In the university's branch campus in Quito, representatives from UPS and Conferencia Plurinacional e Intercultural de Soberanía Alimentaria (COPISA) (Plurinational and Intercultural Conference of Food Sovereignty) signed an inter institutional cooperation agreement that will allow both institutions to work together in community involvement.

Thanks to the agreement there will be workshops, forums and training sessions that will develop knowledge on topics about Food Sovereignty and Nutrition, which will in turn help solve the needs of society in several fields and thereby national development.

COPISA is an institution of citizen power created by the Organic Law Food Sovereignty. Its mission is to "Generate a wide process of debate in order to create law proposals, public policies and programs on food sovereignty with the active participation of civil society organizations and State institutions". The organization is in charge of representatives from civil society (9), chosen through a public contest of merits which is organized by the citizen participation and social control council.

Pablo Ortiz, director of the management for sustainable development study program in UPS's branch in Quito, who encouraged this agreement, spoke about the importance this agreement "in order to give professors and students opportunities for internships, continuing education and research in the field of food sovereignty", he said.

Jose Buñay, of kichwa nationality, current president of COPISA and a graduate of management for sustainable development in Quito has encouraged this agreement in order to have the participation of UPS professors and students in all its activities. "Today we live a different context within indigenous communities and nationalities, we have moved on from protests to proposals, therefore this agreement is greatly satisfying since academic contributions enable better reactions in favor of our communities", he said.

The signing of the agreement was attended by Edgar Tello, acting vice president of UPS's branch in Quito; Pablo Ortiz, director of the sustainable development study program; Lola Vasquez, director of the community involvement department; Jose Buñay, president of COPISA; Diana Atamaint, speaker of COPISA; Ruth Peñafiel, speaker of COPISA and Manuela Cobacango, administrative staff of COPISA.