Catherine Fonseca Hortúa

Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar - UTB in Cartagena - Colombia is a non-profit higher education institution, located in the Caribbean region, north of Colombia. It was the first private university in Cartagena, founded in 1970. It was the first university in Cartagena to receive high-quality institutional accreditation from the Ministry of National Education in 2011, the maximum recognition for a higher education institution granted in the country (Only 17% of higher education institutions in Colombia have this recognition). We have 60 academic programs, 18 undergraduate programs, and 42 graduate programs (23 specializations, 18 master's degrees, and 1 doctorate). Our student population consists of 7.407 students, of which 6.008 are undergraduate students, and 1.399 are graduate students. 18.080 alumni, of which 10.213 were students from undergraduate programs and 5.694 were students from graduate programs. 28% of the teaching staff are doctors, 65.2% are Masters. For Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, internationalization is a determining factor in the development of institutional objectives. As an agent of innovation, it entails an effective response to the challenges and opportunities in the productive transformation of the region. We have 81 international agreements, of which 8 are dual degrees, and more than 900 agreements for professional internships with national and international companies, which are compulsory for all undergraduate students. To achieve our institutional objectives, we rely on our Institutional Development Plan 2016 - 2025, which has four strategic axes: Social Development and Regional Contribution; Academic formation of Excellence; Research, Pertinent Innovation, and Entrepreneurship; and Government and Institutional Management for Sustainable Development.