Editorial
In previous editorial notes from Ingeniería e Investigación some of the impacts that the new measurement model of Research Groups at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia has had were reviewed (Narvaez, 2014), (Pavas, 2015). In the last measurement there was a reduction of 43% in the number of groups classified as A1 (102 in 2013, 58 in 2014). The reasons for this change can be very diverse: the productivity of groups, the change of the model, diverse logistic issues and barriers to entry and adjust products in the CvLAC and GrupLAC platform, among others. The production of new knowledge from the research groups of any higher educational institution is largely developed by doctoral students. Considering the above, in this editorial I would like to briefly review the entailment of students to PhD programs of the Faculty of Engineering.
Currently, the Faculty of Engineering has seven doctoral programs: Science and Technology of Materials - CyTM, Systems and Computer - SyC, Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics - MyM, Chemical Engineering - Q, Industry and Organizations – IyO, Electrical Engineering - E. PhD programs in Civil Engineering and Geotechnics - CyG were recently merged.
According to the data provided by the Universidad Nacional Admissions Office1 to the Doctoral School of the Engineering Faculty about the candidates admitted to PhD programs in Engineering, 342 applicants have been admitted between 2008 and 20152. The two programs with highest admission were Materials Science and Technology, with 82 students admitted (10.3 admitted per year), and Systems and Computing, with 71 (8.9 adm / year). Mechanical and Mechatronics follows with 44 (5.5 adm / year), Chemistry with 43 (5.4 adm / year) Electrical with 42 (5.3 adm / year) and Industry and Organizations with 40 (5.0 adm / year). The Civil Engineering and Geotechnics PhD program has had 20 students admitted in the last eight years, with an average of 2.0 per year. Table 1 summarises the above listed data.
Tabla 1. Admitted to Doctoral Programme in Engineering.
|
Year |
CyTM |
SyC |
MyM |
Q |
E |
IyO |
CyG |
TOTAL |
|
2008 |
15 |
9 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
26 |
|
2009 |
6 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
11 |
|
2010 |
12 |
15 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
42 |
|
2011 |
10 |
7 |
9 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
2 |
43 |
|
Year |
CyTM |
SyC |
MyM |
Q |
E |
IyO |
CyG |
TOTAL |
|
2012 |
3 |
8 |
1 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
30 |
|
2013 |
9 |
7 |
5 |
8 |
9 |
9 |
0 |
47 |
|
2014 |
17 |
17 |
12 |
16 |
12 |
6 |
11 |
91 |
|
2015 |
10 |
5 |
10 |
1 |
9 |
11 |
6 |
52 |
|
TOTAL |
82 |
71 |
44 |
43 |
42 |
40 |
20 |
342 |
Source: National Admissions Office, National University of Colombia.
It is worth mentioning that each program has a different intake schedule, some have semi-annual admission and others have an annual one; additionally, students admitted by the transition from masters to PhD should not fit the regular schedule. The annual admission to each program does not show a uniform pattern of growth; it increases and decreases throughout the years. Figure 1 shows how the admission to each doctoral program has evolved in recent years.
Figure 1. Admitted to Doctoral Programme in Engineering.
Source: National Admissions Office, National University of Colombia
With regard to the evolution of the admission along time, Figure 2 shows a growing trend in admission to doctorate in Engineering.
Figure 2. Admitted to the Doctorate in Engineering per year.
Source: National Admissions Office, National University of Colombia
Between 2010 and 2013 an average intake of 41 students per year is observed, with a notable change between 2013 and 2015, reaching 63 students admitted per year on average. In 2014 a peak of 91 admitted students can be observed, which represents not only the largest admission in recent years, but the maximum intake in the history of doctorates in engineering from the Universidad Nacional, Bogotá. Figure 3 shows the growing trend of admission to doctoral programs.
Figure 3. Admitted to the Doctorate in Engineering per year.
Source: National Admissions Office, National University of Colombia.
Since 2013, Colciencias changed the methodology for designating the Scholarship winners for doctoral studies in the country, annually allocating a specific number of scholarships for each doctoral program and delegating the responsibility for the selection and assignment to the Universities. The allocation of a Colciencias scholarship-loan currently requires that the applicant is admitted to the doctoral program to which he or she has applied; before this, the student could apply without being yet admitted, but with no guaranteed admission, some applicants would have funding but no effective admission. By applying the new methodology, the University has the opportunity to offer another mean of funding applicants that differs from the methodology previous to 2013, which enticed students to compete individually and not necessarily guaranteed their admission to the program. The new methodology offers applicants a greater certainty on the financing of their studies and guarantees their entailment to the selected program; this makes grants resources to be better exploited and, hence, as shown in the data presented above, admission is greater.
The present Ingeniería e Investigación edition contains 13 articles on Mechanical, Civil, Chemical, Electrical, Systems and Computing Engineering. We present to our readers this selection of material with the hope that it will be of most useful and possible projection. Once again, we would like to acknowledge the contributions of all authors and reviewers. We invite all our readers to continue sharing your work.
Andrés Pavas
Assistant Professor
Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department
Director Ingeniería e Investigación Journal
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
References
Narváez Rincón, P. C. (2014). Editorial. Ingeniería e Investigación, 34(1), 3-4.
Pavas, A. (2015). Editorial. Ingeniería e Investigación, 35(1), 3-4.