UPR invests $1.1 million to develop Asset Mapping Project
The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) announced the start of its Asset Mapping Project, for which it will invest $1.1 million, to provide visibility and access to the resources of the university system at a local and global level.
The asset map will identify properties, programs and research, human capital, professors, and their areas of specialty, among other values of the institution, and is presented in a geolocation platform based on a geographic information system technology.
“This Asset Mapping Project sparks the UPR’s transformation into a network of academic and economic development resources that is visible, accessible and interconnected with its surrounding communities, catalyzing the development of high impact industries in Puerto Rico and the region,” according to the website created for the project.
The map will be fed with information provided by the administration and the university community, and its first phase will be available to the public by fall 2023.
“The UPR has valuable resources in all areas, such as infrastructure, education and services and research. However, in many instances these resources are unknown to the communities and specialized sectors in and outside the island, specifically, at times when it is necessary to mitigate disasters and speed up responses in emergency situations,” said UPR Interim President Mayra Olavarría-Cruz.
“The Asset Mapping Project will allow us to identify the assets of the institution, tangible, and intangible, for the benefit of the university community itself, the business sector, manufacturing, health, and culture, among others,” she said.
“Once the institution’s resources have been identified, they will be made available to support and provide services that provide solutions to everyday problems of individuals, communities, and specialized sectors,” Olavarría-Cruz said.
This project was developed under the UPR’s vice presidency of Academic Affairs and Research, with to an assignment from the US Economic Development Administration.
Miriam Laracuente, project director, explained that unlike the results offered by a search engine such as Google, the results of a search on an asset map are specific.
This allows, for example, that a student can search for information related to academic programs offered by the UPR campus closest to their residence and in the process find information about careers to which they can aspire to upon graduation, statistics such as acceptance and graduation percentages and links to request admission to the campus or unit.
