La Universidad de La Sabana is a non-profit private institution of higher education, work of the corporate apostolate of Opus Dei, founded in Colombia on September 1979. It´s extensive campus (78 hectares) is located in the town of Chía, which is located 20 minutes from the capital. La Universidad de La Sabana is part of a small group of institutions of higher education in Colombia with High Quality Institutional Accreditation.
The University offers 136 academic programs: 24 undergraduate, 42 Specializations, 42 Masters and 9 PhD.. La Universidad de La Sabana has 11,808 undergraduate and graduate students. One of its strengths is the Personalized Guidance offered to the students as an integrated formation strategy. La Universidad de La Sabana has a strong scholarship program that annually awards more than 2,800 scholarships to undergraduate students; it is highly recognized nationally for its leadership in internationalization. Due to COVID-19, the University released a new scholarship and financial aid plan for the students and their families. This plan includes: provide computers to students that don´t have these devices at home, so they can keep up with online classes, alimentary aids, and psychological support.
The University has over 90 agreements of student exchange with different countries. It offers a Spanish course for foreigners, in which more than 700 international students have been enrolled in the last five years, and Short Summer Courses that offer the opportunity for students to learn about Latin American culture in one of the most diverse countries in the region. Its Business School, INALDE has formed more than 4,000 executives in the country. Its MBA is notable for being accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and Senior Management Program (PADE), addressed to owners and presidents of national and international companies. Through its Clinic, La Universidad de La Sabana provides integrated health care and contributes to the education of students in the area of health with research and teaching activities. The Clinic is renowned in the region for its specialized services in rehabilitation offered to people with physical disabilities.
Universidad de La Sabana’s School of Engineering, jointly with the School of Medicine, the University Hospital (Clinica Universidad de La Sabana) and the Fundación Neumológica Colombiana, developed a fast-track prototype of an invasive mechanical ventilator, capable of providing the respiratory support required by COVID-19 patients in respiratory failure to preserve life.
The initiative originated after the University Hospital was designated as sentinel hospital for the Cundinamarca state, to provide support to possible Coronavirus cases in the North Bogotá region and the región, on a critical race against the virus that has already taken several lives in Colombia and thousands all around the world. “With and interdisciplinary team, they have designed and fabricated an invasive mechanical ventilator for COVID-19 patients. It’s a simple, low-cost device, that meets the functionalities and standards required for this type of patients”, says Obdulio Velásquez Posada, Rector of Universidad de La Sabana.
