New project in Latin America for Real Estate & Planning

Dr Claudia Murray from the School of Real Estate & Planning will be directing an international and interdisciplinary team of experts to improve research and innovation in Colombia. Funded by the British Council, the project will deliver capacity building across the country via a combination of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and in country workshops. The project will specifically target Science Technology and Innovation (ST&I) areas with the objective of bringing cutting edge international standards into all geographical regions of Colombia. The final aim is to reduce regional inequalities in ST&I and improve competitiveness of the country as a whole.

Colombia has undergone an important transformation that has culminated with the signing of the Peace agreement in June 2016. This has put an end to 50 years of internal conflict and has opened the doors for a new era of prosperity. Supporting science and research as well as bringing equal opportunities to all regions, is a smart move taken by the Colombian Research Council (Colciencias) in order to bring closer this goal of prosperity.

The School of Real Estate & Planning is in a privileged position to be working at such momentous times in Colombia, sharing their expertise alongside colleagues from the University of Oxford and Statistics for Sustainable Development –a University of Reading spin-off. The team also includes a group of Colombian consultants under the leadership of Maria del Rosario Hidalgo from Geografia Urbana in Bogota, as well as two University of Reading alumni who are now based in Colombia. The beneficiaries of the £280,000 project is not only Colciencias, but also a network of Colombian researchers, academics, government officials and policymakers who will be recruited specifically for this project to receive ST&I training by the project’s team.