The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito signed a framework cooperation agreement on May 4 to strengthen the management of transport infrastructure in Ecuador through collaboration between the public sector and academia.
This partnership aims to encourage information sharing between the two institutions and create opportunities for student internships. The state road network will serve as a large-scale testing laboratory, contributing to professional training as well as institutional modernization.
Paolo Carpio, Vice Minister of Infrastructure at the ministry, and Diego Quiroga, rector of USFQ, both signed the agreement. They said this strategic alliance will allow academic technical knowledge to be applied in evaluating, monitoring, and maintaining bridges and roads. “This will make it possible to detect faults early, prioritize interventions, extend the lifespan of structures, reduce risks for users, and optimize public management,” they said.
Carpio said that “it is vitally important to have a methodology adapted to national realities that can support decision-making. This development is now a shared responsibility between academia and the ministry.” He added that for many years the ministry was distant from such collaborations but now President Daniel Noboa and Minister Roberto Luque have made it clear how important it is for students to understand problems firsthand in order to propose solutions from their classrooms with an eye toward improving connectivity across Ecuador.
According to Carpio, these efforts are part of broader government work through the ministry aimed at improving road safety, optimizing decisions about infrastructure maintenance, promoting efficient management practices in Ecuador’s transport sector, and creating positive impacts for society.
