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.