Through these services, the University engages and collaborates with the social and business sectors to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and to seek solutions to their problems, with the goal of contributing to an improved quality of life for the community. These services are offered in the following modalities:

Advising: this consists of the comprehensive search for solutions or the issuance of expert opinions by the University to support decision-making processes, without involving specific operational developments. Through this service, there is a transfer of technology and knowledge to the organization, which leads to significant and lasting changes.

Consulting: these are specialized opinions provided in response to specific requests, which do not involve a significant transfer of technology. This activity aims to ensure that the proposed solutions are the most appropriate from technical, economic, and social perspectives.

Technical Assistance: this refers to the cooperation provided by the University to both public and private sector entities for solving specific, temporary problems. It generally involves the use of instruments, operational developments, system installations, or the implementation of processes.

Project Supervision: this involves verifying that the development or execution of a project is carried out in accordance with the specifications, plans, standards, and other elements established or agreed upon in the contract. This oversight is conducted on behalf of the entity commissioning the project.

Public Oversight: this is a form of supervision carried out for social purposes, commonly aimed at defending the interests of the general public in the development of projects with public impact.

These services include analysis, laboratory testing and trials, as well as the transfer, innovation, and development of processes and products resulting from research and teaching activities carried out by the various academic and administrative units.

These services include both academic internships and non-formal education.

Academic internships: internships represent the University’s commitment to society, seeking to apply theoretical knowledge to concrete socioeconomic and cultural situations, with the purpose of validating knowledge, developing professional skills, and directly addressing the needs of the community.

Internships pursue two main objectives:

• Academic: to achieve greater qualification of both faculty and students, to promote an appropriate interrelation between theoretical and practical aspects of different fields of knowledge, and to enrich the academic value of curricular processes.

• Social: to develop programs and projects that contribute to the improvement of real conditions in the social environment, by involving faculty and students in these activities.

Academic internships may take various forms: assistance-based, community-based, service-oriented, educational, diagnostic, and intervention-focused, in both public and private sector institutions. This category includes, among others, corporate internships and the social service modality, both of which are recognized as degree work options under the undergraduate academic regulations.

Non-formal education: a set of organized teaching-learning activities designed to complement, update, or provide knowledge and training in academic or professional areas. These activities do not lead to an academic degree and are not subject to the levels of the Colombian Formal Education System.

The University offers non-formal education through:

• Permanent or continuing education, aimed at professionals to support their ongoing development and ensure up-to-date knowledge in their respective fields. These activities are carried out through diploma programs, courses, seminars, workshops, internships, conferences, or symposiums, in face-to-face, blended, and distance-learning formats.

• Training activities for individuals and community groups.

This is an academic service modality involving direct attention to the community through the application of skills and competencies acquired during the students’ educational training. Its primary purpose is to contribute to improving the population’s living conditions and to address specific issues related to the fields of knowledge from various areas of study. It includes teaching assistance services in health and legal areas, such as legal clinics, as well as various community engagement activities.

These activities are aimed at contributing to the affirmation of socio-cultural identity, the comprehensive education of the university population, and the personal growth of all members of the community, by promoting awareness and appreciation of the various forms of artistic and cultural expression.

Cultural, artistic, and sports activities may be offered in different formats: conferences, workshops, seminars, courses, exhibitions, concerts, theater performances, contests, competitions, recreational activities, and similar events.

This includes the various services through which the University disseminates its work or interacts with the scientific community and the general public, by means of radio and television programs, publication of journals, newspapers, newsletters, and similar media.