Andres Bello Catholic University

Introduction

UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA ANDRÉS BELLO (UCAB)is a higher education institution founded in Caracas the 24thofOctober 1953 by the Society of Jesus. FACILITIES UCAB MONTALBAN: Main campus of theuniversity is located at the southwestern limit of the Caracas Valley atMontalban. The campus has 310,000 square meters of which 75,000 are dedicatedto classrooms, laboratories, computer labs, library, auditorium, sportsfacilities, food fairs, coffee shops, administration services and parking, and 35,000 square meters of green areas and path walks. COMMUNITY CENTER PADREMANUEL AGUIRRE S.J: Just across main campus,several organizations’ coexist aiming to contribute to the improvement of lifeconditions of less favored neighboring communities. Among them Centro de SaludSanta Inés, a medical attention center for the community. UCAB GUAYANA:is the UCAB campuslocated in Puerto Ordaz, Estado Bolivar. It is the second largest campus inboth extension and number of students. With over 2000 students, the academicoffer includes Business administration, Social Sciences, Social Communication,Law, Educationas well as Civil, Industrial and Computer Engineering. It also offers several options for postgraduate studies such as Business Administration, Management, Law, History and IndustrialEngineering (http://guayanaweb.ucab.edu.ve). UCAB CORO, UCAB LOSTEQUES, UCAB LA CASTELLANA, ITER-UCAB: UCAB has four other campuses two of which are located in Caracas, one in Miranda state and another in Falcon state. FACTS 16.000 undergraduatestudents 4.000 graduatestudents 1.700 faculty 100 research staff 69.000 professionals ACADEMIC OFFER 5 COLLEGES: Economic and Social Sciences; Law;Humanities and Education; Engineering; and Theology. 16 UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS: Business Administration;Public Accounting; Economics; Sociology; Industrial Relations; Law; Literature;Psychology; Social Communications with its three specialties: Advertizing, Journalism,and Film & Media; Education with its six specialties: Pre-School, SocialSciences, Physics & Mathematics, Pedagogical, Philosophy, and Chemistry &Biology; Philosophy; Theology; Industrial Engineering; Computing Engineering; TelecommunicationsEngineering; and Civil Engineering. 100 GRADUATE PROGRAMS: specializations, master’sdegrees, and doctoral degrees in the areas of Economic Sciences; Administration and Business Management; Humanities and Education; Law; Engineering; andTheology. LANGUAGE CENTER: it holds a wide range of language programswith emphasis on Spanish and English as foreign languages. INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY PROGRAM: summer programs andexchanges up to two semesters in any of more than 30 allied universities fromLatin America, United States, Germany, France, and Spain. This program offersto UCAB’s and foreign students the possibility to complement the human formationand academic training acquiring a global vision of today’s society andchallenges. ACADEMIC TRAINING AND EXTENSION: leveling courses andprograms and academic complementarity. INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR PROFFESSIONAL ACTUALIZATION: certificates,professional upgrade, and short programs offered by the International Centerfor Professional Actualization (CIAP). UCAB SERVICES: organizational consulting and assessmentat all entrepreneurship areas offered to the productive and institutional sectors of the country and the world. INSTITUTES AND RESEARCH CENTERS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SCIENCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE: it develops research themes in the areas ofeconomy, labour relations, demography, policies, poverty, and violence. HISTORY RESEARCH INSTITUTE: it researches on territorialhistory of Venezuela, history of the church in Venezuela, history of mentalities, history of the ideas in the Americas, history of linguistics inVenezuela, history of family, history of genre in Hispanic Americaand foreignrelations history of Venezuela and Latin America. INSTITUTE OF LEGAL RESEARCH: it engages in the research of children’s rights, economicdelinquency, administration of justice, citizen’s safety, and delinquencycontrol. CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: it is oriented towards the research within the areas of freedomof speech and information, refugees’ human rights, right to participation, andInter-American Human Rights. RESEARCH CENTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: it is committed to the research of the history ofjournalism, information and communication technology, media and socialrepresentation, political communication, freedom of speech as well as community-based journalism. ENGINEER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER: it develops projects within the areas ofenvironmental education and non-formaleducation, through information and communication technologies. CENTER FOR HUMANISTIC RESEARCH AND TRAINING: mainly focuses on three areas: values, democracy,and youth culture. INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH AND ASSESSMENT CENTER: analyzesand evaluates the development of academic excellence in UCAB ONLINE STUDIES CENTER: responsible for the developmentof the online academic offer supported by ICT. LIBRARY AND UNIVERSITY PRESS: 350,000 volumes and near1,000 published titles from UCAB Press; it promotes and communicatesUCAB Research. STUDENT DEVELOPMENT The Office ofthe Dean for Student Development contributes to personal, professional andcommunity-basedtraining, development of the students. CENTER FOR COUNSELING AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: responsiblefor promoting the psychological growth of the members of UCAB community andstrengthening comprehensive professionals training. CULTURE: responsible for channeling student´s artisticinterests through a variety of cultural groups such as the UCAB Choir, Chamber Group, Theater Club, Storyteller, and the folk and contemporary dances, among others. ATHLETICS: more than 1,000 square meters of facilitiesin which students may play sports such as basketball, baseball, football,volley-ball, kicking ball, rugby and tae kwon and aikido. PASTORAL: in charge of encouraging and promoting lifeexperiences which will feed contemplation, generate bonding and cultivatespiritual values and commitment. COMMUNITY OUTREACH: responsible for coordinating the volunteering groups of teachers andstudents from UCAB Schools who work on a number of projects and programs for socialaction in the areas of entrepreneurship,strengthening of organizations & community- based enterprises, strengtheningof telematic networks, consulting of civil works, management of solid waste andprotection of the environment, legal advice, counseling, and education, and allactions aiming to develop socially vulnerable communities surrounding UCAB. INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS: Every year hundreds of UCAB Students attend more than 20 international competitions. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND AGREEMENTS: UCAB maintains agreements ofacademic cooperation and partnerships with more than 30 universities andorganizations in the Americas, the Caribbean and Europe. Also, UCAB is member of the Association of universities entrusted to the Society of Jesus in LatinAmerica - inter-university network on a voluntary basis which articulates to 30 universities and institutions of higher education in 14 countries in LatinAmerica. (www.ausjal.org). IFCU: International Federation of Catholic universities. OUI:Inter-American Organization for higher education.