The commitment of the University to associative research, scientific dissemination, and the connection to the global environment was demonstrated once more, this time alongside the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (ETHE). The publication, of which our university is part of its principal editors, reached an Journal Impact Factor of 38,7 according to WoS in 2025, establishing itself as a high international impact publication in the educational technology and higher education fields.
This indicator, reported in the Journal Citation Report and based on WoS, evaluates quality and frequency in which scientific articles are cited by the international community, and it places the PUCV in the frontlines of research on educational technologies and digital learning in higher education institutions at the global level.
This achievement is a milestone for the academic community and strengthens the prospects of the PUCV on international networks of scientific education. The journal publishes articles about innovative approaches in the application of technology to improve learning, theory that is linked and applied to the educational practice, new technologies and the use of ICTs in higher education, among other topics.
The history of ETHE dates back to its foundation in 2004 at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), at the center of the UNESCO Chair on e-Learning. From the beginning, the journal has operated under an avant garde vision as a totally electronic and open access publication under the Diamond model, which means that it lacks article processing fees for authors and readers, promoting a genuine scientific dissemination vocation with global reach. After evolving from a bilingual format, since 2016 it is published exclusively in the English language in order to improve its global visibility.
International Governance
The sustained success of ETHE lies in its governance structure based on an international consortium formed in 2012 and currently composed of five institutions in different latitudes. The journal’s ownership remains in the hands of the UOC in Spain, an institution that also contributes the current chief editor team’s coordinator, Marc Romero. The global editorial management is coordinated through an international team of co-chief editors with the participation of David Contreras, scholar from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, together with Morris Jonng from the University of Hong Kong, Jin Li from the Guangzhou University of China and Mairéad Nic Giolla, from the Dublin City University in Ireland.
Juan de Dios Oyarzún, scholar from the School of Education at the PUCV, editor in chief of the journal Perspectiva Educacional (PUCV) and member of the editorial team at ETHE, highlighted the importance of this strategic alliance and explained that its institutional role has been to act as a coordinator of the PUCV within this network, ensuring a constant exchange of first-level knowledge.
Beyond ranking placements, one of the essential purposes of this collaboration agreement is its direct positive impact on the local capabilities of the university. In this respect, Oyarzún emphasized that “all knowledge advanced by ETHE in terms of academic reading, scientific dissemination and editorial strategy, has a positive impact on the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. This methodological relay is materialized in intensive formative opportunities oriented towards both collaborators in the institutions’ own publications - such as Perspectiva Educational- and students of different graduate programs, especially from the Philosophy and Education Faculty, significantly improving accuracy and quality of local scientific research”.
An example of this was the visit to Chile of Marc Romero, editor in chief at ETHE, and Josep Duart, in charge of the consortium at the international level, who offered advanced workshops about editing processes, international quality standards and attraction of highly influencing articles.
This historical achievement is not an isolated event, but in line with the strategic vision and institutional goals of the PUCV looking into its next centenary, expressed in its 2023-2029 Institutional Strategic Development Plan, which defined the PUCV as a catholic university, of excellence and public vocation that dialogues with society to transform the life of people, contributing to sustainable development of its regional, national and global communities.
Research Internationalization
The success of ETHE meets the goal of leading research and propelling creation with impact on society, which is destined to situate the University as a key actor in the knowledge society. Likewise, it responds to the strategic core of internationalization for the integration of a global society, with the purpose of delving into internationalization in research and strengthening the formation of strategic networks to consolidate institutional placement within a framework of high competitiveness and collaboration.
The Director of Research at the PUCV, Mónica Cárdenas-Claros, underscored the importance of the university taking part in an international editorial consortium linked to high-impact journals: “Being part of this ecosystem allows our journals and its editorial teams, especially their editors in chief, to be nurtured by the experience, good practices and accumulated knowledge by ETHE. This encourages us to continue to improve, strengthening our editorial standards and move forward towards a scientific production with greater visibility, collaboration and real impact”. she explained.
Finally, she emphasized that the strengthening of PUCV journals becomes a tangible expression of the commitment of the Direction of Research and the Direction of Library Systems to academic excellence, knowledge democratization and the development of solid scientific communities that are collaborative and pertinent in the face of global digital challenges.
By Erika Schubert
Strategic Communications Department
