SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS The Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Talca (UTalca) in Chile is part of an institution that has expanded rapidly since its foundation; it recently joined BGA in an effort to widen its network further. Compiled by Tim Banerjee Dhoul
HISTORY UTalca was founded in 1981, the result of efforts to establish a separate university in the region by merging the local campuses of the University of Chile and the Technical University of the State. Six years later, the university’s board of directors approved a course in commercial engineering, giving rise to the creation of the Faculty of Business Sciences, now known as the Faculty of Economics and Business. Today, the university comprises 10 faculties alongside a number of different institutes and schools. COURSES UTalca’s Faculty of Economics and Business offers five master’s programmes, including an executive MBA that dates back to 1995. This flagship postgraduate degree takes a weekend format, with classes held on Friday evenings and Saturdays. Also on offer are six diplomas and a doctorate in economics, the latter of which was launched in 2018. Its undergraduate portfolio, meanwhile, gives students the chance to specialise in four professions, such as commercial engineering and accountancy.
LOCATION UTalca is headquartered in the city of Talca, the capital of the Maule region in south-central Chile. With a population of around 270,000, the city is known for its tranquillity and natural beauty while still offering convenient links to the country’s capital, Santiago, some 250 kilometres away. The city also marks the site where Bernardo O’Higgins signed the Chilean Declaration of Independence in February 1818. Since its foundation, four further campuses of UTalca have been established in the cities of Curicó, Santa Cruz, Linares and the Chilean capital. The Faculty of Economics and Business operates from the university’s Talca and Santiago campuses.
36 Business Impact • ISSUE 2 • 2024
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