Formulación de Líneas de Investigación en las Facultades de Ingeniería Ambiental para la Formación de Profesionales Científicos e Innovadores

Abstract

Research is an essential process in the development of higher education that provides a broader context of the area of knowledge under study, allowing it to be projected towards new questions that allow teachers and scientists to arrive at answers that solve regional or global problems. In this context, the area of study of environmental sciences and environmental engineering face the great global challenge of achieving sustainable development of all productive sectors, without affecting the environment and respecting the communities. But nevertheless, Many faculties of environmental engineering have structured research models that have become obsolete after global events such as the 2030 Agenda with the definition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the standardization by quality management organizations (ISO 9001), environmental management (ISO 14001) and occupational health and safety management (ISO 45001). That is why this study focuses on establishing a proposal for contextualized lines of research both in the SDGs and with the ISO standards, so that they contribute to sustainable solutions to regional and / or global environmental problems. These lines of research are generated with a connotation of high regional specificity, promoting the generation of new knowledge in a multi-context, inter- and transdisciplinary. To achieve this objective, a systematic method of classification and articulation is proposed between the curriculum, commonly developed in environmental engineering programs, the 17 themes raised in the sustainable development objectives, the integrated management systems and the types of research that they are developed regionally. This method is applied to the case study of the Environmental Engineering program of the Santo Tomás University in Colombia, seeking a methodology that can be replicated by other programs and universities, so that new lines of research are proposed regionally, but contributing to the solution of the global problems raised in the SDGs. As results for the particular case study of the Environmental Engineering program of the Santo Tomás University, four lines of research were established: a) environment, society and education; b) management of natural and ecosystem resources; c) green economy, territory and business management; and d) technology, bioengineering and sustainable innovation. The definition of these lines of research makes it possible to articulate all the research processes that are developed in a faculty of environmental engineering, including the themes developed in classroom projects by undergraduate students, thesis work at the undergraduate, master's and doctorate levels, the training of new researchers, the generation of new knowledge and the creation of technological innovations and developments. Both the methodology to define research lines in environmental engineering, as well as the research lines themselves, are an important contribution to the evaluation, redefinition and restructuring of research processes and university extension in higher education centers in Latin America.