Aimed at the university community, students, professors, administrators, researchers, and citizens who believe in the power of knowledge, the Industrial University of Santander (UIS) is getting ready to celebrate UFest25 – Agenda 4: Quality Education, Healthy Living, and Coexistence in Democracy, an event that will take place from November 5 to 7 with three unique days of academic, cultural, and wellness experiences.
UFest25 will be an opportunity to learn, share, and build together a more humane, healthy, and democratic university through three major themes that will set the pace for each day:
Day 1: Educate to transform, educate for life
Day 2: Live to heal, bodies that inhabit knowledge
Day 3: Know to coexist, coexist in democracy
“Learning for life because education not only shapes, it also transforms. We will reflect on how a humanistic, critical, and innovative education allows us to discover talents, think about the world, and build the future we dream of. Taking care of the body and knowledge, because knowledge flourishes in healthy bodies and minds; and living together to transform, because the university not only produces knowledge, it shares it, discusses it, and turns it into action,” said the dean of the Faculty of Health, Jürg Neiderbacher Velásquez.
This academic and cultural gathering will bring together national and regional actors, consolidating the UIS as a territory of peace, reflection, and transformation. The agenda of activities will be developed with an interdisciplinary approach, connecting education, science, culture, and health.
Day 1 (November 5) “Educate to Transform, Educate for Life” at the UIS Central Campus
The event will open with a keynote speech by renowned educational advocate Julio Profe (Julio Alberto Ríos Gallego) in the Luis A. Calvo Auditorium.
This will be followed by the following keynote speeches:
“Technological and pedagogical skills: between value and noise” – Diego Mauricio Rivera. “Assessing to educate, not just to grade” – Eulises Domínguez Merlano.
The day will also include a discussion moderated by Professor Tulia Ester Rivera, the Agenda No. 4 Educational Expo with poster presentations in the Camilo Torres Plaza, oral presentations in the hybrid rooms of the Science Building, and successful experiences such as: “People, Plants, and Drugs” by Elena Stashenko and “Orchid Cluster” by Laura Victoria Flórez Patiño.
The day will conclude with ExperTIC-SEA (David Alejandro Miranda and Rogelio Ospina) in the Main Science Lecture Hall, and a special stand-up comedy performance by Mauricio Muñoz in the Luis A. Calvo Auditorium.
Day 2 (November 6) “Living to heal, bodies that inhabit knowledge” Science, Health, and Life Complex
Under the slogan “Ideas for living in community,” this day will address topics related to biotechnology, health education, and comprehensive well-being with a One Health approach.
Keynote lectures will be presented, such as: “Knowledge that heals” by Jorge Restrepo and “The right to social and community participation in health system reforms” by Dr. Juan Pablo Serrano Frattali.
There will also be discussions on caring for the elderly and their caregivers, with the participation of specialists such as Valentina Mora Cruz, Etelvina Santacruz, Martha Isabel Camargo, Freddy Ruiz, and Leidy Johanna Rueda, among others. During the event, the initiative “Well-being Passport: collect stamps, add habits, achieve your well-being” will be promoted, led by the schools of Medicine, Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, Physiotherapy, and Microbiology.
The day will end with the Move & Flow activity, led by Willy “Momba,” a fusion of rhythm, conscious movement, and cardio to activate the body and mind.
Day 3 (November 7) “Knowing how to live together, living together in democracy” at the UIS Central Campus
The closing of UFest25 will feature the keynote address “Ethical Reflection and Democracy” by Alejandro Gaviria Uribe. Other notable keynote addresses include: “Rice, Colombia’s Last Remaining Grain” by Óscar Eduardo Gutiérrez Reyes and “Political Animals, Happy Animals” by Diego Hernández.
In addition, there will be a panel discussion on “Forensic genetics for democratic coexistence,” moderated by Adriana Alexandra Ibarra Rodríguez, Lilian Andrea Casas Vargas, and Adriana Castillo Pico, in the Aula Máxima de Ciencias.
During the conference, attendees will be able to participate in practical workshops such as:
Artificial Intelligence Workshop
UIS Virtual Mathematics Museum in GeoGebra.
Instrumentation in cosmic ray detectors.
3D printing and scientific applications.
The event will conclude with a closing ceremony, awards, and a concert by Roger Peñaloza in the Luis A. Calvo Auditorium. Students will have academic flexibility and can earn a type 5 context credit for their active participation. The full program and registration forms are available at:https://eventos.uis.edu.co/u25
