Under the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Ministerio de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación) -Minciencias, formerly Colciencias- serves as the public entity that leads, guides, and coordinates the national policy in science, technology and innovation, as well as the National System of Science, Technology and Innovation. Through this role, it seeks to generate and integrate knowledge into the social, economic, cultural and territorial development of the country by focusing its efforts on four main areas: education for research, research, innovation, and scientific culture.  

The goal of Minciencias is to create better conditions for the development of Colombia’s scientific and technological knowledge; to stimulate the innovative capacity of the productive sector; to have the capacity to use, create, and acquire knowledge; to improve the support services for scientific research, to develop technology and innovation; to facilitate the public approbation of knowledge; to consolidate the National System of Science, Technology and Innovation, and in general, be able to boost the creativity of Colombian citizens in order to improve quality of life.  

For more information, please visit Minciencias’ website.

“[The Colombian] government recognizes research-creation as a new activity of science, technology, and innovation. For this reason, we at Colciencias propose different strategies that promote the development of the creative and cultural industries based on knowledge, which constitute a mega sector of constant growth that contributes significantly to social inclusion, cultural diversity, and human development” 

Diego Hernández Losada, Director of Colciencias

Minciencias partnered with the Innovation Fund to foster higher education partnerships and student academic training & exchanges for the following grant competitions: