Universia
Encyclopedia
Universia is a network that consists of 1,1000 Universities
in 15 countries: Andorra
, Argentina
, Brazil
, Chile
, Colombia
, Spain
, Mexico
, Panama
, Paraguay
, Peru
, Portugal
, Puerto Rico
, Dominican Republic
, Uruguay
and Venezuela
. It has 12 internet sites, one for each country, and another global site which offers information and contents from across the network. Universia network represents 10.1 million students, 8 million users and 850,000 university teaching staff (75% of the total number of students and staff in these countries), an all the money goes to Santander Bank.
which under the name of Web 2.0
presents use with new challenges linked to interactivity
, the creation of communities, the organization of content, multimedia development and, overall, the increase of user involvement, the main asset.
that helps promote new opportunities in order to contribute to the sustainable development
of the university community.
opportunities and international cooperation between universities, students and professors. To become, also, the international reference of corporate social responsibility
with the sponsorship of Santander Bank.
Universia was officially presented in Madrid
(Spain) on July 9, 2000 as a Spanish initiative with a clear Spanish American
vocation. On the same day almost all the Universia societies were also formally incorporated (Argentina
, Brazil
, Chile
, Colombia
, Spain
, Mexico
, Peru
, Puerto Rico
and Venezuela
). The Portugal
branch was created a year later, followed by Uruguay
in November 2005.
During the 2008, Universia welcomed Andorra
, Panama
, Paraguay
and Dominican Republic
. In order to expand the network towards the world, during March 2009 the basic information of Universia was published in Wikipedia in 5 languages under the edition and translation of Pabsi González from Universia Puerto Rico (http://www.universia.pr)
Today, Universia is the largest network of universities in the world.
and help them find scholarships as well as the right university or higher education institution.
s in which students and professors can participate in different ways: asking questions, sharing experiences and providing feedback. The current four Blogs are: Study Abroad, Jobs, Marketing and Movies.
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
in 15 countries: Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. It has 12 internet sites, one for each country, and another global site which offers information and contents from across the network. Universia network represents 10.1 million students, 8 million users and 850,000 university teaching staff (75% of the total number of students and staff in these countries), an all the money goes to Santander Bank.
Objectives
The goal of Universia is to promote change and innovation in products and services linked to the Academic Community, helping Universities to develop shared projects and create new opportunities.- At Universia we want to help universities build the future. A future
which under the name of Web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
presents use with new challenges linked to interactivity
Interactivity
In the fields of information science, communication, and industrial design, there is debate over the meaning of interactivity. In the "contingency view" of interactivity, there are three levels:...
, the creation of communities, the organization of content, multimedia development and, overall, the increase of user involvement, the main asset.
- Strengthen our dimension as a global university cooperation network.
- Promote opportunities for the exchange of experience and collaboration. Through meetings with representatives from the academic, business and institutional sectors we promote the sharing of different experiences and partnership agreements.
- Give to university students different employmentEmploymentEmployment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
and scholarshipScholarshipA scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
opportunities as well as new ways to develop themselves both academically and professionally.
- Share technological innovation opportunities in order to contribute in the spreading of knowledge and results of research.
- Because the model of information portals is evolving into a decentralized structure made up of users’ contribution, Universia’s objective is to develop universities’ projects so we can mark a tendency in this sense.
Mission
Universia network includes university resources to create synergies which facilitate a common forum of knowledge exchange, cooperation and innovationInnovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
that helps promote new opportunities in order to contribute to the sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
of the university community.
Vision
Universia’s vision is to become the most extensive network for Spanish and Portuguese speakers that foments higher educationHigher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
opportunities and international cooperation between universities, students and professors. To become, also, the international reference of corporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model...
with the sponsorship of Santander Bank.
History
Universia was created in July 2000 as an internet initiative in the higher education sector. It is promoted by a group of Spanish universities with the support of the Spanish University Rectors' Board (CRUE), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and sponsored by the Santander Group.Universia was officially presented in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
(Spain) on July 9, 2000 as a Spanish initiative with a clear Spanish American
Spanish American
A Spanish American is a citizen or resident of the United States whose ancestors originate from the southwestern European nation of Spain. Spanish Americans are the earliest European American group, with a continuous presence since 1565.-Immigration waves:...
vocation. On the same day almost all the Universia societies were also formally incorporated (Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
). The Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
branch was created a year later, followed by Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
in November 2005.
During the 2008, Universia welcomed Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
and Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. In order to expand the network towards the world, during March 2009 the basic information of Universia was published in Wikipedia in 5 languages under the edition and translation of Pabsi González from Universia Puerto Rico (http://www.universia.pr)
Today, Universia is the largest network of universities in the world.
Preuniversia
Assist students form high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and help them find scholarships as well as the right university or higher education institution.
Academic Mobility (MAI)
Help students that are studying abroad and help the ones that want to do it to find the best programs and scholarships available.Universia News
Universia News offers different themed news: local universities, international universities, scholarships, jobs, culture and more.Scholarships
Universia is the encounter point in which students find monetary aid that helps them continue studying.Courses
Promotion and specific details of the courses offered in Universia’s universities. Every semester, including summer, the courses vary.Blogs
Universia’s writers create BlogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s in which students and professors can participate in different ways: asking questions, sharing experiences and providing feedback. The current four Blogs are: Study Abroad, Jobs, Marketing and Movies.
Innoversia
A system that gets in contact both investigators and businesses in order to find applicable solutions to the actual needs of the business world and generate beneficial contributions for both spheres of activity.Universia TV
Audiovisual material that shows Universia’s community some of the activities and promotions related to students, universities and current academic affairs.Newsletters
Universia has 4 newsletters which can be accessed in the following URL: http://www.universia.pr/pdf/publicaciones.jsp- Universia Knowledge@Wharton
- Next Wave Science
- GCG: Revista de Globalización, Competitividad y Gobernabilidad
- Universia Business Review
Courses of action
Universia’s actions in favor of the higher education are based on four large strategic lines:- Formation = Information for the learning and support of continuous education.
- Jobs = Interns, formal jobs and professional development.
- Observatory = Focused in observing Science’s and higher educations’ future.
- Social Networks = Communities for students to participate in and visit during their free time.