The Instituto Colombiano para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y la Tecnología “Francisco José de Caldas” (COLCIENCIAS), the Colombian institute for the development of science and technology, has signed three new agreements with LASPAU in recent months, extending and enhancing a collaboration that began in 1995.

Scholarship Program for Science and Technology Faculty and Researchers

The first agreement, signed in June 2004, extends the scholarship program that LASPAU has jointly administered with COLCIENCIAS for the last ten years. This initiative enables Colombian professionals in the fields of science and technology to pursue doctoral studies abroad. The program is designed to give priority to outstanding academics and researchers from historically underrepresented provincial institutions. Each grant is co-funded by COLCIENCIAS and the grantee’s sponsoring institution.

In 2004, there were 314 grant applicants, 67 of whom were selected for interviews based on their academic performance to date, the merit of their proposed programs of study, and the value of their programs to their sponsoring institutions. Following the interviews, which were conducted by COLCIENCIAS and LASPAU staff, 40 outstanding candidates were awarded grants for studies beginning in 2005.

The majority of the grantees come from provincial universities and research institutes, with the Universidad del Norte, the Universidad de Pamplona, the Universidad del Tolima, and the Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria (CORPOICA) having the greatest representation. Seven of the grantees are from the major cities of Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali. The grantees specialize in a variety of fields, including sixteen in biology, agriculture, or natural resources; nine in engineering or computer science; and six in the physical sciences.

COLCIENCIAS allows grantees to study anywhere in the world. Under the new agreement, LASPAU is coordinating the placement process for these grantees, enabling LASPAU to utilize and expand its network of host institutions outside the Americas. The grantees will be attending institutions in a wide range of countries, with 22 studying in the United States or Canada, 5 studying in Latin American countries, including Brazil and Mexico, and 13 studying in European countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Belgium, and Germany.

Executive Education Program in Managing Science, Technology, and Innovation

The second agreement links COLCIENCIAS, LASPAU, and the Universidad del Rosario’s Center for Knowledge Management and Innovation, who are working together to develop an executive education program in managing science, technology, and innovation. The program, to be implemented in 2005–2006, will provide 60 government, academic, and business leaders from throughout the Andean Region with training in the most recent policies and practices in the field.

The program is designed for senior policymakers in government agencies, managers of technological institutions, and decisionmakers in the business sector and in academia. It is particularly focused on individuals engaged in the following activities:

• formulating science and technology policies
• managing knowledge and innovation within firms and value chains
• managing knowledge and promoting innovation in universities
• managing technological development centers and business incubators
• formulating and implementing regional science, technology, and innovation strategies

Participants will develop and strengthen their knowledge of processes and themes related to effectively managing science, technology, and innovation in their organizations, including analysis techniques, focus points, and policy instruments.

The initial planning meeting for the program, which included representatives of the three participating agencies, was held in Bogota in January 2005. The meeting was led by María del Rosario Guerra, executive director of COLCIENCIAS.

The program will consist of an introductory conference and five subsequent seminars to be held in Colombia and the United States. Three seminars will be held in Bogota, one at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and one at the University of California, San Diego. Each seminar will have three phases: a preparatory online stage, a one-week workshop, and a follow-up networking stage.

The introductory conference, a two-day meeting in Bogota, will enable participants to get to know each other and become familiar with the goals, topics, and methodologies of the program. It will also provide an opportunity for participants to discuss their specific issues and what they hope to gain from the program.

Subsequent seminars will focus on the following themes:

Knowledge and Development
The twenty-first century is characterized by the emergence of the knowledge economy, defined by high-quality human resources, an ability to generate and use information, and advanced entrepreneurial capacity that requires an agile and flexible institutional framework. The first seminar, to be held in Bogota, will set the stage for the overall program by providing participants with an overview of the knowledge economy and the resulting implications for development strategies and policies. The seminar will include a comparative analysis of various approaches to science, technology, and innovation policy, with particular reference to the challenges and options faced by countries of the Andean Region.

Innovation Systems
The second seminar, which will take place at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, will address innovation processes and systems at the global, national, and regional levels, raising both policy and operational questions with respect to knowledge management and innovation practices. It will also examine the role of science, technology, and innovation in meeting human needs, participating in the global economy, and making the transition to sustainability. The seminar’s interactive learning methodology will use collective approaches to problem-solving to analyze a range of case studies.

Technology and Business
The third seminar, organized by the Division of Biological Sciences of the University of California, San Diego, will deepen the analysis of emerging technologies, with a focus on biotechnology. The group will be presented with an overview of the history and evolution of the biotechnology sector in San Diego as a practical example of an ongoing effort to construct a regional cluster based on new university–industry partnerships. A series of site visits and discussions with biotechnology companies and venture capitalists will help to further illustrate the process of business creation.

Mapping the Future: Regional Strategies for Science, Technology, and Innovation and Their Integration into a National Purpose
The fourth seminar, to be held in Bogota, will strengthen participants’ understanding of the challenges and opportunities generated by technological trends that are shaping the global knowledge economy and discuss how countries and regions can fit into this picture. Specifically, it will examine the implications for countries in the Andean Region of the technological trends discussed in the first three seminars, setting the stage for participants to begin identifying opportunities and building the capacity to respond to them. Special attention will be given to regional science, technology, and innovation strategies within the framework of building knowledge societies at the national level.

Science and Technology Diplomacy and Integration into the Globalized World of the 21st Century
The fifth seminar, which will take place in Bogota, will focus on outlining the linkages between technological advancement and diplomacy. Critical objectives such as improvements in human welfare, participation in the global economy, and the transition to sustainability are no longer possible without the significant use of science, technology, and innovation. More fundamentally, advances in science and technology are starting to reshape international relations and lead to new alliances. The group will be presented with an overview of science and technology diplomacy and then discuss regional capacity building in this area. Participants will examine case studies such as the international trade safety regulations under WTO and how advances in biotechnology have reshaped international trade in genetically modified foods.

A projected outcome of the seminar series is the development of a continuing education program in science, technology, and innovation by the Universidad del Rosario’s Center for Knowledge Management and Innovation. The program will draw on academic materials, case studies, and experience gained through the seminars.

Internship Program

LASPAU and COLCIENCIAS are in the planning stages of a new internship program for individuals responsible for innovation and management in their firms or organizations. Updates on this effort will be provided in future issues of the Informativo.