ROUND TABLE

The Pursuit of Knowledge

Ecuador’s higher education system is steeped in history and prestige. It is currently improving its connections with major overseas universities and upping research capacity.

EDGAR SAMANIEGO

LARGEST & OLDEST

We are the largest and oldest university in the country, and, in fact, we are the third oldest university in Latin America. We have over 300 years of history behind our institution’s back.

CHANGE IS HERE

There is a renewed interest in changing the higher education system across the country, and we can include the Universidad Central del Ecuador (UCE) in this wave as well. The increased support of the government has been very important for public education, and the changes the sector has experienced have been very positive.

INTERNATIONAL EDGE

UCE has wide range of international agreements with regional, US, and European universities. Recently, we started implementing agreements with Asian universities as well. We have approximately 60 international agreements with other universities, and over 200 with higher education institutions at the moment.

MANUEL CORRALES

DEEP ROOTS

Our university is a descendant of the Napoleonic University, which opened after Ecuador gained its independence from Spain, and was focused on educating qualified government employees. What we are looking for is greater openness and to be able to provide more updated services to the country.

WELL KNOWN

On one hand we are known in the country as a university and on the other hand we own a laboratory for civil engineering, to analyze soil and materials, where we have certain instruments that are unique in the country.

FOREIGN LINK

We have about 56 agreements with international universities. We have student exchanges, teacher exchanges, graduate studies, and post-graduate programs. We have agreements with Germany, the UK, France, the US, Spain, Italy, and Japan.

SANTIAGO GANGOTENA

ONE OF THE FIRST

We started in three fields with the College of Business, the College of Communications and Arts, and the College of Applied Sciences. This is one of the first research universities in Latin America, despite the fact that we don’t receive any money from the state.

REMARKABLE PLACES

USFQ operates one of the most important stations in the Amazon, called the Tiputini Biodiversity Station. In an article by National Geographic, the author stated that “after visiting 13 countries, the most remarkable place in the world is Tiputini Biodiversity Station.” We run the station in collaboration with Boston University.

MOVING ON

We have 5,500 students, but the university was meant only for 2,500. We’ve been adding rooms, but in two years we’ll leave the medical faculty here, because the hospital is here, and maybe also the music program, but we’ll move the main campus further out.

MOISÉS TACLE

RESEARCH IS KEY

The main objective we are trying to achieve is to convert this university into a research university through sending staff abroad, replacing equipment, and constructing a knowledge park.

ON THE INSIDE

In the park, there will be six large research centers focused on the main areas of 21st century knowledge. These areas include biotechnology, nanotechnology, ICT, alternative energy, environmental and sustainable development, oceanography, and software development.

ROOM TO GROW

ESPOL Polytechnic University boasts the largest campus in Ecuador. The main campus occupies approximately 720 hectares of land, which has allowed us to expand in various ways. Firstly, we built all the academic facilities required for our programs. Secondly, we reserved around 200 acres for the knowledge park.