Florida SBDC at FAU and FAU Division of Research Announce Partnership with the Universidad Industrial de Santander

The Florida Small Business Development Center at FAU and the FAU Division of Research along with representatives from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, Port Everglades, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau, Broward County Office of Economic and Small Business Development, the Broward County Aviation Department, and the Honorable Dale V. C. Holness (Broward Commissioner, District 9), met on November 17 at the Broward County Governmental Center in Fort Lauderdale with the official international government delegation from Santander, located in the north central region of Colombia. They announced the new three hour direct flight Spirit Airlines launched from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Bucaramanga (BSA) and FAU’s research and academic partnership with Santander’s largest university, the Universidad Industrial de Santander.

Photo left to right are: Jassibe Gandur (Subdirector IMCUT, City of Bucaramanga), Sandra Marin (SBDC at FAU Regional Director), Paola Isaac Baraya (Economic Development Specialist, International Trade, Broward County Office of Economic and Small Business Development), Juan Camilo Beltran (CEO Bucaramanga Chamber of Commerce), Mauricio Aguilar Hurtado (Governor of Santander), The Honorable Dale V. C. Holness (Broward Commissioner, District 9), Juan Carlos Cardenas (Bucaramanga City Major), Camilo Rubiano Becerra (Deputy Consul of Colombia in Miami), Pedro Agustin Valencia (Congul General of Colombia in Miami), Maria Orejarena Perez (International Cooperation Adviser – Government of Santander), Andrea Saucedo (Business Development, Broward County Aviation Department). Present, but not in the photograph: Pierre Taschereau, Director of Investment, Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance

Colombian officials included Mauricio Aguilar Hurtado (Governor of Santander) and Juan Carlos Cardenas (Mayor of Bucaramanga, its capital city), Juan Camilo Beltran (CEO Bucaramanga Chamber of Commerce), Maria Orejarena Perez (International Cooperation Adviser – Government of Santander) and representatives from the Consulate General of Colombia in Miami.

"The SBDC will be working to promote mutually-beneficial import/export initiatives between South Florida and Santander business owners,” said Sandra Marin, Regional Director of the Florida SBDC at FAU. “We hope to see FAU and Santander university students develop academic exchange opportunities and that residents of Broward County and Santander will discover each other as vacation destinations."

Santander is known as a fun, scenic, tourist friendly region popular for its outdoor sports, entertainment, and cuisine. It has a population of two million.