Francisco Salgado was reelected as rector of the higher center. Talk about the plans you have for this new period 2022-2027.
Cuenca
Francisco Salgado was reelected rector of the University of Azuay (UDA), in the elections held the previous Friday. This is one of the most important higher education centers in Cuenca with 53 years of institutional life.
For the period 2022-2027, Salgado has clear management lines that are based on shared work with students, teachers and workers. And among its plans it foresees promoting technical careers, promoting service to society and improving the academic and infrastructure part of the higher establishment.
He won the elections with 60.3% of the weighted vote, according to the results issued by the Electoral Tribunal.
Francisco Salgado is reelected as rector of the University of Azuay
From his office he explains that the achievements made during his first term and the goals to be met are given by an “enthusiastic participation” of the university community.
For the coming years, it aims to strengthen the relationship of the UDA with the community by strengthening development objectives, for example, the implementation of ten two-year technical careers aimed at important sectors of society such as artisanal and agricultural.
With them, the objective is academic because they would enhance their knowledge, but there is also a social context, since with a better product or production it would help to stop situations such as migration due to lack of employment.
In addition, it would help to keep the new generations interested in producing and that this generates a good quality of life.
The careers have already been approved by the Council of Higher Education (CES) and the offer is about to be launched.
Classes will be blended, which includes internships at the Bicentennial campus, located in the rural parish of Baños. In its planning, it is planned to open them in the first half of 2022.
The work proposed by Salgado is linked to others, such as the consolidation of the Service to Society office where accounting, legal and psychological advice, among others, is provided free of charge.
Although this is an open space for any citizen, it proposes that the students of these new technical careers dedicate themselves to what they do best, produce, and that the procedures have the company of the students and teachers of the institution.
Cuenca has been classified as a university city, because four higher education establishments are at its service: the University of Cuenca, Católica, Politécnica Salesiana and Del Azuay.
In the latter, the re-elected rector points out that the work for the coming years will also focus on maintaining that unity that has allowed them to carry out joint plans with a common benefit.
It refers, for example, to the plans developed for the face-to-face return to classes after the first stage of the pandemic or the execution of the first doctorate in Natural Resources, in conjunction with the University of Cuenca.
As it is a co-financed university, it has suffered a cut in the budget provided by the central government, money that has been allocated exclusively for 2,650 scholarships per semester, he maintains.
Since 2017, UDA’s annual budget for scholarships is $ 11 million, of which
$ 8 million were delivered by the national government.
In 2021 they reduced $ 5 million, a considerable amount, but despite that they have maintained the same amount and number of beneficiaries, based on their own resources. And in certain cases there is an accompaniment until the student graduates, he says.
One of the aspects that he carried out in his first administration and that will continue is the physical improvement of the central campus, located on Avenida 24 de Mayo. From his perspective, it stopped being a parking lot to be a “good place” where gardens, modern buildings and new structures such as the Tech campus or the Bicentennial campus, located in the Baños parish, converge.
But he also highlights issues related to knowledge, what he calls the dynamics of the UDA. This is a continuous process of participation and organization in congresses, symposia, national sporting events, and of course, art and culture processes. “In other words, there is a favorable environment for people to develop (…). We are very inserted in the processes of the city with the Municipality and private companies ”.
With the application of sanitary measures, the University of Cuenca resumed its face-to-face classes
To this he adds ongoing processes such as the Service to Society office, where psychological, legal and accounting services are provided totally free of charge as personal management issues. But they have also been involved in larger city issues such as the Yanuncay River Basin Management Board, an aspect linked to climate change.
Due to the 53-year history of the UDA, Francisco Salgado maintains that his work will not only aim to improve the infrastructure or the chair, but also the human part of the students to train them as caring citizens.
At present, the UDA offers 30 undergraduate and 9 graduate degrees, welcomes more than 6,000 students, according to the reelected rector. (I)
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