document launched by the platform that contains, among one of its priority axes, specific proposals on the matter, among which the following stand out:
Eliminate the impediment in the National University for foreign academics to be permanent teachers and pursue a career;
Establish a program to connect talents with job demands from all sectors;
Repeal the requirement of nationalization of higher education degrees abroad, fulfilling the commitment established in the Hague Convention;
Evaluate the impact of the BECAL Program in the strategic use of qualified professionals in the world of work; and
Implement a pilot program for high capacity care.
The attendees agreed on the importance of advancing in the development of this strategy.
About Paraguay Now
Paraguay Now is a strategic dialogue platform for young leaders from the private sector, civil society, academia, political parties, and the civil service. It has the support and encouragement of the World Bank. Launched at the beginning of 2020, it has been developing a process that has given as one of its results the “Paraguay Agenda” that includes strategic priority actions for the sustainable and inclusive development of the country.
