“Linkage with the Midst”: digital impact and institutional identity in Chile

Over recent years, the term Linkage with the Midst (Sp. Vinculación con el Medio) has become an essential phrase in Chilean higher education. In institutions and regulation, Linkage with the Midst emphasizes the demand that academic enterprises deepen and demonstrate their contribution to wider society. In the context of the digitalization of so many aspects of life both within and beyond academia, academic integrity depends not only on being able to navigate such an environment in order to connect with the wider world but also on understanding the special and even unique functions that academic institutions contribute. In the Chilean case, it is possible to take stock of aspects of the bidirectional relationship between institutions and society in order to understand the integrity of academic activities, against the backdrop of a wider world that may need what universities and other higher education institutions can offer, but may not always know it. Here, we consider the digital mediation of academic endeavors such as public-facing clinics, training opportunities, research applications, consultancy, media liaison, and the sharing of knowledge and culture.