Connection of the university with its social context: social responsibility in the management, teaching and research of the Polytechnic Faculty of the Universidad Nacional de Asunción

Abstract

The social responsibility of Higher Education and, specifically, of the University, is something that belongs to its very nature. Thus, it is affirmed by the "World Declaration on Higher Education in the 21st Century: Vision and Action", issued by the World Conference of UNESCO (1998), which underlines and reinforces this fact. Assuming its commitment and social responsibility is, for a university, a permanent process of continuous improvement. Social responsibility is an ethical and intelligent management strategy of the impacts generated by the organization in its human, social and natural environment. Ethical management implies that all those potentially affected by the activity of an organization must derive the greatest benefits and least harm from it. The organization must serve the world, and not just serve the world. Smart management means that responsible management of impacts should pay off for the organization whenever possible. This work takes as its object of study the Polytechnic Faculty of the National University of Asunción, as a higher education institution, whose main purposes are professional training and the construction of new knowledge through research. The impacts on management, teaching and research carried out by the Faculty are analyzed, presenting the current situation and the challenges and projects for improvement.