The event will take place May 17, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the university’s new School of Architecture.

“Through QUEST we promote the development of strategies, programs, initiatives and continuous improvement projects that result in significant benefits to the competitiveness of businesses and our economy,” said Robert L. Jiménez, coordinator and president of Professional Excellence Corp.

QUEST recognizes the progress and corporate contributions of companies and their teams in the area of ongoing improvement.

QUEST divides companies into the manufacturing, service, supply chain and energy categories. Participants are able to benefit from benchmaking, networking, recognition, leadership, training, sharing best practices, competitiveness and cost reduction.

“The work of various private companies and public sector agencies that have developed successful continuous improvement programs will be presented that day, as well as their results and achievements,” Jiménez said. “[Participants] may ask questions regarding these initiatives and take a close look at how these processes have improved productivity.”

The Arecibo Observatory operates on a continuous basis, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. (Credit: Larry Luxner)

WASHINGTON — Puerto Rico’s iconic Arecibo Observatory is looking to raise money and boost its international profile as the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary this October.

On Tuesday, diplomats from Chile, El Salvador, Peru and Spain met in Washington with Carlos M. Padín-Bibiloni, chancellor of Universidad Metropolitana (UMET), which operates the observatory along with SRI International — an independent nonprofit research institute headquartered in California’s Silicon Valley — and the Maryland-based University Space Research Association, under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Also at the meeting was José F. Méndez, president of the Ana G. Méndez University System, which runs UMET.

As the diplomats dined on traditional Spanish food at La Taberna del Alabardero restaurant — located one block from the World Bank — Padín outlined his vision for the Arecibo Observatory, which was inaugurated Nov. 1, 1963, at a cost of $9.7 million.

Since then, the remote facility tucked among the karst limestone mountains of north-central Puerto Rico has racked up a long list of milestones including everything from measuring the rotation rate of Mercury in 1965 to generating the first radar maps of the surface of Venus in 1981. In the early 1990s, the facility discovered the first planets outside our solar system, and last year joined with telescopes in Europe and with the Russian Radio Astron satellite to form the largest telescope ever.

“We want to share this facility we have in Puerto Rico with other countries. The idea is to promote international collaboration using the Arecibo Observatory to share knowledge and research,” Padín explained to NIMB after his presentation. “If Arecibo is pertinent for us, it should be pertinent for everybody.”

During its first 48 years of existence, the observatory was managed by Cornell University under the NSF’s supervision. But in late 2011, the NSF opened the management contract to competition, and the current partners won the competition.

Carlos M. Padín-Bibiloni, chancellor of Universidad Metropolitana (UMET). (Credit: Larry Luxner)

“We were selected to manage Arecibo Observatory. NSF decided that our group was better prepared than Cornell,” he said. “We have the responsibility to be sure everybody is using this facility to stimulate careers in science.”

Padín said the observatory’s operating budget comes to $12 million a year. The bulk of its funds come from a five-year funding package from NSF ($40 million) and NASA ($10 million). The Ana G. Méndez University System has kicked in $1.25 million, with smaller amounts coming from the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Co. ($273,000) and the Puerto Rico Science Technology and Research Trust ($210,000).

Current funding falls short
“But these funds are not enough to run all our projects, so we are doing local fundraising efforts at the local and national level to improve the visitors’ center and increase the use of educational facilities at the observatory,” he said. “Our goal for the next five years is to raise another $50 million from different sources, and we already have $4 million of that from other non-government sources.”

Chile and Peru were invited to Tuesday’s gathering because both countries have key astronomical observatories. In March, ALMA — the world’s largest ground-based observatory — was inaugurated on a plateau 5,000 meters above sea level in northern Chile’s Atacama Desert. And Peru’s Jicamarca Radio Observatory, located just east of Lima, is run by the Instituto Geofisico del Peru with support from NSF.

Padín said he invited El Salvador to stimulate interest among the nations of Central America. And Spain is involved because the Ana G. Méndez Foundation has a long-established relationship with leading institutions in Spain including the Universidad de Granada, which was founded in 1531 and today has more than 80,000 students and 3,700 professors. It also has strong links with the Spanish Research Council, which runs both the Andalusia Astrophysics Institute and the Sierra Nevada Observatory.

Padín said a similar meeting will be set up in September with the ambassadors of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama, and that on Oct. 2, 2013, a major diplomatic event will be held in Washington marking the observatory’s 50th anniversary.

At the observatory itself, stargazing evenings will be held every month. Until the end of May, the observatory’s Angel Ramos Foundation Visitors Center will exhibit the lunar rock found by astronaut Jack Schmitt of the Apollo 17 crew during its trip to the moon in 1972.

On May 22, a conference on the Arecibo Observatory will take place at the Spanish Research Council in Madrid, and in October, the facility will host a symposium with this rather unwieldy title: “The Arecibo Observatory at 50: Achievements, Rebirths and Leadership in Astronomy, Planetary Science and Space and Atmospheric Science.”

The facility gets around 85,000 visitors a year, but UMET’s goal is to boost that to 100,000 visitors annually. (Credit: Larry Luxner)

Raising its profile
In addition to making the observatory more accessible to scientists and scholars, Padín wants to raise its profile among ordinary tourists as well.

The facility gets around 85,000 visitors a year, but UMET’s goal is to boost that to 100,000 visitors annually. Among other things, a new planetarium and hotel are on the drawing board.

“We want to improve the whole experience,” said Padín. “Most of our exhibits were made 15 years ago. We want touch screens. Students are learning in a different way these days, so we want to be up-to-date. We also plan to have traveling exhibits so we can bring Arecibo to the world.”

In addition, Padín said the observatory’s trustees aim to improve nearby roads as well as signage so tourists won’t get lost trying to find the famous radio dish. “We’re also working with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company,” he said, “and meeting with cruise ship lines to make sure they include the Arecibo Observatory in their tours.”

Scientific marvel
The observatory’s enormous “dish” measures 1,000 feet in diameter. It’s 167 feet deep and covers an area of about 20 acres. Its surface is made up of nearly 40,000 perforated aluminum panels, each measuring about three by six feet, supported by a network of steel cables strung across the underlying karst sinkhole.

Suspended 450 feet above the reflector is a 900-ton platform, which itself hangs in midair on 18 cables which are strung from three reinforced concrete towers.

The observatory operates on a continuous basis, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing observing time, electronics, computer and logistic support to scientists all over the world. Every year, about 200 scientists visit the facilities to pursue their own research projects, and numerous students perform observations that lead to their master’s and doctoral dissertations.

In 1997, the observatory achieved pop-culture status popular with the movie “Contact,” in which actress Jodie Foster plays an astronomer working at the Arecibo Observatory’s SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program.

The goal is to provide academic representatives new tools that will help them strengthen and encourage scientific research.

Looking to develop an institute dedicated to promote, strengthen and encourage scientific and technological drivers to fuel local economic development, the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust in conjunction with the Georgia Tech Technology Institute will offer a workshop on research governance and management.

The goal is to provide academic representatives new tools that will help them strengthen and encourage scientific research, organizers said Tuesday.

“At Georgia Tech we want to establish partnerships with public and private universities, and Puerto Rico industry, so that along the way, we can help to strengthen ties with each other to stimulate the island’s economic development,” said Andreas Bommarius, the project’s chief researcher.

The workshop slated for Thursday at 10 a.m., is one of the first results of a collaborative partnership between the two entities.

Georgia Tech is recognized for its track record in developing innovation, which has resulted in many new businesses and expansions. That said, the exchange is expected to stimulate marketable research, organizers said.

“Embracing and learning from those experiences will work in favor of economic growth in Puerto Rico,” said Ivan Ríos, acting executive director of the Trust, which came together with Georgia Tech through efforts by the Foundation for Puerto Rico

“Science and technology are increasingly seen as agents of change in the global and knowledge economies,” said FPR President Jon Borschow. “Therefore it is imperative to promote the development of the discipline of scientific research in our island, as a mechanism for retaining local talent and to help generate opportunities for further research that can be commercialized.”

This event is “particularly relevant” given that the University of Puerto Rico is preparing for a review by the National Science Foundation, said Borschow, urging the academic community “to participate and take advantage of this workshop” that will take place at the Trust’s Cupey offices.

The agenda will focus on presenting and discussing specific case studies, while offering tools to learn how to manage federal grants and federal and industrial contracts, as well as how to calculate the right compensation. For more information, click here.

Augusto Ibáñez, corporate editorial director of Spain’s Fundación SM

Information technologies and communication act as great amplifiers: if the education system is efficient, they improve it, and if it is inefficient, they make it worse, because the challenge of education today is to personalize education. So said Augusto Ibáñez, corporate editorial director of Spain’s Fundación SM, who was recently on the island, invited by the Puerto Rico Association of Private Education.

“There is a widespread view that our schools, as we know them, are in crisis. The school came to homogenize and the classroom structure, methodology, and age grouping, clearly served the purpose,” Ibáñez said. “In this model everybody had to learn the same thing at the same pace, and were evaluated by the same examinations.”

“But the big challenge now is called diversity and to address it, schools must accommodate different types of intelligences, rhythms and learning styles. You have to personalize instruction. The key is a new student-centered model,” he said.

He also emphasized that much of the content taught in classrooms today becomes obsolete in a few years so the focus must be on the essential, that which does not expire and serves to lay the foundations of learning throughout life.

“The mission of the teacher is obviously no longer to transmit knowledge but to instill judgments and values in students, which are essential to knowing how to act in an ethical, responsible and caring way in a complex world,” he said.

In this context, he said information technology and communication can help open schools to the world. However, their extensive incorporation at all levels of education in recent years has generated results far from expectations.

“We have made huge investments to equip the centers technologically, but we have no evidence to show that information and communications technologies have promoted substantial changes in learning outcomes or act as catalysts for the change that the school needs to adapt to the challenges of the information society,” Ibáñez said.

“Why is this happening? Largely for the implementation model: schools usually fit the new into the existing model, such as replacement or support of what it has already been doing, and this is not enough to generate a genuine transformation,” he said. “Thus, information and communications technologies act as a great amplifier: if the system is efficient it improves it, and if it is inefficient, it makes it worse.”

Meanwhile, Association of Private Education President Carmen Zoraida Claudio emphasized that technology alone will not change all that much, but in the service of a good educational project it can generate a huge transformation.

“Therefore, innovations should not be introduced from the point of view of technology and its possibilities, but from the educational project and its needs,” she said.

But properly used, technology makes possible what wasn’t before: the creation of true learning communities where traditional schools do not go — paying specific attention to the needs of each student, she said.

From left: Education Secretary-Designate Rafael Román-Meléndez and Marco Casarín-Junco, general manager of Microsoft Puerto Rico.

As part of its commitment to transform education through the integration of technology into the teaching and learning process, Microsoft Puerto Rico will sponsor the 2nd “Innovative Teachers Forum” in Puerto Rico, an event slated for May 29^th that is expected to draw more than 200 K-12 teachers from public and private education systems interested in developing innovative projects in the classroom.

“Providing quality education to more than 200 million students in Puerto Rico and Latin America is essential for the future of the region and it’s Microsoft’s commitment to contribute to the achievement of that goal,” said Marco Casarín-Junco, general manager of Microsoft Puerto Rico.

“At Microsoft, our goal is to promote and recognize the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning for innovators, which is the reason for this forum. We seek to acknowledge that an excellent education is a basic right and a social and economic imperative to promote employment. Technology can accelerate the economic and educational impact exponentially,” he said during a news conference held earlier this week, in which Education Secretary-Designate Rafael Román-Meléndez took part.

Educators participating in the event will be selected through a pre-competition to represent their school, demonstrating classroom excellence and innovation. With a panel of experts in the fields of education and technology, Microsoft will pick those outstanding teachers who through innovative practices and use of technology have transformed classrooms into sources of knowledge and development and consequently have transformed the lives of their students.

Román-Meléndez called the forum an initiative that exemplifies the spirit of co-operation that must exist between teachers, the community, the private sector, and the government to meet education challenges of the 21^st century.

“Promoting the advancement of educational technology in the island is one of our goals and therefore we encourage our educators to participate in this initiative,” he said.

Educators interested in participating in the forum can access the rules to register their projects via Facebook or email (docentesinnovadorespr@outlook.com), and must sign up by May 3, organizers said.

Astronaut Joseph Acaba, left, looks on as Prof. Rafael Jiménez-Vélez, mechanical engineering professor, explains the flight simulator’s featured.

The Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico inaugurated Thursday a new aerospace laboratory at its Hato Rey campus that houses the first flight simulator on the island. The facility aims to train future aerospace engineering professionals to enter the highly specialized field currently booming on the island, school officials said.

The Hato Rey college’s aerospace program took flight in 2008, when demand for skilled engineers began to grow as aerospace companies established themselves in Puerto Rico in response to Patriot Act requirements for equipment and technology to be built by U.S.-based companies.

So far, seven companies have planted their flag on the island and most have reached out to academia to align curricula with employment needs.

In response to that, the Polytechnic began drafting a proposal and submitted a funding application to the U.S. Department of Education, which subsequently granted the Polytechnic University $544,000 for five years to develop the program and the state-of-the-art lab, said Carlos Alvarado-Díaz, professor at the school’s mechanical engineering department and aerospace lab director.

Aside from the flight simulator, the new lab includes a wind tunnel, a helicopter turbine, a nozzle station, and a vibration-measuring station — all elements that will help students gain practical experience in the field for which they will work.

“The MOTUS 622i Flight Simulator will allow our students to enter the simulator cabin and experience, first hand, the viability of their designs in the most realistic simulated flight training environments in the market,” Alvarado said.

“Furthermore, students interested in developing skills as a pilot can rely on this tool for registered flying experience. The MOTUS 622i allows us to offer 2.5 hours of flight experience for private pilot certificates, 50 hours of flight experience for commercial pilot certificates, and 25 hours of flight experience for airline transport pilot certificates,” he said to describe the capacities of the simulator worth more than $250,000.

Acaba, whose parents hail from Puerto Rico, takes the Polytechnic University’s simulator for a spin Thursday.

The simulator’s training components are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and allow students to research existing aircraft in the market and develop new designs. It also allows students and researchers to evaluate a myriad of elements in these aircraft, including panel, fuselage, weight, balance, engine, and flight dynamics.

“For more than 46 years, our institution has opened the doors of knowledge to thousands of students with an important mission in mind: the development of professionals and leaders who will forge a dynamic and innovative progress for Puerto Rico and the world,” said Polytechnic President Ernesto Vázquez-Barquet. “With this mission as our north, we continue to develop our educational tools and technologies through the launch of our new aerospace laboratory.”

Present for the inauguration was Astronaut Joseph Acaba, who spoke of the benefits of such training equipment to aircraft operators.

“The value of this simulator is not just in having it here but in the experience the students will gain by learning what aircraft operators require. There’s a big difference between learning the theory and another getting hands-on practice. That’s very, very important,” said Acaba, who spent about four months living and working in the International Space Station last year.

The new aerospace lab is part of the research and practice areas of the Polytechnic’s Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a major in Aerospace Engineering Program offered by the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the School of Engineering and Geomatic Sciences.

The equipment will complement the courses in mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering, such as aerospace structures, mechanical and aerospace systems and controls, high speed aerodynamics, stability and vibration of systems, composite materials, computational fluid dynamics, and turbo machine theory, as well as offering flight hours for pilot certification.

During the news conference, Alvarado-Diaz said there are about 130 students interested in enrolling in the Bachelor’s degree track, with the potential to graduate next year.

The scholarship recipients are pursuing careers in projected high-growth fields such as information technology, accounting and engineering.

The Hispanic College Fund announced Wednesday the list of 17 Puerto Rican students that will receive scholarships sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund. These scholarships will not only help them pursue their higher education goals, but will ultimately help them start their careers as successful professionals, the company said.

“The jobs of the future demand a college education, which is why we must help our students obtain a college degree,” said Vicmar Paz, scholarship director, Hispanic College Fund. “We want future generations of Hispanics to be defined by their contributions as doctors, entrepreneurs, scientists and innovators. We thank Ford for helping us get closer to that goal.”

The scholarship recipients are pursuing careers in projected high-growth fields such as information technology, accounting and engineering. They have maintained a grade point average of at least 3.0 and are enrolled full-time in an accredited college or university.

The 17 students who received scholarships are:

• Julio Cesar Cruz Gonzalez, majoring in biology at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico – San Germán
• Axel Antonio García-Burgos, majoring in accounting at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
• Beatriz A. Quiñones, majoring in civil engineering at Rutgers University – New Brunswick
• Darwin Orlando Sánchez, majoring in electrical engineering at the University of Puerto Rico, Arecibo campus
• Gilberto Ismael Jiménez-Orench, majoring in aerospace engineering at the UPR, Mayagüez campus
• Isamar Rosa, majoring in computer engineering at UPR, Mayagüez campus
• Joellys Delgado, majoring in biology at the University of Turabo
• Juan Carlos Santos, UPR, Mayagüez campus
• Kelvin Joe Santana-Rodríguez, majoring in biology at the UPR, Humacao campus
• Keysha Mary Torres, majoring in computer science at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico
• Monica Ivette Mercado, majoring in electrical engineering at the UPR, Mayagüez campus
• Nelian Edlin Colon, majoring in computer engineering at the UPR, Mayagüez campus
• Nelmari Bonano, majoring in computer engineering at the National College of Business and Technology – Bayamón
• Reynaldo A. Burgos, majoring in neuroscience at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico
• Samaris Torres, UPR, Cayey campus
• Tiffany Rohena, majoring in office administration at the UPR, Río Piedras campus
• Wilcanor Lopez, Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico – Ponce

“Education is a top priority for Ford and that’s why we’re proud to support Puerto Rican students through these scholarships,” said Joe Avila, community outreach manager, Ford Motor Company Fund. “We hope that the students follow their higher education dreams and applaud the Hispanic College Fund for its commitment to tomorrow’s innovators.”

The students will also become part of the national Web-based Ford Blue Oval Scholars network, launched in June 2007, which connects the thousands of recipients of Ford-funded scholarship.

University of Phoenix’s Carolina Learning Center.

The closings announced this week at the University of Phoenix will not affect its main Puerto Rico campus — one of the school’s oldest branches located in Guaynabo — but will represent the demise of the Carolina Learning Center, News is my Business confirmed Thursday.

Ending new enrollments and graduating current students will effectively phase out the facility located in the Escorial commercial complex, University of Phoenix Spokesman Alex Clark told this media outlet.

“We will stop enrolling new students at the smaller facility in Carolina effective this week,” Clark said. “If a student were to ask about enrolling at the Carolina Learning Center, they would be directed to the main campus.”

It will join the estimated 90 learning centers and 115 University of Phoenix locations that parent company Apollo Group will close, as part of a “reengineering initiative” to cutback annual operating expenses by about $300 million by fiscal 2014.

“[At Carolina] we have students enrolled who will continue to take their courses to earn their degrees,” he said, noting the current enrollment at the learning center is about 200.

The University of Phoenix is one of the largest for-profit higher education providers in North America established in 1976, which offers associate or bachelor’s degrees in an untraditional setting. Students enroll in one course at a time and can complete their studies at their own pace. The school targets working adult students.

Aside from its physical campus facilities, University of Phoenix offers studies through its eCampus, which Clark said is highly used by Puerto Rico students.

“We have many only students who chose that alternative rather than come to campus,” he said.

As for the Carolina Learning Center’s current staff, they too will be incorporated into the Guaynabo branch, located in the San Patricio area that currently has an enrollment of about 900 students.

“There’s no change at the campus, which is one of our oldest. Puerto Rico is one of the first places we expanded to outside Arizona, some 20 years ago,” Clark said.

The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus.

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s affirmed Tuesday the “BBB-” rating of the University of Puerto Rico bonds, Series P, Q and O, giving them a stable outlook.

The report “highlights the UPR’s commendable work stabilizing the university system’s finances during the last two years,” Government Development Bank President Juan Carlos Batlle and UPR President Miguel Muñoz said in a joint statement.

Among other things, S&P pointed out that the UPR’s administration had reported the deficit would run through 2013, but was able to overcome it in two years.

In its progress report to the stateside agency, the UPR’s administration attributed the change to measures implemented to reduce operating expenses, increased tuition revenues, and to the GDB, which, through an agreement, provided support in stabilizing the school’s credit.

“We believe that by affirming the classification of the UPR bonds and stable outlook, S&P is recognizing the work we’ve done at the UPR, with the GDB’s support. We are committed to maintaining the fiscal prudence that has characterized us since 2009 to guarantee and safeguard compliance with the mission of our first educational institution, the principal motor of Puerto Rico’s economic development,” Muñoz said.

The S&P report highlights, among other things, that in 2011 the Middle States Commission on Higher Education affirmed the UPR’s accreditation, after putting 10 out of 11 units on probation. The probation was declared as a result of the interruption of operations in these units for 62 days due to student protests in 2010 over education cost increases.

S&P points out that the outlook on UPR bonds is stable because it is projected that during the next two years the student demand for the UPR will remain stable and the institution will continue carrying out the present fiscal stabilization plan, thus improving its net assets.

“Through this rating action, S&P confirms that the work of the UPR team, with the support of the GDB, is going in the right direction,” Batlle said. “Both teams have joined to seek efficiencies, cut down expenses and restore the fiscal health of the university system. It is extremely important to continue with the work plan and maintain stability in the UPR finances for the benefit of future generations of professionals of our island.”

In terms of the “BBB-” classification, the report explains that given the UPR’s high dependency on revenues on the Government of Puerto Rico, which account for 60 percent of its income, the one notch difference between the central government rating and the UPR rating is considered appropriate.

At the same time, S&P noted it would continue monitoring the positive results of the UPR’s fiscal stabilization plan on a longer term basis.

The e-Learning Ventures Group President Raúl Burgos (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)

The e-Learning Ventures Group, an online based solutions provider headquartered in Miami, will be expanding its reach into 14 Latin American countries within the next 18 months, said Puerto Rican entrepreneur and company President Raúl Burgos, who founded the firm in 2009.

“Our company was founded by a group of business professionals who see technology as an integral part of 21st century education,” said Burgos, a former wireless industry executive who headed the operations of SunCom Wireless, now T-Mobile Puerto Rico.

“We’re seeking new technologies, products and services that complement and enhance the e-learning experience of today’s students as well as open the door to the introduction of these solutions in new markets,” said Burgos, adding the service will be available to Puerto Rico.

The eLV Group began as a Brazil centric educational project for Burgos’ other company, Global 1080 Business Solutions. Now, eLV Group will increase its footprint to Panama, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Uruguay, El Salvador. The U.S. mainland is also included in the service.

“In 2009, our company was looking to begin a small educational project with the eventual prospect of developing an e-learning solution to teach English online to emerging markets,” said Burgos. “Because it is the second largest ESL market in the world and because it presented us with a cross-section of the different scenarios and obstacles a student would encounter while studying online, we decided on Brazil as the platform to test and develop our “proof of concept.”

The eLV Group portfolio includes three online schools and multiple government projects teaching English to more than 5,000 students. eLV’s focus is on providing a quality online educational product for teaching English to students whose native tongue is either Spanish or Portuguese.

“We try to maximize the tools that today’s technology has to offer. The use of multimedia applications, content development tools, online live class technology and quality teachers and tutors, allow us to keep the student engaged, satisfied and productive,” he said.

“A sound pedagogical process as the foundation for our methodology ensures that the student learns English in a fun, entertaining and expedient way,” Burgos added. “The greatest benefit to the student is that they can learn English the right way at their own pace, always with full access to a professor or tutor. This is the value of technology.”

The eLV Group members come from diverse geographical and educational business backgrounds who are putting to work their vision about the future of e-learning and the social benefits that online learning can offer to emerging countries.

“We seek solutions based on their educational quality, relevance and geographical application. In the end, e-learning is about digital and social inclusion” Burgos added.

The eLV Group will be transitioning all of its students to a more robust, flexible and easier learning management system, which will be the foundation of its new English Learning product to be launched during the first quarter of 2013.

Banco Santander Puerto Rico President Román Blanco-Reinosa, (at podium) offers details of the internship program. Behind him are, from left: Rafael Vélez-Palmer, director of Santander Universities, Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association Waleska Rivera, EDB President Ivonne Otero and Economic Development Secretary José Pérez-Riera.

Building up a resume with meaningful work experience before graduating college is considered a good move, especially when looking to find a job after the cap and gown come off.

As part of its pursuit of creating such professional opportunities, Banco Santander Puerto Rico, through its Santander Universities Global Division, announced Thursday the start of its “U-Work” internship program on the island, launched with the support of the Economic Development Bank, the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company and the Puerto Rico Board of Education.

For the three-year initiative, the bank will invest $1.5 million through 2015. However, during the first year Santander will put up $300,000, as will the EDB and Pridco, while the Board of Education will put up $200,000. A total of 260 college students will benefit from the six-month internship program each year.

The first-year investment will cover a $3,000 salary per student, who will be required to work some 20 hours a week over the term of the internship. The first wave of interns will start working in October.

Román Blanco-Reinosa, newly appointed president of Banco Santander Puerto Rico, said the partnerships forged with the government agencies and participating companies “have been instrumental in ensuring the effectiveness of U-Work Santander.”

“Besides being committed to supporting higher education, Banco Santander Puerto Rico takes it a step further by promoting the development of young talent on the island, opening opportunities in the labor sector and implementing initiatives to reduce unemployment and the brain drain abroad,” he said, making his first public appearance since taking over the helm of the bank earlier this week.

The U-Work Santander internship program offers college students the opportunity to get their first work experience. Participating students have the opportunity to work in the professional area for which they are getting their studies, or may also work in other areas of interest, while they receive a stipend for their work.

Otero, Blanco-Reinosa and Pérez-Riera

“This is about complementing a college formation with work experience, which should facilitate their insertion in the labor market. It’s important to go beyond formation, as there is a lot of young talent in Puerto Rico with potential for development, which is what drives U-Work. We want to involve them, so they can learn,” Blanco-Reinosa said.

Some 200 companies in a wide-ranging scope of industries — Architecture, Engineering, Accounting, Technology, Insurance, Business Consultants, Retail, Wholesale and Health — will take part in the first edition of U-Work Santander.

“U-Work Santander offers participating companies the opportunity to have a college student working for them for six months, who could become part of their payroll if they choose to hire them,” said Rafael Vélez-Palmer, director of Santander Universities.

“This initiative increases skilled labor to improve competitiveness, while developing a pool of young talent for future job opportunities,” he said, adding the program’s goal is to grant 1,000 internships over the three-year duration.

Meanwhile, all of the island’s major colleges — including the University of Puerto Rico, the Inter American University, the Pontifical Catholic University, Sacred Heart University, the Polytechnic University, several Ana G. Méndez University System campuses, the Conservatory of Music, Caribbean University and Carlos Albizu University — have signed up, enabling their students to participate in the internship program.

EDB President Ivonne Otero said the government agreed to get involved in the initiative to try to plug the brain drain, “through an excellent initiative to retain all that talent that we have. College students aren’t the future of Puerto Rico, they’re our present.”

After the first wave of students start working next month, two more groups will be selected in November and January 2013. To apply, students with a minimum grade point average of 2.75 must do so through www.becas-santander.com or the www.universia.pr website.

Guillermo Nigaglioni, president of the University Technical Network

By Eva Laureano
For News is my Business

Private and post-secondary institutions represent an important economic and social mobility tool in Puerto Rico’s economy, according to the findings of a study conducted by the Estudios Técnicos research firm.

The results also showed that each of the estimated 60,000 students enrolled in “for-profit, private post secondary schools” or IPSFLC’s, is saving the government around $15,000.

The study titled “Contribution of for-profit post secondary institutions in the economic and social development of Puerto Rico” was unveiled at news conference in Hato Rey attended by heads of such schools.

Guillermo Nigaglioni, president of the University Technical Network, said the study is important because it shows the contribution of this sector in the creation of jobs.

“We also save the government money in a significant way every time a student registers in one of our institutions,” he said.

The main findings of the study, presented by Luis Rodríguez-Báez of Estudios Técnicos, were that there are some 249,372 students registered at colleges in Puerto Rico and that 177,083 of them, or 71.8 percent, go to private institutions.

Another finding showed that there are 56 “for-profit, private post-secondary schools” for a total enrollment of 59,085, or an average of 1,055 students per school.

“This represents 24.9 percent of the 237,153 undergraduate students,” he said.

The 56 IPSFLC’s contribute $16.6 million to the local economy and save the government around $15,114 per student, the difference between the aid given to students in public entities and those in these schools, who receive around $350.

These schools have a high level of graduation, in the 150 percent range, when compared to public and non-profit private schools.

“Around 75 percent of the graduates of for-profit private, post-secondary schools get jobs since these schools help them do so, which means they help reduce unemployment,” Rodríguez-Báez said.

The annual income of students enrolled in these schools is $9,600 compared to the average yearly income for Puerto Rico, which is $18,862, he said.

These schools offered courses in the fastest-growing professions, including alarm installers, cardiovascular technicians, respiratory technicians, physical therapy assistants, medical equipment repairmen, pre-school teachers, nurses, and mechanics.

However, as Puerto Rico’s population ages, these schools have the opportunity to provide courses ”to retrain” this population so that they can continue to be productive, said Rodríguez-Báez.

These schools, he said, should emphasize on helping students create their own jobs or businesses instead of expecting to obtain employment.

“That’s where everything is moving,” he said.

The bachelor’s degree is currently before the Puerto Rico Board of Education awaiting approval. However, it is expected to start this month, in time for the 2012-2013 academic year. This new academic offering will consist of a total of 138 credits over a three-year period (nine quarters) and will have 27 courses in common with the Architecture program.

All students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Architecture have the option of continuing their college career in architecture, or specialize in the field of Interior Architecture.

“As we have evidenced in other courses and activities of our school, the complexities of the work of an architect include not only designing space and environment, but also the objects that occupy it,” said Carlos E. Betancourt-Llambías, dean of ArqPoli, as the school is known. “The art of designing is a universal act, which can include anything from an object, a building, a space and to conceiving a city.”

The curriculum offers courses covering history, theory, technology, construction details, lighting, textile and furniture selection, and office management. Like the five-year bachelor’s in Architecture, ArqPoli’s three-year bachelor’s in Interior Architecture is unique because of its multidisciplinary approach and emphasis on protecting the environment through sustainable design initiatives, supported by the intervention and adaptation existing buildings, and the selection of green equipment and materials.

“Interior architecture combines art, science and technology, integrating creative tools and artistic skills to analysis and problem solving techniques in the design process,” said professor Smyrna M. Maurás Modesti.

Among the objectives of this program is to highlight the importance of establishing close relations with other professions and industries involved in the process of construction and development of an architectural project.

“This new program offers students a comprehensive education of the profession of interior architecture,” said Maurás. “This includes the technical and artistic scope, the social, cultural and environmental responsibilities that it entails, and the close relationship that must be kept with other professions for the success of any interior design project.”

This new program will expose students and future architects a variety of fields allowing them to be managers, to be interlocutors, to promote projects, to design them, generate and to build them.

“We’re educated so others build our projects!” said Betancourt-Llambías. To that end, both the Architecture and the Interior Architecture programs now include expanded courses in entrepreneurship, in which students acquire the tools to position themselves strategically in the design field.

“It is not about going to an office just to draw and design, as it traditionally was, but to be able to position oneself with an entrepreneurial will. Part of our mission is how to make ourselves relevant in the field of developers and contractors,” Betancourt-Llambías added.

This is just the first of the new offerings that ArqPoli will offer facing a new generation of architects trained in leading projects. Both Betancourt-Llambías and his team are currently working in designing other programs, such as bachelor’s degrees in Industrial Design and Graphic Design, as well as master’s degrees in Conservation and Planning.

The CINEMA nanosatellite that will soon be put into orbit is much like the one in this photo. (Credit: Wikipedia)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration will soon put in orbit a small satellite dubbed “CINEMA,” developed by a group of eight Puerto Rican engineering students in collaboration with engineers and scientists from the University of California at Berkeley. This joint effort is the result of the Satellite Engineering for the Development of Puerto Rico’s Aerospace Workforce program, sponsored by the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company.

The agency has invested upward of $500,000 to prepare local engineers to enter the aerospace field.

This summer, more than 30 students enrolled in engineering programs are taking part in internships in the aerospace industry as part of that program, which was established in 2010 with the goal of training a competent workforce for an industry that creates well-paid jobs and is growing in Puerto Rico.

Since its inception, companies such as Honeywell Aerospace and Infotech have hired more than 20 program participants.

“Students participating in this program have an opportunity to gain knowledge that will be invaluable when seeking a job in the aerospace industry, which is growing on the island and will surely offer excellent opportunities for these future engineers,” said José Pérez-Riera, executive director of Pridco.

“Having access to information and experiences such as the ones this group is having contributes to the formation of a more competitive workforce with the potential to make Puerto Rico a leader in this important industry,” said Pérez-Riera, who is also Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce.

Students participating in the Satellite Engineering for the Development of Puerto Rico’s Aerospace Workforce program collaborate on projects of designing and building experimental satellites, gaining access to a diverse group of scientists, universities and research organizations related to the aerospace industry.

Furthermore, the group that worked on the CINEMA satellite includes students who worked on other projects, including NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s “Firefly CubeSat” initiative.

Since September 2010, the aerospace industry has vowed to create more than 2,900 jobs in Puerto Rico and industry jobs are growing at an annual rate of 20 percent, he said.

The sector offers opportunities for technical and specialized professionals, mainly engineers and software system developers. Companies comprising the aerospace sector include: Axon Puerto Rico, Infotech Aerospace Services, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, Essig Research, Florida Turbine Technologies and Hamilton Sundstrand.

The Satellite Engineering for the Development of Puerto Rico’s Aerospace Workforce program is part of the NASA Space Grant Consortium on the island, which has provided support to establish a satellite-engineering laboratory at the Inter American University’s Bayamón campus.

A screenshot of the Arts Thread website.

Looking to expand its commitment to taking its world-class education offer global, the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico recently became the island’s first university to join the world’s only creative graduate website, Arts Thread.

Following a recent lecture by Alex Brownless, co-founder and director at Arts Thread Ltd., on bridging the global gap between education and the industry, the Polytechnic’s School of Architecture and School of Landscape Architecture took it upon themselves to add the platform to the expanding outlets students have at their disposal to showcase their work and seek employment opportunities, school officials said Wednesday.

“As teachers and mentors at the School of Architecture, and of this new generation of architects and designers from Puerto Rico, we are committed to present all means and tools that are available to our students for a much broader intellectual exchange,” said Carlos E. Betancourt-Llambias, dean of the School of Architecture. “It is through this network where the exploration of these skills and abilities are made available to our students.”

Headquartered in London, Arts Thread is an online educational website designed to connect industry, universities, schools, and students worldwide, exclusively within the field of design. Through this platform, students and graduates around the world can create an individual well-designed online portfolio that truly promotes their work, skills and abilities; as well as exchange opinions and gain employment in world renowned companies such as Nike, Nokia and Stella McCartney.

The site also allows universities and colleges the opportunity to promote their own specific courses, showcasing graduates’ portfolios to a global audience, and marketing the courses to industry for sponsorships and internships.

“We originally created a magazine, which went down very, very well with the creative industry,” said Brownless. “It was the industry that suggested the creation of a website, because it’s more democratic. Which means you can get more designers, architects, and industrial designers to upload their portfolios on the Arts Thread website and industry can simply search for what they are looking for.”

“It’s proved to be a real asset for undergraduates and graduates as many have gained employment, freelance work and commissions, they’ve also been selected for events and exhibitions around the world,” he said.

Currently, Arts Thread has around 6,000 undergraduates and graduates on the website, but that number is expected to grow to about 15,000 in the next 12 months. The portfolio section boasts more than 30,000 pages.

But online portfolios are just the tip of the iceberg, Brownless said.

“This creative portal touches the Facebook and LinkedIn principles: it allows you to collaborate,” Brownless explained. “We are trying to form relationships, and the more relationships that we build the better. It means that there is no communication breakdown. It means that, potentially, you’ve got a nice chance of going forward with something that can make you famous. We want to make stars here.”

Architecture in a brave new online world
As more industries and organizations move their operations to the web and the cloud, both Brownless and Dean Betancourt-Llambías agreed that a well-designed professional online presence has become a must for the creative industry.

“It is so important to have an online presence. It is absolutely imperative that you have an online portfolio, so the creative industry can find you. By all means, have your own website. It’s really important to have a website, but it’s important to be found. And the only way to be found, really, has to be through a creative portal like Arts Thread,” said Brownless. “However, you also have to be tenacious, passionate, versatile, personable, warm, and genuine. That’s half the battle, if not everything. Talent and functionality and willingness to collaborate are good. Team ethic is a good thing.”