Professors Diego Castro and David Rodríguez participated in the 14th International Congress of Higher Education in Havana.
From February 5 to 9, professors Diego Castro and David Rodríguez, both members of CRiEDO, attended the University 2024 Congress. Specifically, they participated in the international workshop on human resource management and its impact on the quality of higher education
On the one hand, Diego Castro participated through the contribution, “The intergenerational climate of university research in Spain”. The economy oriented towards the value of knowledge has transformed society and the approach of the university, which has moved towards a market model. The profound changes produced under this new model have had implications in institutional functions, especially in research. In the case of Spain, this transformation has also coincided with a very particular generational conjuncture where several generations of university professors coexist according to their chronological age. This has made the study of intergenerational relationships a focus of interest and concern. The aim of this contribution has been to analyze the intergenerational climate of Spanish university professors in the research function. For this reason, the Workplace Intergenerational Climate Scale (WICS) questionnaire by King & Bryant (2017) has been applied, which is structured in 5 subscales: lack of generational stereotypes, positive intergenerational affect, intergenerational contact, generational inclusion in the workplace and generational retention. 2003 researchers from 10 public universities in Spain have participated. The results obtained indicate that, in general, there is a good intergenerational climate among researchers, although certain generational stereotypes are manifested. Older researchers (Baby Boomers and Millenials) are the ones who express a more positive perception of the different dimensions that explain the intergenerational climate in the development of the research function.
On the other hand, David Rodríguez participated through the contribution, “Intergenerational learning between university teachers and researchers. The case of Spanish universities”. The demographic evolution of teaching staff and researchers at Spanish universities, together with retirement policies, pose new challenges for these institutions. Professional development and talent retention policies are among the areas most affected. The aim of this contribution is to explore intergenerational learning processes among university teachers in work contexts. The fieldwork involves the application of a questionnaire to a representative sample of university teachers and researchers (n=1604) and interviews with university managers and professors of the four generations who live together today in university departments and units. The results, beyond corroborating the aging of the teaching staff, show a positive perception of intergenerational relations and a certain culture of innovation. This is somewhat at odds with a negative perception of organizational learning culture. These results allow us to highlight the importance of establishing more instances of intergenerational collaborative work, as well as creating concrete tools that retain knowledge so that it is not lost after retirement or job change.
All the information about the Congress here.
