Study Abroad Events & Deadlines

On April 13th - April 16th, 2026 select representatives from the Universidad de la Costa in Barranquilla, Colombia will be visiting the University of Illinois for several events hosted by CSGGE (see below).

In addition to this, the group is eager to find ways to build collaborations with Illinois' campus. They have time during the week (Monday - Thursday) for various meetings. If you would like to engage with this group, please reach out to Anita Kaiser (arkaiser@illinois.edu) or Global Relations (iip-globalrelations@illinois.edu) for introductions. You can see their currently scheduled events below:

Events:

April 13th 4pm: “Weaving Resilience: Communities, Ecoysystems, and Knowledge from the Colombian Caribbean in Times of Socio-environmental Crisis”

April 14th 3-6pm: Student Dialogue: “Bridging Ancestral Knowledge and Scientific Research: Community Perspectives from the Caribbean”

April 15th Time TBD research panel as part of the Global Policy Forum (Panel Title: “Bridging Science and Governance”)

Delegates:

Ana Cristina de la Parra Guerra Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology and Professor at Universidad de la Costa (CUC). Her research in aquatic ecology and emerging contaminants provides critical data for environmental policy and ecotoxicological risk management in coastal ecosystems. As part of the ‘Orquídeas’ program, she bridges the gap between environmental science and public policy, advocating for gender-inclusive approaches in territorial governance and building socio-environmental resilience through applied scientific evidence.

Ana Carolina Torregroza Espinosa Ph.D. in Marine Science and Dean of Natural and Exact Sciences at Universidad de la Costa (CUC). She leads interdisciplinary academic and extension processes that integrate biodiversity conservation with public policy for environmental management and peacebuilding. Her work focuses on scaling community-based ancestral knowledge into regional governance models, using applied research on coastal ecosystems to inform sustainable development policies and equitable growth frameworks in the Colombian Caribbean.

Dariana Cecilia Zapata Lozada Project manager at Universidad de la Costa (CUC), specialized in the governance of science, technology, and innovation (CTeI) initiatives. She coordinates complex projects co-financed by the General System of Royalties (SGR) and MinCiencias, focusing on translating scientific research into public policy instruments. Her work promotes sustainable productive transformation and engagement by fostering strategic alliances between academia, government, and vulnerable communities in the Colombian Caribbean to empower women and youth through applied knowledge transfer.