2020 Yearbook - Universidad ORT Uruguay

3 MESSAGE FROM RECTOR was a challenging year for everyone, and particularly for academic life. The in-person interaction and close collaboration that have historically been central to teaching and research were suddenly interrupted for extended periods. Thanks to the unconditional commitment and tremendous effort of the academic community, the university was able to fulfill its teaching and research commitments and provide scholarships to an unprecedented number of students with financial needs. In this context, I am pleased to share with you some of the activities and achievements of our academic community during 2020. Universidad ORT Uruguay ranked as the top university in our country in the 2020 QS World University Rankings and the 2020 Times Higher Education Latin America University Rankings. ORT’s Master of Business Administration was the only program from Uruguay in the 2020 QS Global Executive MBA Rankings and ranked among the top 150 in the world. Additionally, our MBA is the only one ranked in Uruguay and among the top 25 in the region in the annual ranking by the specialized publication América Economía. The Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences (FACS) signed an agreement with the Chapman Graduate School of Business at Florida International University, through which eight of its graduate programs will be able to offer dual degrees with that U.S. university. The FACS also signed a dual-degree agreement with the Rennes School of Business in France, which allows students to transfer and complete the remaining credits of their degree program in Rennes, thereby earning both the ORT degree and a master’s degree from the French business school. The academic journals *InMediaciones de la Comunicación* from the School of Communication and Design, *Anales de Investigación en Arquitectura* published by the School of Architecture, and *Cuadernos de Investigación Educativa* from the Institute of Education were included in the Ibero-American Network for Innovation and Scientific Knowledge (REDIB) and in the European Reference Index for the Humanities and the Social Sciences (ERIH PLUS). In 2020, the Master’s in Big Data began at the School of Engineering, as well as the EMBA (Executive MBA, Blended Learning) at the School of Management and Social Sciences, and the new technical degree program in Music Production at the School of Communication and Design.