Main content

Universidad Técnica Nacional (UTN)

The UTN is the fifth public university founded in Costa Rica on the basis of the law No. 8638 published in the national newspaper La Gaceta on 4 June, 2008. Its establishment stems from the amalgamation of the following five colleges: Colegio Universitario de Alajuela (CUNA), Escuela Centroamericana de Ganadería (ECAG), Colegio Universitario de Riego y Drenaje del Trópico Seco (CURDTS), Colegio Universitario de Puntarenas (CUP), Centro de Investigación y Perfeccionamiento para la Educación Técnica (CIPET) as well as el Centro de Formación de Formadores (CEFOF). The UTN’s goal is to attend to the country's needs of scientific, technical and technological education at all levels of university education. Hence, its guideline points out the following:

The aim is to offer an excellent integral education in the context of modern knowledge society, concentrating its academic program on the scientific, technical and technological field, on high-quality investigation and innovation as fundamental elements for human development that respects the environment and includes the productive sectors.

The UTN has committed itself to optimizing the learning processes in line with the requirements and challenges of a globalized society, technical education and socio-productive (labor) markets.

Therefore, the Center for Pedagogic Training and Technological Education (CFPTE) is in charge of the continuous teacher training and strives to promote the integral development of the academic community and to bring about change where it is needed in order to optimize the University’s learning processes. To this end, the development of training programs, advanced vocational training and refresher courses is geared towards improvements in the educational field which tends towards the introduction of new digital technologies, innovation as well as research on knowledge transfer.

Furthermore, the CFPTE offers the courses “Pedagogic Mediation” (Master) and “Teaching with focus on technology” (Bachelor) targeting candidates who already have a university degree in any kind of technology. This training allows them to work as teachers, tutors, trainers, consultants or instructors.