UNESCO Chair at UNU-MERIT 2025: A Year in Review

Over the past year, the UNESCO Chair on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development for Latin America at UNU-MERIT has continued to consolidate its role as a platform where research, policy advice, and education intersect. Reflecting on the period, Chairholder Professor Carlo Pietrobelli described it as “very productive,” noting that the Chair has been active “in several fields and in several formats,” combining policy-relevant research with advisory work and sustained dissemination through conferences and workshops.

At the core of the Chair’s work lies a research agenda closely aligned with development priorities in Latin America. One major focus has been critical minerals and the opportunities they present for developing countries to strengthen development pathways. Alongside this, the Chair has devoted substantial attention to what Pietrobelli described as the “twin transition,” addressing both green sustainability and digital transformation. This strand of work has been actively disseminated, with early-career researchers playing a visible role through blog posts and international conferences.

Global value chains have also featured prominently, particularly questions of governance and how institutions and policies can shape value chains in ways that support development. As Pietrobelli explained, the Chair is editing a special issue of World Development that examines the restructuring of global value chains during the digital and sustainability transition. Closely related is the Chair’s work on industrial policy, including a policy brief prepared for UNIDO and collaboration on its Industrial Development Report 2026.

Another flagship research area has been Quality Infrastructure, understood not simply as technical standards but as the institutional systems that enable firms to comply with quality requirements in international markets. This work has brought together academics and policymakers through workshops in Geneva and at Brown University, and it is now feeding into a book project with a major academic publisher.

Beyond research, the Chair has remained deeply engaged in policy advisory work across the region. During the year, it contributed to a regional policy dialogue in Panama, bringing together ministers from Central America to discuss productive development policies in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank and national authorities. The Chair also worked with ECLAC on a regional science, technology and innovation Ministerial forum, reinforcing its role as a bridge between research and policy.

Capacity development at scale was another highlight. Pietrobelli pointed to the Inter-Agency Task Team on STI for the SDGs training held in November 2025 as the most significant training activity of the year. Delivered in collaboration with several UN agencies and UNU-MERIT, the programme reached government officials across Latin America through online lectures from Santiago, attracting an average of around 1,000 participants per day over five consecutive days. The training focused on design and impact evaluation of science and innovation policies, and related methods.

Education and support for early-career researchers remain central to the Chair’s mission. Over the year, the Chair worked closely with PhD students from UNU-MERIT and across Latin America, notably through a PhD Academy organised with the LALICS network in Rio de Janeiro. More than twenty doctoral candidates participated, and the Chair funded the participation of three young scholars selected through a competitive process selecting the best papers.

Reflecting on the broader context, Pietrobelli noted that science, technology and innovation (STI) policies face a common challenge worldwide: demonstrating their relevance and usefulness in times of crises and uncertainty. These policies, he observed, deliver results over the medium to long term and therefore come under pressure during periods of fiscal constraint and emergencies. He drew a parallel with the wider multilateral system, observing that the United Nations and multilateralism more broadly are operating under significant strain.

In this context, the Chair’s contribution to United Nations University goes beyond the substance of its research. As Pietrobelli explained, the Chair also contributes through the way it operates working with multilateral organisations, convening dialogue among scholars, students and policymakers, and fostering cross-country exchanges grounded in evidence-based analysis and an open, multilateral ethos.

Looking ahead, the agenda remains ambitious. The coming year will see several conferences presenting research on quality infrastructure and development, beginning with a panel on artificial intelligence and regional development in Argentina. Advisory work will also continue through an ongoing UNCTAD project on regional integration, critical minerals and industrial policy, with meetings scheduled throughout the year.

Asked about personal highlights, Pietrobelli pointed first to people. He expressed particular satisfaction that two PhD Fellows associated with the Chair successfully completed their doctorates and published in prestigious journals, noting that the Chair supported their professional and scientific development and that collaboration will continue. He also highlighted the activities organised with the LALICS network in Brazil, especially the PhD Academy and policy panels that brought together academics and policymakers to discuss artificial intelligence and how research can inform better policy design for Latin America.

Taken together, the past year demonstrates how the UNESCO Chair at UNU-MERIT continues to operate as a space where rigorous research, policy engagement, and education reinforce one another, contributing to development debates in Latin America while advancing UNESCO’s broader mission.