Paper ID #22807

Risks and Challenges in the Implementation of a Higher Education Program(PEAMA) in the Rural Community of Nazareth-Sumapaz Colombia

Ing. Hernan Gustavo Cortes-Mora, Universidad Nacional de Colombia

PhD student resaerching ”Structuration of sustainability at the Engineering School in the UniversidadNacional de Colombia”

Prof. Jose Ismael Pena Reyes Pena Reyes, Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Professor and chair, Engineering Faculty at Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Mr. Jairo Andres Pena, Universidad Nacional de Colombia - PEAMA Sumapaz

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Formulation, execution and evaluation of projects related with environmental development and commu-nity participation. Use of audiovisual tools as learning support.

Management of solid waste on industrial, urban and rural sectors.

Knowledge and experience in economic botany research in social contexts.

Experience on participation in environmental and intercultural education programs. Use of audiovisualtools as learning support

Experience in surveying and floristic analysis of Andean vegetation.

Nicolas Gaitan-Albarracın, Universidad Nacional de Colombia - GITIDCProf. Joana Carolina Chaves Vargas

c©American Society for Engineering Education, 2018

Engagement in Practice: Impact of the implementation of the Special Program Admission and

Academic Mobility - PEAMA Sumapaz in the community of Nazareth. Risks and Challenges

Engagement in Practice:

Impact of the implementation of the Special Program Admission and Academic Mobility - PEAMA Sumapaz in the community of Nazareth. Risks and Challenges

The current Colombian context framed in a period of implementation of peace agreements, presents an overview of change of the country’s change with respect to the historical processes that have prevailed in the past. This scenario brings many challenges to peacebuilding, mainly in the territories that have been marked by armed conflict. Since the second half of 2016, Universidad Nacional de Colombia has been implementing the ”Programa Especial de Admisión y Movilidad Académica (PEAMA)” which could be translated to “Special Program of Admission and Academic Mobility” in Sumapaz, a rural area of 90 kilometers from the urban area of Bogotá, considered a territory historically marked by the armed conflict. The PEAMA programs of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia are offered to the population that lives in areas of difficult access to higher education and/or with problems of public order. Its main objective is to guarantee access to quality higher education in these territories. According to the resolution 405 of 2016 of the Rectory, the program has three stages: an initial phase where admitted students study in their territory for up to four semesters; then students move to one of the campuses of the University to continue their studies and finally return to their territories to implement their degree work. The particular case of the PEAMA Sumapaz is characterized by using Project-Based Learning as a pedagogical strategy, which is key to strengthen academic skills in students as well as a way to formulate proposals that strengthen the missionary functions of the university. The first version of PEAMA Sumapaz involved 30 students divided into five programs: Agricultural Engineering Animal Science, Agricultural Engineering, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine and it is administered by the Faculty of Engineering. In addition, four faculties, professors of different disciplines, tutors, academic coordination and administrative coordination are involved. In these two years of the PEAMA, the impact that the program has brought to the region has not yet been investigated. This article presents the perception of the community about the PEAMA and the impacts under the sustainability framework (cultural, environmental, social, and economic), has had its implementation from the perspective of Humanitarian Engineering. This program exemplifies the efforts of the Faculty of Engineering of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia to help to address and minimize or eradicate the needs and solve the problems of a part of Bogotá's rural society, that is, to recognize the responsibility of engineering in the resolution of social problems in a search of improvement of the quality of life of the communities. Finally, the risks, challenges, and problems evidenced by the community are exposed as well as the opportunities that can be used by the PEAMA in the future. The main results highlight the community's feeling of perceiving the university and the PEAMA program as a key player in the territory, beyond just the academic

dimension, the community's interest in increasing the careers offered by the program, also expresses the need for the community to be informed about the projects developed inside the University. Keywords: Humanitarian Engineering, Sustainability, Community Development, Sustainable Human Development,

1. Introduction Higher quality education in Colombia has historically been concentrated in big universities located in the major cities. This phenomenon, along with others such as armed conflict, has contributed to the increase in the division between the rural and the city populations. To help close this gap, the Universidad Nacional de Colombia creates the Special Program of Admissions and Academic Mobility- PEAMA. This document explores a particular case of this program developed in the territory of Sumapaz using Project Based Learning as the methodology. Through interviews conducted with community members which live in the region, the effects of the implementation of the program in the Sumapaz community are investigated from a sustainability perspective, that is, the environmental, economic and social dimensions are taken into account. Initially the context of the territory and the program is presented, then it proceeds with the methodology, results, analysis, and conclusions.

2. Sumapaz region Bogotá city has an area of 201,966 hectares, of which 75.5% correspond to rural areas. Within these, there are most of the protected areas of the district, granting a great environmental, cultural and productive potential to the territory. Bogotá rurality consists of six regions. In particular, Usme, Ciudad Bolívar, and Sumapaz are recognized for their socio-environmental dynamics. This region has strategic ecosystems for water regulation, such as the moor and the high Andean forest, ensuring the conservation and availability of water used for different purposes by the rural and urban population. Moreover, this region has been marked by various forms of armed conflict and in particular by the presence of different legal and illegal armed actors. However, the current context of the region is very different, given the implementation of peace agreements between the FARC insurgency and the government, which represents a panorama of change with respect to the historical processes experienced by the region’s population. This new panorama brings opportunities and challenges for peacebuilding through the presence of new institutions in the territory, which in this case is represented by the presence of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia through its Special Program Admissions and Mobility academic, PEAMA in Sumapaz.

The region of Sumapaz1, where the PEAMA Sumapaz program is developed, covers an area of 78,000 hectares and a population of 5667 people [1]. The region has the largest wilderness ecosystem worldwide, being considered as one of the great centers of plant diversity on the planet [2]. It has low population density, three inhabitants per square kilometer, and 50% of its territory is the protected Sumapaz National Natural Park [3].

3. Special Admissions Program and Academic Mobility - PEAMA Sumapaz In 2007 the Universidad Nacional de Colombia created the PEAMA [4]. With the interest of generating development in the areas of difficult access to higher quality education, the University opens the program at “Border campuses”2: Amazonia, Orinoquia, Caribe, and Tumaco. To ensure that applicants to the program correspond to the area of interest, the following requirements were established: 1) Have completed the last two years of the secondary school in a school that is located within the region of influence. 2) Be residing in the region of influence for at least two years prior to the announcement of the admission process. This program belongs to the “border campuses”, and in 2015 the possibility of developing PEAMA programs in the surrounding area of the Andean campuses (Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira) was considered. Thus, in December 2015, through the support of the Faculty of Engineering and the Bogotá Campus Vice-Rectory, an agreement was signed with the District Secretary of Education to develop a PEAMA program in Sumapaz region for high school students in rural areas of Sumapaz, Usme and Ciudad Bolivar [5], the last two are areas surrounding Sumapaz. Taking into account the characteristics of the Sumapaz region, the points of view of the people and the interests and possibilities of various faculties of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, five academic programs were chosen to be opened in the new place in Sumapaz: Nursing, Agriculture Engineering, Agronomic Engineering, Zootechnics and Veterinary [6]. The implementation of PEAMA Sumapaz program was made with a particular design characterized by some innovative elements for the institution: first, its interdisciplinary nature seeks to integrate students from five different programs who receive the same classes in the same space. Second, thanks to the interest of the Faculty of Engineering in changing teaching practices within the University, the program is viewed as a teaching laboratory to introduce Project Based Learning-PBL. Finally, it seeks to become an alternative for economic, social, environmental and cultural lifestyles to the region for sustainable rural development classroom practices.

1 Sumapaz is a region that is administratively divided into two, one part belongs to the city of Bogotá and the other to the department of Cundinamarca. In this document when referring to "region of Sumapaz" we refer to the part corresponding to Bogotá. 2 The term “border campuses” refers to the campus of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia located in rural regions of Colombia near the border limits of the country.

The PEAMA program takes sustainability, as a paradigm for thinking about a future in which social and economic environmental considerations are balanced with the improvement of life quality [7]. In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing (1) concentrations of substances extracted from the crust (excavation), (2) concentrations produced by society substances (dumping), (3) degradation by physical uses (destruction), and (4) persons are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their needs [8]. In that vein is expected to develop processes to make environmentally friendly, humanly livable and socially just [9]. The qualitative improvement of the human condition is then sought, reducing the environmental impact of our activities in a way than do not exceed the natural limits. The activities should be environmentally friendly, socially just, economically viable and humanitarian, generating a preservation culture for future generations. It seeks guided interactions between nature and society in order to dominate local and global changes such as climate change, social inequality, poverty, loss of biodiversity, overcrowding and lack of resources. Through this vision of sustainability, the PEAMA program seeks to integrate the development of PBL in the region. For this, while students remain in Sumapaz for the period of four semesters, and before moving to the Bogota campus, they develop the following projects as part of a learning center:

1. Knowing the region of Sumapaz and its surroundings - 2016-II 2. Agroproductive project - 2017-I 3. Design and development of the farm - 2017-II & 2018-I

The development of these projects can expand the networks of the University outside the classroom, through a most extended interaction with the surrounding community, and by engaging them to become part of the learning process of students, creating a win-win relationship between the community and the University. First, the students must know the region through the water, the community, and the stars. This initial inquiry allows to identify various problems present in the region. From the definition identification of these issues, without losing the specificity of each of the academic programs present, projects are focused on generating productive alternatives for the region. Among these projects, the management of minor species, agroecological practices, planting medicinal and aromatic plants, and aquaponics stands practices are developed. In general terms, the projects seek, in addition to being a learning laboratory, to propose more sustainable agricultural and livestock management alternatives for the region, taking into account that currently most of the economic activity is in potato monoculture with agrochemicals and extensive livestock. The following is a summary of each of the projects [10]:

• Knowing the Sumapaz region and its surroundings: The project focused on making the first approach to the region through the investigation of primary and secondary sources. For this project, the approaches to ethnography made by the students, knowledge of water quality, health management and astronomical knowledge of the region were relevant. The courses of Literacy, Basic Mathematics, General Chemistry, General Chemistry Laboratory and Fundamentals of Public Health were linked.

• Agroproductive project: This project focused on the management of three types of crops: aromatic plants, potatoes and fodder. Six working groups were organized, two for each of the crops, looking for both the potato and the forages to have an organic management in one of the projects and conventional in the other, in order to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each one. The courses of of Nursing in Workers' Health, Fundamentals of Mechanics, Basic Chemistry, Basic Chemistry Laboratory, Introduction to Zootechnics, Basic Mathematics, Differential Calculus, Plant Biology, General Biology, Introduction to Agricultural Engineering, Introduction to Agricultural Engineering, Literacy and Intensive English I and II.

• Design and development of the farm: This project sought the management of units of guinea pigs, compost, vermicompost, happy hens and aquaponics. The students developed experiments to evaluate feeding conditions and more sustainable management. The courses of Microbiology, Differential Calculus, Integral Calculus, Bioethics and Wellbeing in Animal Health, Rural Sociology, Soils, Basic Biochemistry, Molecular Biology of the Cell, Fundamentals of Ecology, Intensive English I and II, Intensive English III and IV, Taxonomic Botany, Agricultural Soils, Agroclimatology and Biostatistics were linked.

4. Methodology

Humanitarian Engineering suggests communication with communities to facilitate the solution of their problems. Therefore, the participation of the community is imperative for the development of the Program. It is necessary then, to know the opinion of the inhabitants of the locality to adjust the academic contents and to evaluate the success of the Program. For this study, the unit of analysis is determined as the intersection that emerges between the implementation of the PEAMA Sumapaz program, the community of the region and the aspects of sustainability, as represented by Figure 1.

Figure 1. Unit research analysis To know the perception of the community, we proceed to select some community leaders to carry out semi-structured interviews previously designed and presented below. After the application of the interviews, an analysis of the content of the answers is carried out according to the categories of sustainability: cultural, political, environmental and economic. Finally, the results obtained are presented. 4.1 Identification of community leaders from Nazareth To identify the key actors of the community in relation to the PEAMA Sumapaz program, the experience obtained by two of the authors was used. They have lived in the region for more than a year accompanying the process of student training. To define these relevant actors, the following question was asked:

• Which are the local actors that have been affected (positively or negatively) by the PEAMA Sumapaz program?

• Which are the local actors that have affected (positively or negatively) the PEAMA Sumapaz program?

The links between the actors can be either direct or indirect. The direct ones are those in which the actors are related by an explicit interaction and there is interdependence. On the other hand, the indirect ones are those in which the actors are sharing a scenario, an activity or a common resource, however, it does not generate interdependence. From the previous reflection, the following potential list of social leaders is determined to be interviewed:

Direct Mr. Pedro Rincon, president of the Nazareth Community Action Board. He is the person who looks after the facilities of the University. Mr. Heriberto Bernal, main merchant of the region. He coordinates the entire food service of the students. Mrs. Clarita Murcia, cook and merchant of the region. Prepare food for students. Mrs. Aurora, housewife, cook and merchant of the region. Prepare food for students. Mrs. Olga, housewife and cook of the region. Prepare food for students. Ms. Esperanza, inhabitant and tenant of the region. Rent rooms for some of the students and teachers. Indirect Owners of the other houses that students rent Teachers of the Acceleration Program of the Jaime Garzón School that shares spaces with the University. Workers physical spaces of the school Jaime Garzón Parents of students who live in rural Sumapaz Mayoress of the town of Sumapaz, Liliana Murcia Director of the National Natural Park Sumapaz, Carlos Lora According to the objectives of this work, it is defined to concentrate on the so-called direct leaders. Semi-structured interviews The compilation of the verbal information of the actors was carried out through semi-structured interviews. They offer an acceptable degree of flexibility and at the same time maintain sufficient uniformity to achieve interpretations in accordance with the purposes of the research. In addition, they allow to adapt to the subjects with enormous possibilities to motivate the interlocutor, clarify terms, identify ambiguities and reduce formalities [10]. The interviews were conducted by two of the authors of the article which worked in the PEAMA Sumapaz as academic tutors. They had to support the development of academic skills of students in extra-class schedules and to carry some administrative tasks. Because they live most of their time in Sumapaz, they had become the main representatives of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and PEAMA Sumapaz in the territory.3

3 Because of the novelty of the program, the only way of obtaining information about the perception of it by the community is the direct inquiry to the population. In this regard, it is only possible collect information through surveys, questionnaires or other tools of social research infield. For this research it was decided apply semi-structured interviews. There is no secondary sources where you can inquire about perception of the program until now.

Audiovisual media as complementary to collect and process the information provided by each of the actors interviewed tools were used. The script of interviews and sustainability categories used are as follows:

Sustainability Category Question

Environmental dimension Do you consider programs offered by the PEAMA Sumapaz may contribute to answer the different environmental conflicts that occur in the territory? How do the students project development helps the land conservation?

Cultural dimension Do you know if the PEAMA Sumapaz has conducted cultural activities in the village? How the PEAMA Sumapaz contribute to the construction of rural culture in the territory of Sumapaz?

Social dimension What changes have been occurred in the territory since the arrival of PEAMA Sumapaz? How do the community engage in the development of PEAMA? How has the PEAMA Sumapaz affected the relationships between Sumapaz inhabitants?

Economic dimension How does the development of productive projects proposed by PEAMA Sumapaz students contributes to the economy of the region? Has the arrival of PEAMA Sumapaz brought economic benefits for the inhabitants?

5. Results

The interviews were transcribed, content and analysis codification were done. First, elements that apply to each of the categories were defined and emerging categories were identified in order to establish trends in the encoded responses.

Category Average of citations related to the category for interview

Environmental Dimension 22

Cultural Dimension 17

Social Dimension 35

Category Average of citations related to the category for interview

Economic Dimension 24

Total 98

Figure 2. Average of citations related to the category

Figure 3. Word cloud Positive factors ● The PEAMA generates the opportunity to pursue careers related to the environment. ● It has supported house orchard activities.

● Interactions between Sumapaz inhabitants and the University community. ● It has allowed diverse life opportunities to students in the region. ● It has boosted the economic development of Nazareth. ● It has opened the possibility to diversify crops in the region. ● Students have advised farmers in improving crops processes. ● It has allowed a dialogue between urban and rural people. ● The University has brought life to village. ● Employment generation. ● Peacebuilding through university education in rural youth.

Rating (positive or negative) of the items found by category for improvement ● People lack awareness about moor care. ● Possibility for students to enter other programs besides those related with rural

activities, such as medicine. ● University need to discuss about the country and its diversity, to help sensitize people

about the importance of peace. ● It is necessary to generate support for farmers in the region to develop better

mechanisms for marketing their products. ● Support for students who are interested in the program but lack the financial support

to move to Bogota once they complete their two years in the Sumapaz program. ● University has not served enough as mediator in resolving environmental conflicts in

the territory. ● Greater support and assistance of the University at meetings of various community

organizations.

6. Conclusions Interviews evidenced the need expressed by representatives of community that the University not only act in the territory for educational purposes. Expectations that the University is seen as social mediator between various actors the territory and guide new agricultural, livestock and environmental practices. The PEAMA needs to offer other programs that do not have direct relationship with rurality. There is a misunderstanding related to the details of the projects developed by the PEAMA. In this regard, the need to improve the information of the activities of the University within the region is highlighted. Education is recognized by the community as a key element in peacebuilding in rurality by giving the possibility of other life projects for youth in the region. The University has been identified as an engine of economic development for the town.

7. References [1] Junta Administradora Local Rural de Sumapaz. Plan de desarrollo Económico, Social, Ambiental y de Obras Públicas de la Localidad Veinte de Sumapaz, D.C., 2016. [2] P. Franco and J. Betancur, “La flora del Alto Sumapaz (Cordillera Oriental, Colombia)”. Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales 23 (Suplemento especial): pp. 53-78, 1999. [3] Alcaldía Local de Sumapaz - Secretaría Distrital de Gobierno Comisión Ambiental local de Sumapaz, Plan ambiental de Sumapaz 2013-2016. Bogotá, Colombia., 2012. [4] Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Consejo Universitario. “Resolución 887 de 2015 y Acuerdo número 025 de 2007”. Sistema de Información Normativa, Jurisprudencial y de Conceptos "Régimen Legal" - Universidad Nacional de Colombia. 2007. [5] Agencia de Noticias UN, “La U.N. abre 60 cupos para bachilleres de Sumapaz. Bogotá D.C.” UNIMEDIOS, February 29, 2016. [Online]. Available:http://agenciadenoticias.unal.edu.co/detalle/article/la-un-abre-60-cupos-para-bachilleres-de-sumapaz.html [6] Secretaría General - Alcaldía Mayor de Bogotá D.C., “Estudiantes podrán ir a la universidad sin salir de Sumapaz”. Retrieved May 25, 2016, [Online], Available:http://www.bogota.gov.co/content/temas-de-ciudad/educacion/Estudiantes-podran-ir-a-universidad-en-Sumapaz [7] R. Mckeown, C. A. Hopkins, R. Rizzi and M. Chrystallbridge, “Manual de Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible”, 2nd ed. Centro de Energía, Medio Ambiente y Recursos de la Universidad de Tennessee, Knoxville (865):pp. 178, 2002. [8] J. L. Caradonna, “Sustainability. A History”. Oxford University Press, New York, 2014. [9] P. Vare and W. a. H Scott, “Learning for a Change: exploring the relationship between education and sustainable development”, Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 1(2):1–6., 2007. [10]N. Gaitán-Albarracín, “Ensamblaje del Programa Especial de Admisión y Movilidad Académica (PEAMA) Sumapaz mediante la teoría Actor-Red: Una experiencia de Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas (ABP)” Tesis de Maestría, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 2018.

[11] L. Díaz-Bravo, U. Torruco-García, M. Martínez-Hernández and M. Varela-Ruiz, “La entrevista, recurso flexible y dinámico”. Investigación en educación médica, 2(7), 162-167., 2013.