University Campus and O. of Internationalization

THE HOMELAND | MANIZALES

Jonathan Ballesteros (JB)head of the Internationalization Office of the Mayor’s Office of Manizalesand Catherine Estrada (CE), coordinator of Manizales University Campus, They spoke this Thursday with LA PATRIA Radio about the international projection of the city and the pilot project of Manizales Summer Camp.

What is this Manizales Summer Camp project about?

EC: It is an important space because it speaks of great coordination between the Mayor’s Office of Internationalization, led by Jonathan Ballesteros, and the Manizales University Campus.

This joint allows us to have this type of events in Manizales. Jonathan was the great manager of this mission, he was the one who contacted us with the Universidad de la Costa and from that relationship, we do what we have to do as articulators.

We connected to the University of Manizales and the challenge was not only to generate an experience of very high value at an academic level, but also to leave a strong impression of a city experience.

I think we achieved that, it was wonderful, it had a very powerful academic agenda, with topics of innovation, marketing, logistics, but also the experiential and experiential part in companies.

The students left happy and eager to return.

The event was the pilot test, what was the result?

JB: It was an exercise that we proposed under the premise that the city had to continue and reinforce its message as a university and knowledge city.

It is a bet that is still valid, but it had to be complemented with other additional exercises.

I remember that, having just arrived in office, Manizales Campus Universitario welcomed 37 students who arrived on exchange to the different universities in the city.

And from that reflection, from that dialogue and above all from maintaining the spirit that this work is done articulated with different actors, we proposed with Caterine how we were going to go further. So that for shorter periods the city became a living epicenter of knowledge.

It is an exercise that I see as the opportunity to have validators who will be telling through social networks how it went in Manizales, the experience they had, and that is a great gain.

And the second is that these students also generate an economic benefit.

So what we could see is that we could have times when the city has many students during these types of vacation times doing academic exercises and contributing to the economic benefit of the city.

What does the Manizales Mayor’s Office want to aim for with internationalization and help to increase investments?

JB: From the Mayor’s Office and from this office the initial scenario is to once again generate trust among international allies in Manizales and that is why these events are held.

The exercise of internationalization is progressive. Trust is essential.

Since we have been in the office, we have received 138 people who have come to Manizales to see something about the city. Understood as an academic experience, the opportunity to learn about projects through public-private alliances, to learn about good practices, and what this exercise has allowed us to do is for Manizales, in the medium term, to continue hosting some important events.

For example, the city has already been selected under the leadership of the University of Caldas to carry out Eurooportunidades that will bring together the internationalization offices of the universities.

EC: The role of allies in these processes is also important because in the end it sometimes ends up being Campus that role.

So there is also an important responsibility of the allies. From that meeting, today we have a deeper approach with the embassies of El Salvador and Honduras, where there is a very clear interest in knowing our university system, in understanding the dynamics of associativity that we have and in connecting with our universities.

What’s coming for the city?

On June 20, Santiago Valencia, Secretary of Economic Development of the Government of Antioquia, will visit us. Because cooperation is not just seeing the exercise cross-border.

There is also a mechanism within the cooperation called Col-Col cooperation. That is, how we help each other between territories of Colombia with our capabilities to improve processes.

We had the opportunity to interact with different economic and political actors in the capital of Antioquia and there arose the possibility of the Government of Antioquia visiting Manizales to promote the Port Antioquia project. The project will also be a logistical opportunity for the people of Calden to reach a Caribbean port faster and improve our conditions as an export territory.

EC: I want to highlight that, for example, in this mission that was piloted by the Universidad de la Costa with the University of Manizales and other allies, the efforts of the Ecoparks Network were added to help us make this city experience happen. The city experience makes these kids want to come back.

Listen to the full interview here: