Private Technical University of Loja
San Cayetano Alto, Calle París
Loja, Ecuador
The IAU WHED ID Is a global unique identifier. Learn more here on the IAU World Higher Education Database.
About
The Private Technical University of Loja (UTPL) was founded in 1971 in Loja, Ecuador to provide on-campus and distance education through offering 23 bachelor’s degrees and 20 distance programmes in four main areas; administrative, humanities and social sciences, technical and medicine and biology. Currently, the university serves around 20,000 students. Although this 47-year old institution is still fairly young, it boasts a new, state of the art campus, with excellent laboratories and student facilities including an advanced library and an innovation centre designed to mentor young entrepreneurs. UTPL is an autonomous institution, based on Christian values, with social and public purpose, being able to teach, develop research with scientific-administrative freedom, and participate in the development plans of the country, grant, recognise and revalue academic degrees and professional titles. The university has memorandums of understanding and cooperation agreements with several institutions in China, Spain, France, Austria and several Latin American countries to name but a few.Loja was the thriving base from which Spanish conquistadors sallied forth to explore the jungle just over the mountains. Loja's main advantage is its proximity to one of Ecuador's most diverse protected areas, the vast Parque Nacional Podocarpus, spanning chilly highland páramo (grassland) and sweltering jungle within its wild confines. Its cuisine, its musical traditions and its university are known across Ecuador and beyond. The city’s slopes are filled with vast coffee plantations that must be seen.
Sustainability at Private Technical University of Loja
UTPL embeds sustainability at the heart of its mission by integrating environmental, social, and economic principles across research, teaching, campus life, and outreach. Through curricula rooted in bioeconomy and innovation, UTPL fosters students’ sustainable mindsets; its campus culture values ecological stewardship and circular resource use; and engagement with local communities aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals—including Climate Action (SDG 13), Sustainable Cities (SDG 11), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17). UTPL seeks to educate responsible leaders who innovate for a resilient, equitable future.
More Information
Find more details on sustainability at UTPL here.