This paper reviews, based on data from scientific publications and research groups, the state of the art of nanotechnology research applied to the areas of medicine, energy and water in Latin America. Such areas have been considered as particularly relevant in order to meet the social needs of the developing countries. It is shown that the countries in the region have incorporated these areas to their nanotechnology agendas and several countries have increasing research capacities. However, such capacities are concentrated in Brazil and Mexico, while the regional cooperation networks are still weak. Although the research topics tend to align with relevant social issues, there are still a number of challenges so as the results of such investigations may be effectively reflected in quality of life improvements; one of them is that many publications and research topics are on basic science, which makes it difficult to evaluate their potential application field.

Este trabajo aborda la situación actual de la nanotecnología en tres países latinoamericanos: Costa Rica, Uruguay y Venezuela. Se busca caracterizar el trabajo en este campo en esos países y desarrollar una primera aproximación de carácter comparativo. La metodología adoptada incluyó revisión documental y análisis de bases de datos especializadas, fundamentalmente la base StatNano. El artículo describe y compara en los tres países la incorporación de la nanotecnología en la agenda y en las políticas públicas; instrumentos de política, financiamiento, gobernanza y nanoseguridad. Se caracterizaron, asimismo, las actividades de investigación y desarrollo (I+D) en términos de producción científica y de innovación tecnológica. Del estudio realizado surge que las últimas dos décadas han sido el marco temporal de un proceso de creciente institucionalización e internacionalización en el área de la nanotecnología en los países considerados, en los cuales el desarrollo de este campo ha seguido fundamentalmente pautas nacionales, pero enfrenta desafíos comunes.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe and interpret the atypical case of Uruguay related to quality assurance, evaluation and accreditation of Higher Education in Uruguay. Design/methodology/approach To do so, a Higher Education conceptual framework is developed, focusing on quality assurance and formulating some “hypotheses” (conjectural ways of thinking within a qualitative tradition). The method to collect data includes the use of document observation, secondary information from official databases and interviews with an intentional sample of 10 experts and key informants. The analysis is developed through some conceptual dimensions emerging from the precedent sources (public policy and the role of the state, changes in the system of science, technology and innovation linked to Higher Education, the influence of the regional integration process and the weak public demand for quality assurance). Findings The paper also presents and discusses the atypical country’s experience regarding the lack of a national quality assurance policy and the structural dynamic of delaying main transformations by adopting graduate changes. Research limitations/implications The study analyzes the recent process of Higher Education policies oriented to quality assurance in the two decades and a half between 1996 and 2021, focusing especially on the recent years (2019–2020). Practical implications The findings indicate that the Higher Education system needs to update its structure and shape, withdrawing fragmentation and consolidating a national system able to promote quality. The paper offers some inputs to strategic planning and debate. Social implications Reforming Higher Education is key to change the social logic of High School, which still operates as a social selective mechanism, mainly oriented to the professional application rather than to knowledge production or management. Originality/value The paper contributes to the political and academic debate through some conceptual categories emerging from the study. The previous description of academic literature about Uruguay Higher Education quality assurance (QA) did not include either the new situation created by the approval of contradictory laws or the interpretation of this public policy arranged as a “structural dynamic of delay of the main transformations by adopting graduate and incremental changes”. Whether any originality could be found in the paper, it would be this way of interpreting the process of QA in Uruguay.

El propósito del presente artículo es explorar la gradual emergencia de un campo de investigación en educación superior en Uruguay entre 1990 y 2020. Entre los objetivos se cuentan el de describir la configuración de ese proceso, en relación con las políticas públicas para el sector y sus aspectos regulatorios, así como caracterizar los principales actores y el desarrollo del campo. El trabajo se apoya en bases académicas de datos, análisis documental, revisión de la literatura y entrevistas a informantes calificados. La institucionalización del mismo se expresa en factores institucionales y disciplinarios. Dicho campo de investigación aparece aún en proceso de consolidación, promovido a la vez por desafíos de las políticas públicas a nivel local, tanto como por procesos regionales y externos Palabras clave: Educación superior; Educación comparada; Política educativa; MERCOSUR; Integración regional