Our branch campus in Quito held the inauguration of the doctorate in education; there was a talk titled: “Challenges and perspectives of research in education”. The event was led by Father Juan Cardenas, UPS president; and Maria Sol Villagomez, vice president of our campus in Quito. They spoke about the importance of this doctorate program in order to strengthen research in Education in the region.

The aim of the talk was to analyze the importance and challenges of research in education within a context of political, technological and social changes in Latin America and the Caribbean. 13 students will  be part of the first group of this doctorate degree.

 
Diana Milstein, Magaly Robalino, María Elena Ortiz and Pedro González, experts in education, attended the event. As well as, Fernando Pesantez, general vice president of the university; Vladimir Robles, head of postgraduate programs; and vice presidents of each branch campus. 

Renowned figures in education, such as: Paúl Medina and Fidel Márquez, academic advisors of the Higher Education Council; Ximena Córdova, president, and Diego Pérez, advisor, of the Higher Education Quality Assurance Council; José Flores, deputy minister of the Ministry of Education; and Fernando Ponce SJ., president of PUCE also attended. 

 
During his opening speech, Father Juan Cárdenas explained the importance of the doctorate program: “What we are inaugurating today not only represents the foundational stage of the highest academic degree a university can offer, but also a commitment to elevating our scientific, epistemological, technological, and human capabilities. We guarantee serious and top of the line education at the highest level in education, didactics, and pedagogy.”

María Sol Villagómez spoke about the program's commitment to educational innovation: “This doctorate seeks to train teachers capable of designing and promoting policies and proposals that foster innovative educational and curricular processes, generating socially useful knowledge in the field of education.”