COLCIENCIAS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

Sponsor: Instituto Colombiano para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y Tecnología “Francisco José de Caldas” (COLCIENCIAS)
Countries: Colombia
Program focus: Research, advanced scientific training, dissemination of technological information
Timeframe: 2005-present (third generation of a program that began in 1995)

Description: The COLCIENCIAS Science & Technology Program enables Colombian professors and researchers in engineering and the natural and social sciences to pursue masters and doctoral degrees at universities outside Colombia. To date, the Program has enabled a total of 400 Colombian professionals to pursue graduate degrees abroad.

The Science & Technology Program (formerly known as the COLCIENCIAS Program for the Formation of Human Resources and Strengthening of the Scientific Community) began in 1995 as a $200 million project to promote advanced scientific training, research, and the dissemination of technological information. It was designed by COLCIENCIAS in collaboration with Colombia's Instituto de Estudios Técnicos en el Exterior “Mariano Ospina Pérez” (ICETEX) and was funded by the Colombian government and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Since the program’s inception in 1995, LASPAU has helped ensure its success by providing advising, monitoring, financial, and reporting services for grantees pursuing academic studies in the United States and 17 other countries around the world.

The COLCIENCIAS Science & Technology Program provides awards in the form of a forgivable loan that requires the recipient to return to Colombia upon graduation. When a grantee returns to Colombia and resumes work at the sponsoring institution, a portion of the award is forgiven. The remainder may be partially or fully waived by COLCIENCIAS, depending on the academic accomplishments and professional achievements of the grantee.