With the presence of academics, social leaders, and representatives from the public, business, and student sectors, the National Meeting on Social Sciences, Journalism, and Information began at the University of Antioquia. This is the third event within the project Academic Communities that Transform Territories, an initiative of the Ministry of National Education carried out by the Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS).
During the opening, Alexandra Cortés Aguilar, Director of Planning at UIS, highlighted that strengthening academic communities makes it possible to enhance educational quality, boost regionally focused research, promote territorial equity in access to knowledge networks, and align higher education offerings with the social and productive demands of the country. “This is a collective exercise where we recognize that each contribution enriches the process of building strong and relevant academic communities,” she stated.
The event’s agenda includes keynote lectures, idea labs, and co-creation workshops to design action plans that guide the territorialization of higher education. Among the guest speakers is Dr. María Isabel Villa Montoya, who reflects on the contribution of communities in creating social fabric.
Meanwhile, Sandra García, Dean of the Faculty of Physicochemical Engineering at UIS, emphasized that these kinds of meetings seek to define strategies that take into account the needs of the territories as well as inclusion and internationalization criteria in academic programs.
The Ministry of National Education, through its delegate Miller Pérez, reiterated that the Government is advancing efforts not only in university infrastructure but also in strengthening academic communities that ensure quality and relevance. “We want to connect voices from the territories so that educational offerings respond to local realities,” he said.
Similarly, Olga Vallejo Murcia, Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Journalism at the University of Antioquia, stressed that the university works with a broad vision of the territories, reaching remote communities with academic programs and strategies such as University in Your Territory, which seeks to guarantee greater coverage and equity in higher education.
The meeting, taking place on October 2 and 3 at the University of Antioquia, is the third of six scheduled nationwide. The previous ones focused on Engineering, Industry and Construction in Barrancabermeja, and Health and Well-being in Villavicencio. The upcoming ones will be held in Popayán (Education), Pasto (ICT), and Montería (Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Statistics).
Through these spaces for dialogue and collective construction, the project aims to consolidate academic communities that strengthen the relevance, flexibility, inclusion, and internationalization of Colombia’s educational offerings, aligned with the social and productive dynamics of the territories.
