South American countries are at a crossroads: promote development, generate employment,eradicate poverty, create new opportunities for progress and improve people’s quality of life in a global context of growing inequality. Universities are the key to stimulating development strategies in bi-national and multi-national, regional-national and local areas of integration, as they have capacity for management and social intervention. However, in the majority of cases they are far removed from the systemic, structural and strategic necessities of the real world. This study presents a state of the situation and gives guidelines for an efficient link between the University and Development by presenting strategies and proposals for action.