The Contribution in STI of the Higher Education Institutions of Cauca for the Peace Building and Social Inclusion

Abstract

The institutional commitment of the implementation of the Peace Agreement (Final Agreement for the Termination of the Conflict and the Construction of a Stable and Lasting Peace), between the national Government and the FARC-EP in La Habana, translates into the implementation of territorial peace, which can be understood as the return of the State to territories devoid of governmental institutions. For the department of Cauca, the challenges of its implementation are carried out by the state, the communities, the STI system and the HEI. Hence the need to establish the contribution of HEI from actions in STI for the construction of territorial peace. To advance on this purpose, the research incorporated quantitative and qualitative methodologies in five higher education institutions of the Department: Universidad del Cauca, Corporación Universitaria Autónoma del Cauca, Fundación Universitaria de Popayán, Institución Universitaria Colegio Mayor del Cauca and Corporación Universitaria Comfacauca. The review of their development plans allows us to deduce that, although the development plans lack to link specific strategies in terms of the implementation of territorial peace, it is possible to identify STI initiatives that have allowed social inclusion from the work with organizations and associations; the transmission of knowledge to optimize production processes, the development of technologies to reduce the digital divide, support in the design, implementation, and evaluation of public policies and the training of human talent to promote competitiveness and innovation in the department of Cauca.