At the most recent Academic Council meeting, the Vice-Rectorate for Research and Extension (VIE) of the Industrial University of Santander presented its Strategic Vision, a plan that seeks to consolidate the institution’s research, innovation, and entrepreneurial functions, both at its headquarters and in the regions.
Cristian Blanco Tirado, Vice-Rector for Research and Extension, explained that this roadmap “consists of a plan for the coming years, setting out the role that the Vice-Rector’s Office for Research and Extension must play in the management and operation of all the scientific and technological infrastructure we have at the university, both for the benefit of our university community and to serve society as a whole, the productive sector, the government sector, associations, and unions.”
The objective is to coordinate the VIE with the daily work of the institution and turn it into “the agency that manages the entire framework of science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship at the Industrial University of Santander,” promoting initiatives such as the creation of spin-offs, entrepreneurial projects, and the commercialization of services and products developed by academic units and research groups.
The strategy also has a regional scope. “Part of the strategy consists not only of strengthening the science, technology, and innovation activities we carry out at the UIS headquarters, but also of going to different regions to explore their potential and see how we, through science, technology, and innovation, can help with development and entrepreneurship relevant to those regions,” said Blanco.
In this vein, there are plans to upgrade the Guatiguará Technology Park and extend the strategy to new locations such as Arauca and other areas of the Eastern Plains, with the goal of “bringing research, science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship to strengthen and promote the social and economic development of the regions.”
One of the most notable announcements was the creation of a new training space for teachers. “We are going to start some workshops on Wednesday next week. They consist of science that undertakes (…) We are going to give them guidelines on how they can technologically advance the science they have in their laboratories and bring it to market,” explained the vice-chancellor.
In this first stage, the workshops will be aimed at teachers, although they will later be open to the entire university community. Registration will be done through digital channels, and the official launch will take place on Tuesday, August 12.
With these actions, the UIS seeks to project its scientific and technological capacity not only to the academic community, but also to the productive sector and society in general, promoting an ecosystem of innovation with a real impact on the regions.
