Bridging Academia and Industry: Horizonte 2025 Strengthens Alliances for Internationalization and the Talent of Tomorrow
On November 19 and 20, IBERO held Horizonte Bogotá 2025 with the purpose of strengthening employability, internationalization processes, and engagement with the productive sector. The event brought together 574 attendees—including students, alumni, faculty, and business leaders—at the Radisson Metrotel Hotel in Bogotá, highlighting the need and value of creating spaces that promote employability, entrepreneurship, and meaningful connections between academia and industry.
The initiative seeks to position the institution as a key player in labor inclusion and collaboration with companies, presenting its services and actions aimed at boosting more solid, diverse, and market-aligned career paths.
Connecting Talent, Companies, and Job Opportunities
The event opened with a breakfast with 25 business leaders, a strategic space where IBERO facilitated dialogue between academia and the productive sector to identify needs in employability, training, and research. During the breakfast, Monserrat Civera, Academic Director of Planeta Formación y Universidades, delivered remarks focused on fostering strong connections with the productive ecosystem as part of the institution’s commitment to education and professional development.
Meanwhile, students and alumni participated in an employability and entrepreneurship fair, where they interacted with 22 invited companies and 16 startups, accessing over 2,000 job openings across all fields of study. Additionally, alumni speakers shared insights on how innovation and creativity can transform realities and open new horizons.
Conversations were also held with prominent business leaders and faculty deans, who discussed sector trends, emerging professional profiles, and employability pathways—reaffirming the institution’s strong commitment to comprehensive support for career development.
Future of Work and Global Opportunities
The event concluded with a panel titled The Challenge of Labor Skills in the Age of AI, led by Ricardo Gómez, University President; Fernanda Sarmiento, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences; Mauricio Sabogal, Dean of the Faculty of Business Sciences; Carme Hernández, Expert in Teaching and Educational Methodologies at Planeta Formación y Universidades; and María Claudia Gnecco, Global HRBP Head at LLYC. The panel explored the key competencies that will shape the future of work and the challenges brought by technological transformation.
The space brought together students, faculty, alumni, operators, and SMEs, fostering a deep conversation about the future of human talent and the importance of continuous learning. Among the key reflections, the University President remarked: “One of today’s greatest challenges for human beings is maintaining their own judgment in the face of the information provided by artificial intelligence.”
During the Q&A session, a question was raised about strategies to ensure inclusive training in emerging skills. “We need a more direct collaboration between academia and companies for our future graduates, since they are the ones we must truly prepare. Companies should be more present and benefit from working with young people they can help train and collaborate with,” noted Carme Hernández.
Later, Jennifer Gaviria, Director of the Career Development Center at EAE Barcelona, and Úrsula Molina, Employability Manager at EAE Business School Barcelona, led the talk International Career Opportunities, expanding the perspective on job openings available in other countries.
The talk explored how internationalization becomes a key axis for young people seeking to expand their career possibilities beyond their local context. This reinforced IBERO’s commitment to providing its community with a global vision and the tools needed to compete in international environments.
Recognitions for Strategic Partners
A special moment was dedicated to highlighting how the comprehensive training of students is strengthened through the commitment and collaboration of strategic partners, enabling real-world learning experiences. Companies were recognized for their outstanding role in entrepreneurial internships, as well as public entities contributing to the professional development of the IBERO community.
Additionally, the Diversity Chamber renewed IBERO’s corporate membership, further consolidating the institution as a committed advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
