The Faculty of Geosciences Engineering (FICT) celebrates the approval and funding of the STARS project – Spatial Tools for Assessing Risks in Sudden Natural Hazards, selected in the prestigious Erasmus+ call for Capacity Building in Higher Education.
This institutional milestone is the result of perseverance and academic excellence, succeeding in our second application and reaffirming FICT's commitment to global-impact research.
Innovation against disasters
The STARS project’s primary objective is to strengthen the prevention and mitigation of sudden disasters—such as earthquakes, landslides, and floods—in the equatorial regions of South America. To achieve this, cutting-edge technologies will be employed, including:
Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Geospatial Artificial Intelligence.
Building Information Modeling (BIM).
Earth observation data.
Through STARS, innovative courses will be developed, specialized laboratories will be modernized, and e-learning environments will be implemented, enhancing university capacities in Ecuador and Colombia.
International Strategic Alliance
The project is led by the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and co-led by ESPOL, consolidating a high-level collaboration network with:
Lund University (Sweden).
Universidad Técnica del Norte (Ecuador).
Universidad Industrial de Santander (Colombia).
Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia (Colombia).
FICT Research Team
Project management at ESPOL is led by Andrés Velástegui, Ph.D., who heads a multidisciplinary team composed of:
Faculty and researchers: Josselyne Solórzano, Daniella Mora, David Valverde, and Samuel Mora.
PhD students: Divar Castro and David Freire.
