The future of cities depends on whether they can respond to rapid technological change and the challenges of climate change in the coming years. This is only possible if science, technology and innovation are promoted; Education is strengthened, and millions of young people are trained in careers and trades related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. That is one of the objectives of the District Agency for Higher Education, Science and Technology (Atenea)which came into operation since 2021.
During the last 3 years, Atenea has promoted the articulation between secondary and post-media education, promoting academic and labor training in sectors in accordance with the productive needs of the city, coordinating scientific and technological-based projects to face the city’s challenges, and betting on the dissemination and social appropriation of knowledge.
A distinctive element of Atenea consists of understanding post-media education as a system that goes beyond university studies. That is to say, encourages both the entry of young people into higher education institutions, as well as education and training for work focused on those productive sectors that require specialized and qualified personnel who do not necessarily have to go through university or technological institutes.
“We must understand that people’s life projects differ and not everyone wants to go to university but rather train in jobs that not only fulfill them, but also offer them the opportunity to progress. For this reason, it is necessary to build a very robust and high-quality job training system. There are young people who want to be, for example, cosmetologists or drivers, and we have to provide opportunities so that they have a very good training,” explained Víctor Saavedra, director of Atenea.
With a transversal strategy that includes a scholarship program in private universities, promotion plans for public universities and SENA and training and education for work, which will benefit 32,000 young people in the next three years, The District and Atenea seek to increase the transition rate from secondary to post-secondary education (including job training) from 64 to 70 percent.
Added to this is the launch of the Capital Talent program, articulated with the District Route for Young People with Opportunities, aimed at the certified training of 20,000 young people who neither study nor work. Innovative financing mechanisms aimed at the city’s middle-income population are also being designed and adapted.
In this way, Bogotá builds a strategy that “Think about the different population groups, about low-income households, about low-income households, about those young people who neither study nor work.; at the same time he understands that not everyone has the same life project,” explained Saavedra.
Atenea’s various programs also seek to attack the problem of social gaps in access to post-secondary education, one of the biggest problems that the country has. In Bogotá there are few opportunities for vulnerable populations such as victims of conflict, Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, and LGBTQ+ people. To overcome these barriers, Antena’s scholarship programs, such as Jóvenes a la E, take into consideration the situation of vulnerability and exclusion of these communities to grant incentives.
However, it is not only enough to promote the transition to post-secondary education, it is also necessary for Bogotá to continue being the main pole of economic development in the country. This is achieved by directing the capital’s economy towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution. “If we do not focus on science, technology and innovation, competitive companies will not be created, and therefore there will be no employment opportunities or increases in economic growth. For this reason, from the Mayor’s Office we are seeking to energize the city’s science, technology and innovation ecosystem,” said Saavedra.
To meet this goal, Atenea announced the Bogotá Cientifica program, through which it will invest 120 billion pesos in scientific research, training of human talent, appropriation of scientific knowledge, and development and promotion of high-impact ventures.
Historically, the country’s capital has led the economic growth and productive development of the country. Bogotá registers a greater investment than the national average in R&D, 0.4% compared to 0.2% as a proportion of GDP. However, maintaining this position requires Bogota residents with continuous educational and training trajectories once they complete secondary education, as well as scientists and entrepreneurs who mark the route of the city’s industrial development based on science, technology and innovation. This is Atenea’s commitment, to make Bogotá a city based on knowledge.
