Public universities in Colombia will have higher education in ergonomics
In line with recent IEA policies, the IEA EC, ULAERGO, and IEA Federated Societies have been helping some Latin
American universities to introduce higher-education programs for human factors and ergonomics (HFE). Ongoing
efforts include the development of master’s course for a public universities in Panama, Peru, and Costa Rica, and the
development of PhD courses for public universities in Colombia and Peru. Recently, the President of IEA, Yushi Fujita,
and the Vice President and Treasurer of IEA, Jose Orlando Gomes, were invited to a commemorative event of “the
National Day of Safety and Health at Work” held in Cali and Bogotá, Colombia. The Minister of Labor, Griselda Janeth
Restrepo, made an announcement that PhD training courses on HFE would be developed with the help of IEA. The
following is an article on the event released by the Colombian Ministry of Labor website
(http://www.mintrabajo.gov.co/web/guest/prensa/comunicados/2018/julio/universidades-publicas-en-colombiacontarian-con-estudios-superiores-en-ergonomia)
– translated by Jose Orlando Gomes. This is a big step forward
facilitated by IEA.
Publication date: 2018-07-23
The announcement was made by the Minister of Labor, Griselda Janeth Restrepo and the President of the
International Association of Ergonomics (IEA), Yushi Fujita, in a commemorative event of the National Day
of Safety and Health at Work in Cali.
Universidad del Valle would be the first institution in Colombia and Latin America, to begin doctoral
studies in this discipline
Cali, Valle del Cauca, 23 Jul / 18 – Thanks to a joint international initiative between the Labor Risk Department
of the Ministry of Labor and the International Ergonomics Association, the head of the labor portfolio, Griselda
Janeth Restrepo Gallego, announced that it has been working on an international cooperation agreement to
promote the creation in Colombia of doctorates in ergonomics, which would have the support of public
http://www.mintrabajo.gov.co/prensa/comunicados/2018/julio/universidades-publicas-en-colombia-contarian-con-estudios-superiores-en-ergonomia 2/4
universities in the country.
It should be noted that ergonomics is a discipline that seeks to reduce the physical, mental, psychological, and
organizational burdens to which the employee is subjected, in order to reduce the risk of accidents at work and
accident rates, promote safety and health. workers’ welfare, improve the environment and working conditions,
in order to obtain greater commitment, motivation, and performance on the part of the workers.
Explained Restrepo Gallego, “The National Government through the Ministry of Labor, is committed to
improving the quality of life of Colombian workers. For this reason, developing this initiative in the country,
which will benefit both employees and employers, is of great importance because it contributes to the
reduction of accidents and occupational disease to guarantee a decent job.”
At the event, which brought together more than 600 people at the Intercontinental Hotel in Cali, it was
announced that experts from the Ministry of Labor and the IEA have been working together on the
construction of the first doctorate in ergonomics throughout Latin America, which would be developed initially
in the Faculty of Public Health of Del Valle University.
Bernardo Ordóñez, Director of Occupational Hazards of the Ministry of Labor, explained that this is great
academic news for the Colombian Southwest and for the entire sector, because the training of human talent in
this area will provide better and higher labor guarantees. “Today we started in Cali, but the goal is for this
project to be replicated in several universities in Colombia,” said Ordóñez.
For his part, the President of the International Association of Ergonomics (IEA), Yushi Fujita, who was a
presenter at the event, thanked the Ministry for the invitation and all the interest it has shown to take forward
this academic initiative with the country’s public universities .
