With a welcoming message from the coordinator of UIS Málaga, engineer Sandra Díaz, the 2025 Agricultural Sciences Week was officially opened — an event that brings together a diverse agenda of academic, research, innovation, and community engagement activities.
The program includes the UIS Ingenium Challenge, the First International Meeting on Biotechnology and Sustainability, the Entrepreneurship Fair, the Dialogue of Knowledge, as well as cultural and sports activities that strengthen the integration of the university and regional community.
The starting point of the week was the UIS Ingenium 2025 Challenge, which involves 70 students from UIS Málaga and three guest teams from local educational institutions: El Tobal, Politécnico, and Técnico Industrial.
This academic challenge invites participants to design and build low-cost models for water purification in urban and rural contexts. Throughout the week, the teams will develop their prototypes, which will be presented and awarded on Friday.
The activity is led by Professor Ana Beatriz Ramírez, Director of Research and Outreach at the Faculty of Physicomechanical Engineering, along with her team, promoting spaces that foster innovation, collaborative work, and sustainability from the regions.
Similarly, on Monday, the First International Meeting on Biotechnology and Sustainability for Productive Systems (EIBISEP) was inaugurated, with opening remarks by Professor Luisa Mendoza from the Animal Science Program.
“This meeting represents much more than an academic event; it is a commitment to decentralize knowledge — to bring science beyond large urban centers and closer to rural communities, where many of the most valuable solutions are born and where sustainability is a daily practice. Hosting EIBISEP in a region like Málaga demonstrates our institutions’ commitment to democratizing scientific knowledge, recognizing local capacities, and strengthening productive ecosystems from the ground up,” said Professor Mendoza.
During this first session, the university community participated in virtual lectures by international experts Karen Strack (Argentina), Heder Montañez Valencia (Brazil), and Alison Pfau (United States), who shared their insights on sustainability, innovation, and productive development.
This important academic space is also led by Professor Ronald Montañez from the Forestry Engineering Program, and seeks to promote interdisciplinary scientific dialogue from the García Rovira region. Later, discussion panels were held around these topics.
The 2025 Agricultural Sciences Week will run until Saturday, November 1, concluding with the UIS Carnival, a day of integration and celebration that marks the close of this traditional event.
The invitation remains open for the entire university community and the general public to actively participate in the scheduled activities.
