This Tuesday, the Institución Educativa Escuela Industrial 20 de Julio became the central venue for the departmental launch of the Higher Education in Your School strategy, an initiative of the Ministry of Education designed to bring university-level training to students from 35 schools across 30 municipalities in Santander.
Delegations from the Industrial University of Santander (UIS) —Floridablanca and Barrancabermeja campuses— traveled to Puerto Wilches to accompany the official event. The UIS team was composed of Jorge Villamizar, UIS Territorial Liaison; Luis Alejandro Palacio, coordinator of the Technical Program in Cultural and Creative Project Execution; and Andrés Mauricio Montes, coordinator of UIS Barrancabermeja. Their participation marks the beginning of a historic transformation in access to higher education in the department.
The UIS will play a decisive role in the implementation of the program in the region, with significant figures reported by the Ministry of Education:
- 1,651 enrolled students
- 918 in 2025
- 733 starting in 2026
- Active presence in more than 20 municipalities: Barrancabermeja, Bolívar, Bucaramanga, Carmen de Chucurí, Encino, Gámbita, Girón, Guavatá, Landázuri, Matanza, Ocamonte, Puente Nacional, Sabana de Torres, San Gil, Santa Bárbara, Socorro, Suaita, Rionegro, Valle San José, Villanueva, and Puerto Wilches, the host of the departmental launch.
UIS Academic Offering Within the Program
- Technical Program in Agroindustrial Production, a strategic training pathway aimed at strengthening productive chains and supporting rural development in the department.
Other Higher Education Institutions joining this initiative include the Instituto Universitario de la Paz (Unipaz), Unidades Tecnológicas de Santander (UTS), and the Instituto Superior de Educación Rural (ISER). In total, 6,257 young people from 30 municipalities benefit from this strategy.
Puerto Wilches was chosen as the official venue for launching the strategy in Santander, symbolizing that higher education can emerge and grow from any territory — not only from major cities.
With UIS Support, the Initiative Will Enable:
- Students in grades 10 and 11 to take university credits from their schools and graduate with dual certification: high school diploma and technical professional degree.
- Reduced gaps in access to higher education.
- Improved educational continuity in rural areas.
- Alignment of academic offerings with the economic vocations of each region.
