Florinella Muñoz, Rector, Escuela Politécnica Nacional (EPN)

Whether it is hydroelectric energy, oil, agriculture, or agribusiness specific to Ecuador, there is scarcely a field in which EPN’s graduates have not revolutionized the country’s resources.

• Interview

Ecuadorian universities in the QS World Universities Ranking faculties specialized in engineering fields and one technology institute

EPN’s history goes back to 1869. What role does it play in Ecuador’s national development?

Since its foundation, the university has had a defining impact on the scientific and technological development of Ecuador. EPN has advanced greatly over the years, introducing programs and career paths according to the needs of the country. For example, our students and teachers have been involved in the development of large hydroelectric plants, which are related to the main forms of energy production in Ecuador. Similarly, our professionals play an active role in the development of other key sectors such as oil and agriculture. We also have a faculty of chemical and agro-industrial engineering, not to mention a food department that focuses in particular on native Ecuadorian products such as cocoa, providing knowledge about the organoleptic properties related to its chemical composition.

What does the demand for jobs in the extractive sectors represent for the institution?

The professionals who graduated from our faculties of petroleum, chemical engineering, and other technical areas such as mechanical, electrical, and environmental engineering have gone on to assume important roles in Petroecuador, as well as foreign companies with operations in Ecuador, such as Schlumberger, Halliburton, and others. Many of our graduates also work for these institutions abroad. The experience our graduates have gained over the years has been crucial to the development of Ecuador’s hydrocarbons economy. Our graduates have also served the country as ministers and undersecretaries. Overall, the oil sector recruits the majority of our graduates, though we also plan to target more sectors. For example, we are restructuring the faculty of geology to better serve the mining sector. In this sense, our primary focus is postgraduate programs because they lead to more opportunities in the job market. EPN also offers the highest number of doctorate programs in Ecuador, not to mention several different master’s degrees that allow professionals to acquire more knowledge and do more research related to their fields.

What is your plan to form new partnerships with other international institutions?

Improving the institution’s international status is important to us, which is why we have been developing our student exchange programs to give our students the opportunity to present their ideas and projects or develop their final degree projects or thesis abroad. In addition to our professors traveling abroad to share their research, we also invite foreign professors to teach courses here. By improving the institution’s standing on the international stage, we aim to attract more foreign students, which will also enable us to improve the content and quality of our programs. We are a public university, and the majority of our students belong to low-income sectors, which is why we are proud that the training and education we provide gives them a global vision and transforms their lives and that of their families and communities. Our agreements with foreign universities and international companies play a key role in this, which is why we want to further expand our international cooperation with countries and companies.

What are your goals for 2020?

Notably, we entered the QS World Universities Ranking in 2019, one of four Ecuadorian universities on that list. EPN is also ranked highly by The Highest Education ranking. One of our goals is to improve our research capabilities. Given the resources on offer, the work that our researchers do is admirable. Around 1,800 of our publications are available on the Scopus database, and in 2018 alone we submitted 400 entries, including key studies in different fields of science. Our students and faculty members do cutting-edge and important research, representing a big chunk of the university’s contribution to the development of the country. We also hope to improve communication with industry and other productive sectors in order to better meet their specific needs. We hope to increase our academic offer with new careers and postgraduate programs. Finally, we are also working on implementing entrepreneurship training among our students. ✖

Florinella Muñoz RECTOR, ESCUELA POLITÉCNICA NACIONAL (EPN)