Gerardo Rocha, President of Universidad Santo Tomás: “We are going to set up 100 universities in China”

By David Azócar

Gerardo Rocha, a former Universidad Catolica medical student, has many plans for Asia. He led a recent Universidad de Santo Tomas (UST) effort to establish the first Chilean educational institute in China. He thinks it will lead to China and Chile sharing ideas. His future plans include creating of the first global university which will have campuses all over the planet.

Ten thousand miles traveled are worth much more than ten thousand books. So goes an old Chinese proverb that Gerardo Rocha likes to quote. The President of the Board of Regents at Universidad Santo Tomás has an office at Santiago’s World Trade Center, where he dreams that one day all his undergraduate students will enjoy at least two academic exchanges outside Chile. After arriving from his last trip to China, the UST president spoke to us here at the Asia-Pacific website.

What does UST hope to gain from its efforts in Asia?

UST wants to establish a worldwide presence. There are 33 so far and we are adding two new campuses every year. Asia is certainly part of the expansion plan. We already have a university in Osaka, which opened last January. We also have one in Indonesia which has more than 10,000 students. Not to mention our campuses in the Philippines and Vietnam. We have initiatives underway in India, Sri Lanka and Mongolia.

China is simply a continuation of our efforts in Asia at large. We want to create the world's first global university, where every student has an international experience before completing their undergraduate studies.

We inaugurated a 2,000 square meter institute at the University of Anhui. It is part of a joint initiative that includes the UST School of Education, the Institute of Latin American Studies and the UST Institute of Culture. Over a period of two years, we will be opening a campus which covers more than 20 hectares. The campus has five buildings and will be the UST campus in Anhui. We will then continue in two more cities in the province of Hefei. Then it’s on to the rest of China. We are going to set up more than 100 UST universities in China during the next 20 years.

Why Anhui Province?

We chose a province with fewer resources than Shanghai and Beijing, because those two cities already have so many people who want to set up operations. We would be just another university queuing up to provide education, not to mention the millions of dollars it takes to start up a school in those areas.
Anhui, however, received us with the open arms of their 61 million inhabitants. The province has been very appreciative of Chileans, because we have increased their visibility by inviting leading Chileans such as Senator Frei and the Mayor of Santiago, Raul Alcaino, to visit. Several Chinese central government officials have also visited.

Another reason is that we signed an agreement to set up a UST campus with the University of Anhui seven years ago. In addition to this agreement, we are committed to helping Latin America position itself in Asia.

What is the purpose of this expansion?

Being a global university allows you to hire Nobel Laureates, the best experts in the world, produce the best papers, research, innovation and inventions. UST will be able to set up programs of high quality in different parts of the world, which will ensure that the students will undergo at least two international experiences before graduating. We seek to solve the problems of humanity and not a small country like Chile.

Why set up this Institute of Latin American Studies in China?

Chile is a city in Latin America: A very beautiful, and perhaps the most advanced and orderly. But it is only a city. Ask yourself: What if we identify ourselves as Latin Americans, owners of a cultural and technical patrimony which is much more diverse than that of Chile alone. Then when they meet Chileans, they would also receive Argentina’s tango, football from Brazil, Colombian coffee, etc. We would be better able to cope with a nation of more than 1.3 billion (as a larger Latin American conglomerate), than as Chileans.

The Institute of Latin American Studies seeks to bring together the two cultures. Those who go to Asia should learn from their travel and about Asian customs. It will enrich their life and may also lead to good and lasting economic relations. The experience will teach the Chinese about our culture and lead to a very direct relation; free from suspicion and formalities that hinder rather than help. We will be friends once we get to know one another and this will smoothly evolve into doing business.

At first, the institute will offer seminars, conferences and extension services. Then postgraduate courses will be offered. The first Chilean professor arrives March 1, to teach classes in Spanish and Latin American culture at the University of Anhui for one year.

Why set up campuses in Asia?

Asia has a wealth of differences. Though many see it as something distant and difficult, it is quite the opposite. We share common values such as the search for peace, brotherhood and honesty. The differences (between our cultures) entertain and spiritually enrich both societies.

Our project does not aim to turn Asia into Latin America, rather it seeks to discover global solutions and make them part of our world.

What Asian solutions would you like to employ in Chile?

There are millions of solutions in the world. Because we have a local vision, we believe that we must develop all the solutions, even though many or most have already been resolved elsewhere. The interesting thing is discovering where to find these answers.

In my case, I studied medicine at Universidad Catolica. Throughout my career I had severe pain in my arm. I was told I had to have surgery on the shoulder: From time to time, I had treatments on the affected area. The pain was so bad that even touching it was unbearable. Then, I had the opportunity to go to California, with former President Ricardo Lagos. I discovered electro-acupuncture. After four sessions my pain was down to half. I went back three months later and finished my treatment. Thanks to the treatment I avoided the operation and am now completely healthy. As you can see, solutions are everywhere.

In Asia there are many kinds of wisdom. Confucianism, Islam, technology… There is an entire universe waiting to be discovered. And all this (wisdom) is worthy of being brought to Chile and then, of course, exported to the rest of the world.