UNIVERSIDAD DEL ROSARIO

Research Groups recognized by COLCIENCIAS (COLOMBIAN INSTITUTE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY)

At present, El Rosario University has twenty-two Research Groups, nineteen of which are recognized by COLCIENCIAS, and eighteen are classified in categories of the Scientific, Technological or Innovation Research Groups Classification Index, ScientiCol. The Groups are now working on 83 lines of research.

In accordance with its horizontal research support policy, the University's Research Fund was created in the year 2001 to facilitate the financing or co-financing of the faculties' research proposals and projects, as well as its institutional lines of research.

The Fund contains the University's own resources and has its own regulations for the allocation, application and follow-up of these resources. There is a committee responsible for the evaluation and selection of the specific research projects to be financed in the course of each year.

The leaders of research groups submit follow-up and progress reports on the project or projects financed and their budgetary spending up to termination.

To support and encourage academic production of research, advisory and consultancy activities, the University has defined an economic incentives plan applicable to full or part time officials and fellows/professors who participate in these activities. These are monetary, non-salary bonuses granted by the University.

The incentives plan defines the procedures for, and the amount of funds assigned pro rata to participation in research, advisory or consultancy projects. Incentives are provided for publication in both indexed or specialized journals and books resulting from research or textbooks.

"Universidad, Ciencia y Desarrollo" (Tomo II) - Scientific Dissemination Programme

The challenges of the modern world, more than ever based on the value of knowledge in social dynamics, require mobilization and the timely dissemination of science in general. To achieve a real scientific and technological contribution to the development of Colombia, it is not sufficient to create knowledge on a specific subject, but it must also be transferred to the population who can profit from it.

In response to this philosophy, Rosario University decided last year to go beyond the academic context in order to share the results of its research with Colombian society in general, starting with the issues of greatest concern to the population and how they relate both locally and worldwide.

As a result of the work of these groups, the first collection of research papers was presented to the public as part of the Universidad del Rosario Science and Development Programme, a project that arose from the interest of sharing and putting the progress reached in our institution's research at the service of society.

Thanks to the readers' positive response, Volume II of this collection was presented in 2007, with the natural pride of those making an academic contribution to science and humanity.

Our intention is to illustrate to readers information regarding new facets of the modern world and the attitude we should assume towards them, according to our researchers' conclusions on subjects such as health, the social situation in Colombia, our borders policy, education, and the entrepreneurial reality.

This second collection can be found on the Science and Development Programme website of the University this year, which provides the interested reader with better tools, as well as the possibility of accessing more details of each study. This virtual tool is at www.urosario.edu.co/investigacion.

As academics, but also as citizens, we look forward to continuing to contribute to a new vision of the present context, analysed from the research perspective. The Programme aims to answer questions, and provide instruments to give contemporary problems an individual dimension, enriched by our research work.

Rosario University invites you to learn more about science and the environment for this means moving forward in time.