New director of the Soacha extension

This man is a systems engineer with a specialization in Pedagogy and University Teaching from La Gran Colombia University and a master's degree in Education from the same institution. He is the father of six-year-old Cristofer and nine-month-old Emiliano, and is married to Patricia, his partner on this journey of life.

UCundinamarca News spoke with him about his expectations for this new professional challenge.

UCundinamarca News: What is your assessment of what you have found in the extension?

Jesús Enrique Pabón: I found that the industrial engineering program has already been restructured, and the sports science program is in the process of being restructured. We also have the qualified registration for the software engineering program, which began this semester. Furthermore, the campus has already received approval for its institutional conditions from the Ministry of National Education. This is the first step toward achieving high-quality institutional accreditation in the future. It's a lengthy process, as we must first obtain this designation for each of our programs. That's why we began the process this year with the sports science program.

UCundinamarca News: In the future, what academic offerings do you plan to structure?

Jesús Enrique Pabón: We want to launch several new programs, including business administration, public accounting, geomatics engineering, and electronics. The first two programs are already well underway, and we are awaiting a visit from the Ministry of National Education. Additionally, forty students have enrolled in the new software engineering program.

UCundinamarca News: Regarding research, what did you find in the extension program?

Jesús Enrique Pabón: We have two research groups and we want to work from both an administrative and academic perspective to generate more products in this area, categorize them, and further strengthen research incubators.

UCundinamarca News: In teaching, what do you plan to do?

Jesús Enrique Pabón: I want to send a message to the faculty that the university belongs to them and is for them. Therefore, from the administrative side, we want to make a significant technological contribution to create a development center in this area, and they will be key to this, as they can help us generate synergies with the productive sector of Soacha, which is quite large. Furthermore, the sports science program will be important because they can contribute by bringing the various sports training schools from Soacha to the campus and thus promote them for the benefit of the community.

UCundinamarca News: What can students expect from your administration?

Jesús Enrique Pabón: What we want is for the students to contribute. They have many ideas, and we can use them to promote the campus and, at the same time, demonstrate that we are open to the community through research and university social interaction, among other areas.

UCundinamarca News: Regarding university social interaction, what do you plan to do?

Jesús Enrique Pabón: Soacha is a very large town. We have people displaced by violence, migration, and poverty, and from that perspective, we want to contribute through university social outreach by offering diplomas and courses. We also want to let the community know that this is their university, and that children, senior citizens, and the community in general are welcome to come and strengthen their educational processes, as our goal is to provide these services to them.

More news from the Soacha Extension at the News Agency