In a key step to strengthen the research culture at the Universidad Industrial de Santander, the ‘Special Chair for Research Semilleros’ was approved, an initiative that will allow students to obtain academic credits for their active participation in research seedlings.
This measure seeks to formally recognize the work that hundreds of students have been developing for years in scientific and extension projects. The new chair will make it possible to certify this experience as part of their professional training.
“The approval of this chair is an opportunity for students to continue carrying out these activities and that all the hard work they do during the semester can be recognized at the end,” said Luz Nayibe Garzón Gutiérrez, director of Research and Extension of the UIS Faculty of Sciences.
Garzón explained that the participation in the seedlings will be recognized as long as the students comply with a minimum number of hours required: “they will be able to ask for a certificate of having completed this academic activity”. In addition, he stressed that this certification complies with Law 2039 of 2020, which allows these activities to be recognized as part of the professional experience of graduates: “the university can certify this participation, in our case, in research workshops… it is a plus when they leave and can register it on their resumes”.
From the student perspective, the initiative has also been well received. María Camila Velandia Gélvez, coordinator of a research group, emphasized the positive impact this chair will have on the organization and continuity of research work: “this is really a very significant advance for us… it dignifies the time we dedicate to this very important activity and legitimizes the importance of the research groups in our university,” she said.
Velandia also emphasized that it will now be easier to integrate this work into students’ academic schedules: “we will be able to generate a continuity of the processes… which will allow us all to meet constantly and also that the teacher can give us guidance and pedagogical accompaniment”.
With this decision, the UIS becomes a pioneer in the region by consolidating an academic model that articulates professional training with research from the initial stages of undergraduate studies, thus promoting the construction of knowledge from the student base.
