The Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering and Civil Engineering programs of the Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS) were internationally accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Natural and Applied Sciences (ANSAC) of ABET.

“Thus, it concludes in a very positive way the process of articulation and collective work that began in 2017 the deanships of the two faculties of Engineering of the University, when they undertook the phases of enlistment and documentary preparation with a view to achieving ABET accreditation for four programs; after which followed the peer visit in October 2021, and the subsequent exchange between the University and the delegates of the non-governmental agency from the United States. According to the findings that are part of the ABET EAC Commission’s statement, our undergraduate programs in Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering and Civil Engineering have been fully evaluated and fully comply with the policies, procedures and criteria applicable to this type of professional training programs,” says Rector Hernán Porras Díaz.

The three careers constitute a substantial part of the academic offer that the UIS has been making to the citizens since 1948, 1954 and 1964, respectively.

“It is a great achievement that has been obtained, we take a step further and we are recognized internationally. Both students, employers and the society we serve can be sure that the program meets these quality standards demanded of us by international organizations. This is a guarantee that we are opening frontiers with these new metallurgical engineers that we train at the School to enter the global workforce,” says Ana Emilse Coy Echeverría, director of the School of Metallurgical Engineering.

This accreditation is the seal that guarantees the quality of the University, the academic programs, about the search for excellence and continuous improvement.

“This is an achievement because it shows that in the program excellent work was done, of quality. It is a process of continuous improvement, we have just obtained accreditation, but the work continues, because we want the Mechanical Engineering program to have professionals with high quality ABET competencies”, emphasizes Diego Fernando Villegas Bermúdez, director of the School of Mechanical Engineering.

In turn, Wilfredo Del Toro Rodríguez, director of the School of Civil Engineering, affirms that “This international accreditation is very important because it is a recognition beyond the borders of Colombia of the quality of the program and not only for the School but also the University because an external institution, exactly from the United States, has already recognized four programs as high quality, two from the School of Physical and Mechanical Engineering and two from the School of Physical and Chemical Engineering. This ratifies the quality of the program since 2000 when we obtained the first national accreditation; in other words, the quality of the Civil Engineering program is being corroborated both nationally and internationally”.

On his part, Rector Hernán Porras Díaz, said: “We would like to congratulate, in a very special way, the professors who have served during the last six years as heads of the faculties of Physicomechanical Engineering and Physicochemical Engineering, as well as the officials who make up their work teams, since the deans have been responsible for much of the efforts and the hard work that has had to be done to achieve these very important international accreditations. At the same time, we express our appreciation to the directors, professors, students, administrators and graduates of the three schools that manage the accredited programs, for their commitment to achieving this seal of quality.

With ABET international accreditation, students, employers and society can be sure that a program offered by a given university meets quality standards and that its graduates are prepared to enter the international labor market.

The ABET Accreditation process focuses on the continuous evaluation of the development of specific competencies by students while incorporating strategies for improvement, so that 100% of the students will have appropriate competencies at the end of the program.