Mario A. Ruiz Ramirez, Rector Universidad Francisco Gavidia

With economies becoming increasingly reliant on technology and high-tech industries, governments in developing nations are working hard to improve their secondary and university education systems so that the next generation of graduates can compete with the brightest from the developed world. In some countries, private universities are leading these efforts in higher education and in El Salvador, the Universidad Francisco Gavidia, founded in 1981 and named after a famous Salvadoran humanist, has ambitious plans in this regard. "We don't just want to be the leaders in higher education in El Salvador, but also the most innovative," says university rector Mario A. Ruiz Ramírez.

"All our degree programs have a technological focus making this school very attractive for students all over Central America." Some of the most popular degree programs at the school are in business administration, law, computer engineering and marketing.

Universidad Francisco Gavidia has a student enrollment of around 8,000 in both undergraduate and graduate programs and has some of the best university libraries, laboratories and Information Technology Systems in the region thanks to cooperation programs with U.S. institutions. The university is also trying to obtain the ISO 9000 quality certification in education which will be one of the first in Central America. "It will help us in our ambitions to be fully accredited not only in El Salvador, but also in the United States and Europe," the rector says. "Our school will soon introduce a masters degree course in e-commerce and we're working to open a branch of the Universidad Francisco Gavidia in Los Angeles where around one million Salvadorans now live," says Mr. Ruiz Ramírez. "We've made great strides to improve the cultural and educational level in this country and university education in particular," the rector notes. "We still have so much to do."