The Committee is formed by representatives of each School and a delegate of the School Services Coordination.

On Friday, August 24, 2018, Dr. Eduardo Ludeña, Rector of Yachay Tech University, officially appointed the members of the Internship and Community Liaison Committee of the University. The purpose of this Committee will be to manage community liaison in a more corporate manner, as it is the third pillar of the University, along with teaching and research. Besides the Rector and the members of the Committee, Joaquin Brito, PhD, Chancellor; Edgar Moncayo, School Services Coordinator; Helene Skikos, International Cooperation and Academic Exchanges Coordinator; and Jordi Cevallos, student representative, were also present during the swearing-in event .

Students and academic authorities were present because community liaison includes community service, pre-professional practices, internships, and teaching and research assistantships that take place as part of the academic activities in the University. Therefore, community liaison is a key element that must involve all members of the university. According to Edgar Moncayo, the entire faculty and administrative staff must support these activities and pre-professional practices done by students. Additionally, the University must destine at least 2% of its budget to these activities, as established by the Council of Quality Assurance of Higher Education.

Before appointing the members of the Committee, Rector Eduardo Ludeña stressed that community outreach activities at Yachay Tech must go along with research in benefit of society. For this reason, the Committee includes faculty members of each School and one delegate of the School Services Coordination. The members of the Committee are:

Ing. Paúl Mejía
Delegate of the School Services Coordination

Graciela Salum, Ph.D.
Professor of the School of Biological Sciences and Engineering

Eduardo Estévez, Ph.D.
Professor of the School of Physical Sciences and Engineering

Jorge Gómez, Ph.D.
Professor of the School of Geological Sciences and Engineering

Julio Armas, Ph.D.
Professor of the School of Mathematical Sciences and Information Technology

Juan Pablo Tafur, Ph.D.
Professor of the School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering

Luciana Samamé, Ph.D.
Professor of the School of Mathematical Sciences and Information Technology

Once the Committee had been appointed, Secretary Paúl Mejía, led the election of the president of the Committee. The members unanimously elected Graciela Salum as President of the Internship and Community Liaison Committee. As part of her initial speech, Salum requested support from the authorities in managing the Committee, especially in terms of approving the number of hours already done by students of the University. (MCB/MFF)