Las universidades públicas mexicanas: los retos de las transformaciones institucionales hacia la investigación y la transferencia de conocimiento

Universities in the world have continued to evolve, developing new capabilities. However, Latin America, including Mexico, has lagged behind in terms of the research and entrepreneurial capacities of its universities. We present results from an analysis of aggregate patterns in the development of such capabilities in the Mexican context. We use data on the number of high-level researchers and scientific publications and patents, as indicators of research and knowledge-transfer capabilities in the country's public universities. Results show a great disparity among institutions in the level of development of such areas. Even though those disparities are gradually decreasing, they are still far from what the scientific, economic and social development of the country requires.