The commitment of the PUCV with associative research and the connection with the global environment is once more demonstrated with the latest delivery of the Web of Science (WoS) ranking, which places the “International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education” (ETHE), as the world’s leading journal in the Web of Science (WoS) SSCI index in the Education category, achieving an extraordinary impact factor of 16.7.
The Impact factor is a metric that seeks to evaluate quality and the importance of a scientific journal, indicating the frequency in which its articles are cited by other researchers in the field. In the case of ETHE, its impact factor means that articles published during the two last years have been quoted 16.7 times, demonstrating it is a highly influential journal, referenced by the international scientific community.
“ETHE” is a digital journal co-edited by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV) that, since its creation in 2004, has become an international leader in technology and education, positioning itself as a global-level open access journal.
This achievement is a historical milestone for the national academic community and places the PUCV at the forefront of research on educational technologies at the global level. The journal publishes articles about innovative approaches for the application of technology to improve learning, applied theory on educational practice, new technologies and use of ICTs in higher education, among other topics.
According to Josep Duart, director of the journal and UOC faculty member, having two universities leading the journal of excellence – with the additional participation of a university in China and another in Ireland – is of the utmost importance since it contributes to guide research in education and educational technology towards more current issues.
“The union between the PUCV and the UOC marks the lines of research and the editorial concept of the journal, so it continues to be a leading scientific publication in topics that are current today, such as, for example, the use of Artificial Intelligence in higher education or learning personalization”, Duart explained.
At the PUCV, the editorial Committee of “ETHE” is formed by David Contreras and Juan de Dios Oyarzún, professors at the PUCV School of Education, where this journal is established. For Oyarzún, who is also editor of the “Perspectiva Educacional” (Educational Perspective) journal, from the School of Education, “being a part of an educational journal of excellence that is number one at the global level today, places us as co-editors on the cutting edge of knowledge and promotion of the scientific research developed by the academia”.
Indexed journals
Within the guidelines of the PUCV 2023-2029 Institutional Strategic Development Plan, it is a priority to encourage research and the capabilities of faculty to generate and promote knowledge to situate the university as a leader in some areas. In this sense, the institution has set out various actions with the purpose of strengthening the production and scientific promotion mainly through their journals and publications in general.
The PUCV Department of Research has under its care the Institutional management of eight indexed scientific journals, which reflects the permanent commitment with the production and promotion of academic knowledge of excellence. This publications are a strategic tool to strengthen visibility of the research carried out by our academic community and to make international projections for our disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work at the university.
Regarding the Institutional conditions propelled by the University to strengthen these scientific journals, Mónica Cárdenas-Carlos, Director of Research, highlighted that the PUCV “has developed a series of initiatives to support our Academic journals, not only from the technical and editorial standpoint, but also from the communications perspective. We have maintained its presence in social media, and we are creating impact reports that consider scope and promotion indicators on these platforms”.
In coordination with the Library Department, the university has provided technical support to the editorial teams in their indexation processes, contributing to improve visibility and positioning of the publications.
In the same way, collaboration and good editorial practice exchange networks have been created. “An example of this is the work together with the Alberto Hurtado University, which we have supported in their application to funds oriented towards the improvement of their journals”, the director added.
These actions are framed within a broader institutional strategy that seeks to promote the quality and national and international projections of the scientific publications edited by the PUCV.
The participation of the PUCV as co-editor of a journal of international prestige such as ETHE accounts for the effectiveness of these initiatives that seek to ensure that scientific publications not only reflect the research work of excellence that is carried out at the PUCV, but also consolidate themselves as a leading editorial space in the Chilean and international academic system.
By Erika Schubert
Strategic Communications Department
