The second Regional Assembly Colombia 2016 was held on October 31st, 2016 at the premises of the Universidad Santo Tomás.
“Colombia is passing through a key moment in which it is possible to develop internationalization at the heart of its institutions which are, along with its infrastructure, every time more interesting as to the organization of conferences and other academic activities also related to innovation”, stated Dr. David Julien, Executive Director of the Organization, who travelled to Colombia in order to participate in both the Assembly and the VI International Conference on Knowledge and Innovation (ciKi).
In this context, the Regional Vice-President, Dr. Germán Anzola Montero, President of the Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales, convened the Membership and highlighted the presence of Dr. Julien.
Also, representatives of four Canadian Institutions (École de technologie supérieure – ETS, Royal Roads University – RRU, University of Northern British Columbia – UNBC, and Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières – UQTR), whose presence was also noted at the ciKi, participated in the Regional Assembly, for the purpose of exploring an eventual line of collaboration between Colombia and Canada. In addition, the network Université du Québec, which counts 100,000 students of 10 universities of the Canadian province of Quebec, grabbed, in particular, the opportunity of being present in the event so as to consolidate the mechanism of collaboration with Colombia.
Furthermore, in the framework of the event, the Asociación de Instituciones Universitarias Públicas y Privadas (AIUP) became the newest Associated Member of the IOHE. The AIUP aims at creating a space for participation in order to confront the changes and dynamics of Higher Education at local, departmental, national (in Colombia) and international levels, based on the fundamental pillars of education: Teaching, Research, Social Projection, and internationalization.
On the other hand, Dr. Anzola noted that this meeting would act as a prelude to the IOHE’s General Assembly, which will take place on November 25th, 2016, in Guadalajara, Mexico, and where the Institutional Strategic Guidelines for the next five years shall be approved.
In the coming weeks, the IOHE will participate in important events related to Higher Education in the Americas, such as the International Conference of the National Association of Universities and Higher Education Institutions (ANUIES), in Mexico City, and in the annual Conference of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) in Ottawa, Canada.