Universidad de La Sabana

Chía, Colombia

Project Partner: Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, United States

Overview

Universidad de La Sabana (UniSabana) partnered with Northern Illinois University (NIU) to develop an exchange program with the goal of bringing together students and faculty members from both universities. The program aimed to provide study abroad opportunities for engineering students, create social impacts within the universities’ communities, and engage in collaborative research around common challenges. The overall mission of the program was to increase awareness of the education and research capacity in Colombia.

The first phase of the program offered an exchange opportunity for NIU students to study at UniSabana. Students from both universities participated in a simulation course to fulfill credit in Industrial Engineering, served in a local children’s foundation and visited three local companies. A total of four (4) U.S. students from NIU traveled southbound, and fourteen (14) Colombian students from UniSabana participated in the course. During the program’s implementation, NIU faculty collaborated with UniSabana on a publication and explored further collaboration opportunities for the two universities.

Following the implementation and first round of the program in 2015, there was significant interest and an increased number of students participated in the program in 2016. Nine (9) students from UniSabana traveled to NIU and participated in the simulation course with nine (9) NIU students. Students also participated in company visits and cultural events during their exchange period as well. During this 2016 exchange, students were accompanied by UniSabana faculty, who led the program and met with faculty at NIU to continue discussing cooperation possibilities for upcoming years. UniSabana continues to work with NIU to develop a double-degree model for Industrial Engineering undergraduates at UniSabana and Master of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering students at NIU. Through the grant, UniSabana was able to exceed its goals for staff engagement. A total of four (4) research peers and eight (8) academic staff engaged in the program.

Overall, the project was a success because of the strong connection that the universities have formed and the support from both to perpetuate and improve the program from the initial implementation of this exchange model. UniSabana has also received interest from other institutions in the U.S. because of this project, with potential for the formation of more partnerships.

“Thanks to the grant, we were able to invest some resources in order to structure an entire management process for the program. We hired an expert, who taught us a method to manage and control the activities, documents and budget of the program. This management tool will help us in the definition and development of many different programs from now on.”

Alejandra González Penagos

Manager of International Cooperation and Visibility, Universidad de La Sabana

““Para nuestros alumnos, fue una experiencia maravillosa estudiar en La Sabana, una excelente universidad con muy buena infraestructura y excelentes alumnos. El curso de Simulación es uno muy técnico, pero La Sabana estuvo al nivel para dictar este curso y tanto sus académicos como los miembros de su staff estuvieron a disposición del curso para facilitar el éxito de los alumnos. El programa de visitas a industrias logró sin duda el objetivo de entregar una visión practica de conceptos a todos los alumnos participantes, así como la posibilidad de hacer trabajos sociales añadió definitivamente una dimensión humana integral que ser inolvidable para los alumnos. Adicionalmente, el estar en otro país, muy hermoso como es Colombia, específicamente en la ciudad de Bogotá, hizo que la experiencia de nuestros alumnos fuera mucho más rica y placentera. Creo que fue una excelente decisión el haber elegido la Universidad de La Sabana en Chía, Colombia."

Dr. Reinaldo Moraga

Associate Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, Northern Illinois University

Student Testimonials

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