pontificia universidad católica del perú | 1

DEPÓSITO LEGAL

Hecho el Depósito Legal en la Biblioteca Nacional del Perú

N° 2008-05631

Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.

Av. Universitaria 1801. San Miguel. Lima 32. Peru.
First edition. May, 2008. Peru.

© Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.

All rights reserved. This publication cannot be reproduced

in any form or by any means, in whole or in part, without
the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN:
Printed in Peru.

2 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

INDEX
5 Words from the Rector
6 The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP)
14 A University that lives Catholicism
18 Graduate Studies
26 Undergraduate Studies
30 High Above the Sky, Photographic History
38 National and International Alliances
46 The Chemistry of Paradise, Photographic History
54 Research
70 So Far, so Close, Photographic History
78 Culture
84 In the Heart of the Sacred Valley, Photographic History
92 The Riva-Agüero Institute
98 Foreign and Native Languages
102 Training and Diffusion Centers and Institutes
106 Agricultural Technology, Photographic History
114 Publications
120 University Community Services
126 Social Responsibility of the University
128 Third Party Services
130 Special Programs and Events
134 Campus Map

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 3

4 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Words from the Rector
The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, founded in Lima in 1917 has, in the
course of its 91 years of existence, become firmly established as the most highly
regarded private institution of higher education in Peru. This has been possible
thanks to the spirit that motivates it, grounded on very solid principles that
entail a humanistic approach, a vocation for service and a broad education
directed at students’ personal achievement and to building a better future for
our country.

In the course of these years, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru has
adapted to change and –without detriment to its fundamental principles– has
kept firmly on this path. One of the greatest achievements at this stage is
directed at consolidating the internationalization of our University, a task
where firm steps have been taken and strategic alliances have been established
these last few years with institutions abroad, by means of agreements that
enable us to carry out research and joint projects, as well as mobilizing faculty
members and students alike. Today, our academic excellence, our incorporation
into the international community and high technology applied to teaching
and research, have placed us in the international ranking as one of the major
universities of Latin America.

The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru projects to the world its experience of
global insertion as a bridge to a better life. The University’s incorporation into
this new scenario seeks that all the innovations that come with globalization
serve those fundamental ends that are at the core of modern promises:
equality, collective wellbeing and freedom. The aim of the PUCP is to initiate a
critical and at the same time productive dialog between the local and the new
universal reality, and thus contribute with all the means at our reach to face
challenges of all kinds that are part of the material and spiritual development
of our societies.

With these convictions and expectations expressed, from Lima, the Pontifical
Catholic University of Peru opens its doors to the world’s professors, researchers
and students.

Ing. Luis Guzmán Barrón Sobrevilla

Rector de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 5

6 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Pontifical Catholic
University of Peru
The Catholic University was established on March 24, 1917, in
Lima, capital city of Peru, as a private, non-profit institution,
engaged in tertiary education. Its founder was Reverend
Father Jorge Dintilhac, S.H. and its first premises were in Plaza
Francia, Cercado de Lima (Downtown Lima). The first General
Regulations of the university already stated that the purpose
of the institution was to provide humanistic and Christian
education and professional instruction, as well as to promote
inter-disciplinary scientific research, setting forth the vocation
to serve the community towards a fairer society. The first
program created by the Catholic University was Liberal Arts.

When the university reached its 25th anniversary, Pope Pius

XII conferred it the honorary title of Pontifical, “with all the
juridical privileges of which such institutions enjoy”. Thus,
while keeping its nature as a civil association governed by the
Peruvian laws, since 1942 the Pontifical Catholic University of
Peru (PUCP) is also an entity under ecclesiastic law.

Through the legacy of José de la Riva-Agüero y Osma, one of

the greatest Peruvian intellectuals of the 20th century and
benefactor of our institution, the Catholic University was
granted in 1944 an extensive land property in Fundo Pando,
in the District of San Miguel, northwest of Lima. Construction
of the University Campus began there, where today stand all
its faculties, academic departments and services, covering 42
hectares.

The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru broadened and

modified the teaching and research fields, responding to
the country’s needs. The turn of the 21st century has found
it consolidated as the most prestigious tertiary education
institution of Peru and one of the leading institutions in the
continent. Its ten programs offer 38 professional degrees and
its Graduate School awards over 70 professional certificates,
master degrees and doctorates.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 7

8 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Mission
The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru is an academic
community inspired in ethical principles and catholic values
that creates and disseminates culture, learning and knowledge,
a promoter of change, engaged in the comprehensive
education of individuals to enable them to use studying as a
self-development tool and to build their skills to face and solve
fundamental problems inherent to the human being and to
society.

Vision
To be leaders in university education in the country and to be
recognized here and abroad as a venue where development is
promoted and generated.

Values
Values constitute the foundations of our organizational culture
and are essential elements that shape the identity of our
university, conferring it uniqueness and asserting its social
presence.
These are:
•Pursuit of truth
•Respect for human dignity
•Pluralism
•Social responsibility and commitment to development
•Honesty
•Solidarity
•Justice

University Community
The university has more than 18,000 students in its
undergraduate and graduate programs, and over 3,000
professors and administrative staff. Over its 91 years of
institutional life thousands of professionals highly recognized
for their knowledge as well as for their human qualities, have
graduated from its classrooms.

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 Honorary Degrees
Honorary Degrees are an old university tradition, zealously
conferred by our institution to distinguished persons within the
local and international spheres, whose work and personal career
honor culture, science and mankind and who, for that reason
deserve the public recognition of the academic community.

Joseph Ratzinger (Benedicto XVI) Antônio Cançado Trindade Maria Rostworowski

Alessandro Pizzorusso (2007)

Born in 1931, in Bagni di Lucca, Italy. He
graduated in Case Law from the University
of Pisa, where he has held different
academic positions. He has made significant
contributions in the fields of European
constitutionalism.

Néstor Pedro Sagüés (2007)

Born in 1942, in Rosario, Argentina. He
graduated in Law and as a Doctor in
Javier Pérez de Cuellar Paul A. Samuelson Jorge Luis Borges Juridical and Social Sciences by the National
Littoral University, and obtained a Doctorate
in Law from the Complutense University of
Madrid.

Serge Gruzinski (2007)

He was born in France (1949) and is one of the
most distinguished historians of Hispanic-
American cultures, first class Research Director
at the National Scientific Research Center (CNRS,
Paris) and was distinguished for his contribution
to the progress of American history.

10 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

Emilio Bautista Paz (2007)
A distinguished Spanish mechanical engineer
and university professor, he obtained his
Doctorate at the Polytechnic University of
Madrid. He has also held important positions,
and he is currently President of the Artigas
Foundation.
Elizabeth Fox (2007)
Notable North American journalist and
researcher, Elizabeth Fox graduated from
the Javeriana University of Colombia. She
has held different positions in various
prestigious institutions and works currently
in USAID.
Jesús Martín Barbero (2007)
Born in 1937, in Ávila, Spain. A Doctor in
Philosophy by the Catholic University of Louvain.
He has been a professor and founder of the
Communications Department of the Universidad
del Valle, Cali, Colombia. He is a visiting Professor
in universities in America and Europe.
Jutta Limbach (2007)
Born in 1934, in Berlin, Germany. Doctor in Law
by the Free University of Berlin. A professor of
civil law, commercial law and sociology of law.
She has been President of the Constitutional
Court, among other positions and is currently
the President of the Goethe Institute.
Oliver Sacks (2006)
Born in 1933, in London. A distinguished
neurologist, specialist in the Tourette and
Asperger syndromes. His work offers
an innovative vision, involved in the
reflection about human life faced with brain
diseases.
Umberto Romagnoli (2006)
Italian expert in Labor Law and Labor Union
Law, he has substantially contributed to the
renewal and progress of contemporary Labor
Law through reflections about the identity,
purposes and possibilities of this juridical
doctrinal branch.
Francisco Fernández Segado (2006)
Born in 1950, in Murcia, Spain. A notable
constitutionalist, deeply interested in the
Peruvian and Latin American juridical
problems, committed to catholic values,
the respect for human dignity and human
rights.
Ricardo Blume (2006)
Born in 1933 in Lima. Renowned Peruvian
theater, television and film actor, with
more than 50 years of artistic experience.
He founded and directed the Theater of the
Catholic University (TUC) in 1961 and from
there he staged high quality productions.
Fernando de Szyszlo Valdelomar (2005)
Born in 1925, in Lima. Plastic artist. He
followed two years of studies at the School of
Fine Arts of the Pontifical Catholic University
of Peru. He is recognized as the most
influential introducer of abstract art in Peru
halfway through the 20th century.
Óscar Rodríguez Madariaga, S.D.B. (2005)
Born in 1942, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He
was ordained as priest in 1979, a Cardinal
since 2001. He has exercised an outstanding
liaison between pastoral work and intellectual
activity through a profound dialogue of
theology and social sciences.
Alberto Giesecke Matto (2005)
Born in 1918, in Cusco. Electrical Engineer
by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
of Troy, New York, recognized as the most
notorious researcher in the field of geophysics
in Peru and one of the most authorized
scientists of this discipline in America.
Hidefuji Someda (2004)
Born in 1944, in Tokyo, Japan. A studious of
Peru, specialized in Andean colonial history.
Vice Rector and Director of the Graduate
School of the University of Foreign Studies
of Osaka, Japan. He is a great promoter of
Peruvian history in his country.
Américo Plá Rodríguez (2004)
Uruguayan, the author of a momentous work
on Labor Law, he is considered one of the
most outstanding personalities in
Latin America, in the field of Labor Law,
contributing to the progress of contemporary
juridical thinking.
Rafael Moneo Vallés (2004)
Born in 1937, in Tudela, Spain. An Architect by
the School of Architecture of Madrid, he has
been a professor of architecture in important
learning centers and is a builder of a symbolic
and humanistic conception of contemporary
architecture.
Michel Molitor (2004)
Born in 1940, in Brussels, Belgium. A Doctor
in Sociology by the Catholic University
of Louvain. His work has exercised deep
influence in the international academic
projection and in the development of social
studies in our university.
pontificia universidad católica del perú | 11
 Mark Malloch Brown (2004)
Notorious Political Science specialist and
renowned British international official.
Manager of the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) since 1999 and President
of the United Nations Development Group
(UNDG).
Peter Häberle (2004)
Born in 1934, in Göppingen, Germany.
Distinguished constitutionalist. Doctor by
the University of Freiburg. He is a professor
in the universities of Bayreuth, Germany and
St. Gallen, Switzerland. Representative of the
institutional theory of fundamental rights.
Miguel León Portilla (2003)
Born in 1926, in Mexico. A historian, since 1996
he is the Director of the Mexican Academy of
History. Among his numerous works, we may
mention Visión de los Vencidos, Hernán Cortés
y la Mar del Sur and Fray Bernardino de Sahún,
among many others.
Antônio Cançado Trindade (2003)
Born in 1947, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
President of the Inter-American Court
of Human Rights. He has had a notable
diplomatic and juridical career associated
to the defense of human rights and the
development of International Public Law.
Victor Tokman (2001)
Born in 1941, in Argentina. A Doctor in
Economics by the University of Oxford. He
is the Regional Director for Latin America
and the Caribbean of the International Labor
Organization (ILO). He has always kept an
enriching relationship with our University.
12 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Saturnino de la Plaza Pérez (2001)
Born in 1941, in Madrid. Agricultural
Engineer, educator and researcher. Tenacious
promoter of exchange and cooperation
programs between cultural and educational
institutions. He received the Grand Cross of
Alfonso X the Wise (1982).
Héctor Fix-Zamudio (2001)
Born in 1924, in Mexico. The most eminent
specialist and promoter of Constitutional
Procedural Law in Latin America. His efforts
have been focused on the development of an
international human rights protection system
for the region.
Mario J. Molina (2000)
Born in 1943, in Mexico. PhD in Physical
Chemistry by the University of California,
in Berkeley. Forerunner of research work on
the formation and decomposition of ozone
through chemical processes. He received the
Chemistry Nobel Prize in 1995.
Juan Somavia (1999)
Born in 1941, in Chile. Attorney-at-Law,
economist and a diplomat. Throughout his
public career he has been a champion of
dignified labor conditions, social development
and human rights. He is the Director General
of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Germán Bidart Campos (1999)
Argentine jurist. He is one of the most
notorious constitutionalists of Latin America.
His juridical line of thought rests on the
principles of the social doctrine of the Church.
He is the author of a vast work that includes
46 books and more than a thousand articles.
Russell Ackoff (1999)
Born in 1919, in Philadelphia. PhD in Philosophy
of Science by the University of Pennsylvania.
Distinguished thinker on subjects concerning
operations, business and administration
research and author of innovative proposals in
organizational planning.
Rudiger Dornbusch (1997)
Born in 1942 in Krefeld, Germany and died
in Washington D.C. in 2002. A notorious
character of the contemporary economic
theory, he exercised great influence in his
discipline. Professor of Economics at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
María Rostworowski (1996)
Born in 1915, in Lima. A renowned historian,
her research has contributed substantially
to the understanding of regional and
institutional aspects of pre-Hispanic Peru. She
received the Grand Commendator Honor of
the Order of the Sun in 2001.
Carlo Rubbia (1994)
Born in 1934, in Gorizia, Italy. Distinguished
nuclear physicist, Physics Nobel Prize in 1984.
He has been a professor in the universities of
Columbia, Harvard and La Sapienza of Rome.
Director of the European Organization for
Nuclear Research (CERN).
Eugenio Coseriu (1994)
Born in 1921, in Mihaileni, Romania and died in
2002, in Tübingen, Germany. He is considered
as one of the most important linguists of the
second half of the 20th century. Author of
classic linguistic works within the sphere of
philosophy of the language.
Tom Zuidema (1993)
Born in 1927, in Holland. Distinguished
anthropologist, specialist in Inca-related and
Andean subjects. He received the François I
medal for his research on Andean studies. He
is Professor of Anthropology Emeritus at the
University of Illinois.
Javier Pérez de Cuellar (1991)
Born in 1920, in Lima. Former student graduated
and with a professional degree from the Liberal
Arts and Law Schools of the Pontifical Catholic
University of Peru. Illustrious diplomat. United
Nations Secretary General (1981-1991). He
received the Prince of Asturias Award.
Aurelio Miró Quesada Sosa (1991)
Born in 1907, in Lima and died in 1999 in the
same city. A journalist, researcher, man of
literature and university professor. He was
Rector of the Major National University of
San Marcos. Author of a vast bibliography on
Peruvian history and culture subjects.
Juan Landázuri Ricketts (1990)
Born in 1913, in Arequipa and died in 1996,
in Lima. He was ordained a priest in 1939.
Archbishop of Lima from 1954 to 1989 and
Cardinal since 1962. He guided the life of the
Church in Peru, becoming a reference point of
the spiritual conscience of our society.
Joseph Ratzinger (Benedicto XVI) (1986)
Born in 1927, in Marktl, Germany. Doctor in
Theology by the University of Munich. He
was ordained a priest in 1951 and elected
Archbishop of Munich and Freising in 1977.
He was appointed a Cardinal in 1977. Elected
Pope in April 2005, as Benedict XVI.
Shozo Masuda (1986)
Born in 1928, in Japan. A specialist in
comparative studies of cultures and
civilizations. A pioneer in Latin American
studies in Japan, with great academic merits
recognized internationally in the field of
Peruvian Studies.
Francois Bourricaud (1985)
Born in 1922, in Gironde, France and died in
1991 in Paris. Eminent sociologist, he
focused his research on the study of sociology
of the Latin American countries, having
produced decisive work about political groups
in Peru.
Hans Leussink (1982)
Born in 1912, in Schüttorf, Germany.
Distinguished engineer, he was Rector of the
Fridericiana University of Karlsruhe. Planner
of great engineering projects worldwide,
such as the Aswan Dam. Federal Minister of
Education and Research.
Kurt Baldinger (1981)
Born in 1919, in Basel, Switzerland and died in
January 2007. Eminent philologist, he was a
Rector of the University of Heidelberg, Germany
and chair or visiting professor in different
universities of Europe and America. He received
the Grand Cross of Alfonso X the Wise.
Paul A. Samuelson (1980)
Born in 1915, in Indiana, United States. He is
one of the most distinguished economists of the
20th century. A professor of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology since 1941. Nobel Prize
of Economics in 1970 for his contribution to the
development of the economics theory.
Jorge Luis Borges (1978)
Born in 1899 in Buenos Aires and died in
Geneva, in 1986. A writer, a poet and essayist.
He is recognized as one of the greatest writers
of the 20th century in the Spanish language.
He was awarded the Formentor Prize in 1961
and the Cervantes Prize in 1979.
Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow (1977)
Born in 1921, in Senegal. Committed to the
struggle for the Senegalese independence,
once it was obtained he was appointed
Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs
and Youth. UNESCO Director General between
1974 and 1987.
Richard James Cushing (1964)
Born in 1895 in Boston and died in 1970 in
the same city. He was ordained a priest in
1921. Archbishop of Boston and Cardinal since
1958 and founder of the Santiago Apostle
Missionary Society to support the work of the
Church in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
Francis J. Spellman (1951)
Born in 1889, in Massachusetts and died in
1967 in New York. He was ordained a priest in
1916. Archbishop of New York since 1939, he
was promoted to Cardinal in 1946. He engaged
in intense pastoral activity and participated in
the Second Vatican Council.
José Antonio de Laburu Olascoaga S.J. (1937)
Born in 1887 in Bilbao and died in 1972 in
Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1921.
Eminent biologist and psychologist. He excelled
in the fields of teaching, preaching and spiritual
conduction. Author of works like Jesus Christ
and the Eucharist and Medical Psychology.
pontificia universidad católica del perú | 13
14 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
A University that
lives Catholicism
Catholic spirit is an essential part of the Pontifical Catholic
University of Peru’s daily life. It is practiced in our campus and
projected outside our House of Learning.

Since its foundation in 1917, the Pontifical Catholic University

of Peru has preserved the spirit with which it was created:
to be a highly rigorous academic institution and a builder of
knowledge from a Catholic and humanist perspective. The idea
to create a Catholic university in Peru arose at the beginning
of the 20th century. In those days, there were predominating
doctrines that promoted empiricism at university level and
there was not a proper academic venue in Peru where Catholic
students could strengthen their faith.

During the Latin American Plenary Council in 1899, called by

Pope León XIII, the Latin American Bishops had set out the
relevance of fostering Catholic education at different levels
and implement tertiary education centers under ecclesiastical
authorities in countries of the region, following the example of
the Catholic University of Chile, founded in 1888. The Catholic
University of Argentina was founded in 1910 in that same line.

The great task to undertake the enterprise of giving shape to a

Catholic University in Peru was assigned to R.F. Jorge Dintilhac
S.H., Doctor in Theology, who was born in France, and arrived
in Peru in 1902. The Superior of the Congregation of the Sacred
Hearts, Father Florentino Prat, assigned him the formation of
a Peruvian School of Tertiary Education aimed at emphasizing
Catholic Education. The project started and with big effort the
Catholic University in Peru was funded on March 24, 1917.
Secular and religious members that comprised the organizing
committee appointed Father Dintilhac as the first rector of this
House of Learning.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 15

 Pontifical Title
In 1942, for its 25th anniversary, great news were received
from The Vatican for the Catholic University of Peru. Pope Pius
XII had granted the University the title of Pontifical, which
meant a great recognition to the work this Institution had been
performing. Since the honorific title of Pontifical was received
on September 30, 1942, the Archbishop of Lima and Primate of
Peru has been holding the position of Grand Chancellor of our
University. In accordance with the Bylaws of the University,
the Grand Chancellor exercises the Honorary Presidency of this
Institution; ensures compliance of the University with its insti-
tutional purposes, executing the roles the Catholic Church pres-
cribes as to the teaching of Theology, faith issues and pastoral
care; keeps links with The Vatican and the Peruvian Episcopate;
and appoints the director for the University Pastoral Counse-
ling Center. Likewise, the University Assembly is comprised by
five Episcopate representatives, while the Academic Church
Relations Director forms part of the University Council.
Already as Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, our House of
Learning continued growing, both as to the number of stu-
dents, specialties and premises and as to the Catholic spirit
that inspired it. Thus, in 1959, under Monsignor Fidel Tubino
Mongilardi’s rectorship, the School of Religious Studies was
created, aiming at promoting theology disciplines. Father Ul-
piano López, who was acting as Dean at the faculty of Pontifi-
cal and Civil Theology of Lima, was appointed as Director. The
Theology Department was created in 1970, under the rector-
ship of Reverend Father Felipe Mac Gregor S.J., from the Jesuit
Congregation.
Religion and Knowledge
Throughout nine decades of operation, the Pontifical Catholic
University of Peru has fostered research and development of
knowledge. Reverend Father Gustavo Gutiérrez O.P., inspirer of
the Liberation Theology, who was linked to our University as
from the first years of Religious Studies of the School, may be
considered as the most prolific intellectual in theology issues.
In 2003, Father Gutiérrez won the Prince of Asturias Award for
Communication and Humanities, and in 2004 was recognized
as Professor Emeritus of our University.
16 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Reverend Father Manuel Marzal S.J., professor of this University
since 1968, resulted a key asset for the Social Science Studies.
He promoted the creation of the Anthropology specialty. In
1969 he acted as coordinator for the Anthropology area, since
1974 he was in charge of the Anthropological Studies Certi-
ficate, and in 2001 he acted as the Anthropology Doctorate
coordinator. His contribution to social, cultural and historical
Anthropology has not only enriched our University, but also
helped in the consolidation of this specialty in Peru and Ameri-
ca, particularly in the field of Anthropology of Religion. In 2003
he was appointed Professor Emeritus of our University.
Catholicism Today
Currently, the Catholic spirit is still present in the different acti-
vities carried out by the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. A
special part of the essence of our University, that spirit is kept
alive at different levels and with different demonstrations,
whether institutional or by the students and professors.
Within the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, the Church
Relations Department is the institutional body in charge of
reasserting the Catholic presence in the university life. Part of
its duty is to disseminate the Church’s line of thought about
current issues and the organization of courses, conferences,
seminars and exhibitions.
The Catholic nature of our University is also reflected in the
daily life at the campus. Every faculty dictates courses linked
to faith and religion, prepared by the Theology Department,
which teaching staff includes both priests and secular mem-
bers who have committed themselves to the active partici-
pation of the academic life of the University and are always
available to talk with the students. Since more than three
decades, a Theology course is being dictated in the General
Studies period and in the Faculties of Education, Art and
Architecture, as requirement to obtain a passing mark for the
corresponding study program. The students have the opportu-
nity to choose among four options: Theology and Contempo-
rary World, Theology and Contemporary Culture, Christology,
and Introduction to the Holy Scriptures. Together with these
compulsory courses –students must enroll in one of them–
there are elective subjects offered: Christian Anthropology
and Human Dignity.

Beyond the classrooms, the Pontifical Catholic University of

Peru starts the academic year with a liturgical ceremony, whe-
re the most relevant university authorities welcome the stu-
dents, particularly the new ones. From Monday through Friday,
throughout the study year, the Holy Mass is celebrated at the
University Pastoral Counseling Center Chapel (CAPU). Since its
foundation, in 1977, this center’s duties have been increasing
in order to offer more spiritual services and bring students,
professors and administrative employees closer to Catholic life.
The CAPU is located in a centric zone of the campus and, besi-
des offering a daily mass, it offers spiritual counseling to the
university community members. Approximately 200 students
–most of them from the Science and Engineering area– get
involved in the activities developed by the Pastoral Center each
year. Furthermore, students who have not complied with the
Confirmation Sacrament are prepared there. Different time
schedules and courses are offered and students can enroll as
from March. Those who have already been confirmed may join
the University Catholic Groups. Students may also join the
CAPU’s youth choir or theater groups.

The task of the Pastoral Center is not limited to the internal

scope of the University. Each summer, the Education School for
Catechists, addressed to students of different parishes in Lima,
offers courses dictated by priests that participate in the acade-
mic life of the University. Also every year, the CAPU undertakes
University Missions. Through these Missions, participants go to
live in the marginal zones of Lima, provinces and even in Chile.
Missioners offer spiritual support to the communities they vi-
sit, as well as educational workshops seeking to enhance their
quality of life.

Over time, it has been demonstrated that the Pontifical Catho-

lic University of Peru has maintained the spirit that inspired its
foundation: to be a space dedicated to academic, human and
Christian education, navigating in the sea of knowledge in the
light of Catholic faith.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 17

18 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Graduate School
The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru offers graduate
studies since 1971, when the Academic Program for Advanced
Studies was created. With the experience accumulated over
more than three decades in this field, the Graduates School
of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru offers now
Professional Degrees, Master Degrees and Doctorates designed
to train students in the knowledge and skills to continue their
education in different specialty areas.

Four hundred doctors and master degree holders graduated

from the most prestigious universities locally and abroad, with
outstanding academic careers and active presence in research,
are the best guarantee of the high quality of our doctorate and
master studies in the different fields of knowledge.

This valuable teaching staff and the support of a solid

infrastructure, consolidated over 91 years of life of the Pontifical
Catholic University of Peru have placed the Graduates School at
the service of what is its essential mission: to educate men and
women devoted to and researchers of reality, deeply interested
in sharing their findings with society, in their teaching activity
or in their professional and academic work.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 19

 Doctorates

• Strategic Business Administration

(CENTRUM)
• Anthropology
• Law
• Andean Studies (Anthropology, Archaeology,
History and Linguistics)
• Philosophy
• Mathematics

20 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

Master Degrees

• Anthropology • Applied Physics

• Anthropology with a major in Andean Studies • Phono-audiology
• Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology • Social Management
• Archaeology with a major in Andean Studies • Construction and Real Estate Business Management
• Political Sciences with a major in Public Administration, (CENTRUM)
in Compared Politics, Public Policies and Civil Society and in • History
International Relations • History with a major in Andean Studies
• Computer Sciences • Biomedical Engineering
• Communications • Civil Engineering
• Health Communications (Consortium of Universities) • Control and Automation Engineering
• Civil Law • Welding Engineering
• Law with a major in Jurisdictional Policy • Industrial Engineering with a major in Operations
• Constitutional Law Management and in Logistics
• Business Law with a major in Public Services Regulations, • Mechanical Engineering
Business Administration and Banking and Finances • Engineering and Materials Science
• Intellectual Property and Competition Law • Linguistics
• International Economics Law • Linguistics with a major in Andean Studies
• Criminal Law • Hispanic American Literature
• Procedural Law • Mathematics
• Tax Law • Applied Mathematics with a major in Stochastic Processes
• Human Rights and in Applications in Economics
• Environmental Development • MBA Full Time (CENTRUM)
• Economy • MBA for Managers (CENTRUM)
• Education with a major in Curriculum • International MBA (CENTRUM)
• Education with a major in Education Management • Business Management MBA (CENTRUM)
• Teaching of Mathematics • Educational Policies
• Statistics • Chemistry
• Cultural Studies • Public Services Regulations
• Theoretical Studies in Psychoanalysis • Labor Relations
• Philosophy • Sociology
• Physics

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 21

22 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Business Center (CENTRUM)

The challenges that the future brings require venues where academic and business
management skills blend and participate together towards promoting economic and social
development. CENTRUM Católica, the Business Center of the Pontifical Catholic University
of Peru is an effort with a country-wide scope and international projection, organized and
operating since 2001 to contribute towards this goal, seeking the development of companies,
institutions and agencies of the public and private sectors of the country and the well-being of
the population.

To this effect, CENTRUM Católica offers a series of services focused on different fields:

• CENTRUM-Professorship
trains comprehensive, ethical executives, managers and leaders, providing them with
sound knowledge.
• CENTRUM-Consultancy
offers consulting service for the solution of specific organizational problems.
• CENTRUM-Research
conducts studies focused on the creation of new techniques and concepts that may
contribute to entrepreneurial development.
• CENTRUM-Alliances
promotes strategic alliances with the entrepreneurial sector of the country and the region.
• CENTRUM-Future
promotes the modernization of businesses and public and private institutions.

CENTRUM Católica offers a wide array of academia programs, among them, Doctor in Business
Administration (DBA) or Doctorate in Strategic Business Administration, jointly developed with
the Maastricht School of Management, of Holland. Furthermore, it offers different types of MBA:
the International MBA, awarding the dual, simultaneous, academic degree (Master in Strategic
Business Administration, by the PUCP and Master in Business Administration in General and
Strategic Management, by the Maastricht School of Management) the Full Time MBA and
the MBA for Managers. In addition, it offers the Virtual MBA and Professional Certificates in
Marketing, Finances, Information Technology and in Operations.

CENTRUM Católica enjoys a well earned international prestige, being the first business school in
Latin America that has obtained the ISO 9001:2000 certification awarded by Lloyd’s Register Quality
Assurance. In 2005, it was designated by the Latin Trade Journal as the best business school in Peru
and 8th in Latin America and has international AMBA accreditation (Association of MBA).

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 23

 Virtual Education
The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru seeks to be seen as an international reference in the
field of virtual education, a matter that is assumed with an enormous connotation of social
responsibility. For the university, virtual education is a strategic line in its development, as
it enables it to carry its educational model to the remotest corners of the country, to citizens
of all levels and all ages that need to have access to quality education. Only during 2006, our
institution offered 41 programs, including courses, professional certificates and master degrees,
to a total of 3,091 students.

This teaching modality enables the institution to extend its offer beyond the Peruvian borders,
through different programs and educational offers to other Latin American countries. It is
a strategic internationalization tool that facilitates access throughout the world, sharing
and working out educational proposals with other institutions and generating an exchange
of experiences between students of different universities in the planet and the Pontifical
Catholic University of Peru. And, above all, it is a means to create active virtual communities to
disseminate our institution’s principles, values and knowledge in different regions.

Furthermore, virtual education brings our graduate students and the Peruvian community
abroad closer together: Peruvians living abroad may access the programs that the university has
created especially for them, seeking to offer them the means that will assist them in improving
their economic situation wherever they may be.

The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru has over 15 years experience offering remote courses,
thanks to the initiative of the Education Program and the Center for Research and Educational
Services (CISE) that made of our institution a pioneer in this type of education. With this
initiative as a starting point, 2001 saw the creation of the Special Remote Education Project,
which was the beginning of a stage that inserted the most modern technological tools and e-
learning strategies that led to the creation of the Virtual PUCP in November 2003 and the Virtual
PUCP Campus, developed by the Information Technology Department of our university.

Virtual PUCP, the Information Technology Department and the Academic Information
Technology Department of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru have been generating a
new institutional trend that makes intelligent, responsible, efficient and, above all, creative use
of the means that technology offers to broaden and diversify the paths that make it possible to
continue carrying out the university task of educating highly qualified professionals, responsible
and committed to the development of the country.

24 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

Continuing Education
Continuing education has become one of the strategic elements that determine the
development of the countries. In view of this, in the turn of the 21st century, the Pontifical
Catholic University of Peru considers it is paramount for its educational offer and its connection
with its environs to be firmly rooted to the possibility of offering courses and training,
education, refresh and extension programs, at a local, national and international level, projecting
the education offered by the university beyond the completion of the undergraduate studies, so
that education may be understood as an ongoing process throughout the different stages of life.
This issue acquires greater significance due to the fast transformation of social and economic
structures and, above all, to the tremendous knowledge accumulation experimented during the
past years, especially through the information technologies, which in turn generates greater
updating and training needs in the population.

In this line, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru keeps its doors open to former students
and graduates of our institution and of other universities, so that they may update their skills
and acquire new ones, strengthening the fruitful university-business enterprise relation. Added
to the offer from the Graduate School and CENTRUM Católica are the programs prepared by
the different academic departments (professional certificates, specialization courses, seminars
and other alternatives) and also the possibilities offered by the Center for Continuing Education
(CEC-PUCP) divided in three areas: professional specialization, technical specialization and
personal development, and qualification. There are programs especially designed for older
students, such as Aula Libre (Free Class) that offers courses from the last semesters of all the
undergraduate programs; Universidad de la Experiencia (Experience University) an extension
program with a curriculum of its own for senior adults; and Plan Adulto (Adult Plan) aimed at
students over 30 years old who wish to pursue university studies.

The options offered by the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in continuing education do
not only focus on professional training. There are also programs –as the ones offered by the
Cultural Center or the Center of Oriental Studies– that aim at improving the quality of life of the
students and underpinning social coexistence concepts, for instance, through courses like music,
literature or film-making appreciation, personal development, vital planning or courses aimed
at getting acquainted with and learning to better understand different cultures.

Continuing education is growing at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in an exponential

manner: the number of courses dictated is ever increasing, and so are the number of programs
and of students that enroll. It is important to keep the hallmark of the university in the entire
array of possibilities offered in this field, thus ensuring the high quality standards, the use of
cutting-edge technology and the leverage of the strategic alliances established with institutions
in Peru and abroad.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 25

26 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Undergraduate studies
The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru offers first class multi-
disciplinary university education in its ten programs and 38
majors in Science and Liberal Arts.

Since the 70s, we carry in our university General Studies, conceived

as a basic formation stage for the students before they are
introduced to the subject matters of each program, a decisive stage
that distinguishes this institution as a center that really offers a
comprehensive education to its students.

Depending on the career chosen, the students that enter the

Administration and Accounting programs or the Sciences and
Communications, Social Sciences, Law, Management and Senior
Management Programs and Liberal Arts and Human Sciences,
spend the first two years taking General Studies of Liberal
Arts, while those intending to pursue majors in Physics, Civil
Engineering, Mining Engineer, Telecommunications Engineering,
Electronic Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Information
Technology Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics
and Chemistry follow General Science Studies.

During this fundamental period, the students acquire a cultural

foundation both, scientific and humanistic, that will enable them
to pursue their professional studies successfully and develop as
better persons. Furthermore, before going on to the actual program
they must pass a basic foreign language knowledge exam. Those
who have chosen to follow Architecture and Urban Development,
Art or Education, enter their respective programs directly, where
they will follow initial general education courses before passing on
to the specialty courses.

There are several ways to enter the PUCP: distinguished students

assessment, the School Excellence Program, direct admittance by
agreements with baccalaureate programs, First Option, Talent
Assessment, exemption applied to those ranking first during
their Secondary School years, direct admittance through the Pre-
university Center (CEPREPUC), adult admittance, external transfers
and the Remote Bachelor’s Degree in Education.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 27

28 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Undergraduate Programs and Majors

Administration and Science and • Sociology Management

Accounting Program Engineering Program Science and Law Program Liberal Arts and Human
• Administration • Physics Communication Arts • Law Sciences Program
• Accounting • Civil Engineering Program • Archaeology
• Mining Engineer • Scenic Arts Education Program • Information Science
Architecture and • Telecommunications • Audiovisual Communication • Initial Education • Philosophy
Urban Development Engineering • Communication for • Primary Education • Geography and
Program • Electronic Engineering Development Environmental Studies
• Architecture • Industrial Engineering • Journalism Management and Senior • History
• Information Technology • Advertising Management Program • Linguistics and Literature
Art Program Engineering • Management and Senior • Psychology
• Graphic Design • Mechanical Engineering Social Sciences Program
• Industrial Design • Mechatronics Engineering • Anthropology
• Sculpture • Mathematics • Political Sciences and
• Engraving • Chemistry Government
• Painting • Economy

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 29

30 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
high above the sky
Young people from all around the world come to study at the Catholic University
and take hold of the opportunity to experience what it is like to live in Peru

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 31


Anders puts on the harness and receives some advice from the instructor before taking off.
Yumemi was fascinated by the colonial
architecture in downtown Lima.
32 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Thanks to the agreements that the
Pontifical Catholic University of
Peru has entered into with over 250
educational institutions in the five
continents, this semester we receive
in our campus more than 100 foreign
students. They complement their
academic activities with traveling,
excursions and other experiences that
help them enrich their comprehensive
learning of the Peruvian culture. Below
is a brief account of the experiences
lived by two students from our foreign
exchange program.
Yumemi Miyazaki is a distinguished student
from the Foreign Studies University of Kyoto,
Japan. When she learned that she had the
opportunity to apply for an exchange program
that would allow her to stay in Peru for a year,
she did not think it twice and enrolled.
Studying the ancient civilizations that
inhabited this territory is so appealing to
her that she uses all her idle time to visit
museums around the city. That is why as soon
as one asks her what she likes best so far, she
replies without hesitation, that it is the Larco
Museum, located a few blocks from campus,
where more than 45,000 pre-Colombian art
pieces are exhibited.
“It was the first time that I saw so many
ceramic pots and all so well crafted. Each
one is different from the others, some have
perfectly molded faces and they are so
detailed it seems incredible. I was also very
Yumemi enjoys her Modern Peruvian History classes impressed with the work of the metal craft
and is very grateful with her fellow students.
There are three students from Japan in the exchange program and they get together for lunch at any of the cafeterias in campus. Yumemi says she loves cebiche, a typical dish of the Peruvian gastronomy.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 33

Foreign students use their weekends to get acquainted with the Peruvian capital city. Anders and a classmate, also Dane, walk around the streets of Barranco, a traditional and bohemian neighborhood of Lima.

34 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

Yumemi at the Main Square in the Historical Center of Lima. She was surprised to learn that it was right there where the Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro founded the city, on January 18, 1535.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 35

 artists, who made so many gold work pieces
and so beautiful,” says Yumemi.
Her greatest dream now is to visit Cuzco
and Machu Picchu, but also the mysterious
Nazca lines and all the cities that she can go to
with her savings.
In the meantime, she enjoys her
anthropology, ethnicity and film making
courses. She has some problems to read the
study material in Spanish, she says it takes her
a lot of time, but is grateful for the help she
receives from her Peruvian fellow students, who
are very kind and always willing to assist her.

“It’s like being in another world”

Anders Christensen is 22 years old, he studies
Communication, Spanish and Information
Technology in the University of Aalborg,
in Denmark and it is his first time in Latin
America, although not his first time abroad.
Some years ago he spent some time in Spain,
where he was a member of a bicycle team.
At the Catholic University he takes digital
journalism, corporate image and aesthetics
courses in the Communications and Arts
Sciences Program. He assures that what he
likes the most in his new learning home is the
quiet atmosphere and the contact with nature
that he finds in our campus.
When he visited Miraflores, a modern
neighborhood very much visited by tourists,
located by the Pacific Ocean, Anders was
fascinated with the sight of the colorful
paragliders moving peacefully through the sky.
One day his dream came true: he climbed
to a tandem paraglider with an instructor and
flew over the coast of Lima for twenty minutes.
“The view from the air is certainly amazing,
but as it was my first time, the pilot made a
very calm flight. I would like to try again until I
can have more fun and do it on my own.”

36 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 37
38 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
International and
national alliances
The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru is internationally
well-known as a prestigious university and has been
distinguished in numerous international rankings as one
of the best universities in Latin America and the best one in
Peru in different fields. In order to keep its leading position,
our institution is continuously creating links with leading
international academic institutions to exchange experiences in
the field of teaching as well as in the development of research
projects and to promote the exchange of professors and
students, objectives that are materialized through cooperation
agreements.

Cooperation agreements are essential tools that enable our

university community members to develop activities with
institutions and persons that share a science and technology
development vocation in different fields worldwide. These
exchange programs not only allow students to participate
of the valuable experience of studying abroad, but they also
offer professors training opportunities and, thus, enrich their
educational activities, in addition to being in contact with
their peers in other countries, all of which encourages the
dissemination of knowledge from a broader scope.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 39

 The Catholic University has more than - LUDWIG MAXIMILIANS UNIVERSITY, Germany - SUPERIOR SCHOOL OF ARTS OF LE MANS,
250 agreements with relevant educational - TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ILMENAU, France
institutions worldwide. The following are some Germany - SUPERIOR SCHOOL OF ARTS OF NANTES, France
of the strategic alliances: - UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE, Germany - ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL OF TOULOUSE, France
- ECOSIGN ACADEMY FOR DESIGN, Germany - ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL OF STRASBOURG,
- UNIVERSITY OF BELGRANO, Argentina - JOHANNES KEPLER UNIVERSITY LINZ, Austria France
- NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF CATAMARCA, - CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF LOUVAIN, Belgium - SCHOOL OF COMMERCE OF DUNKERQUE,
Argentina - UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN, Denmark France
- NATIONAL LITTORAL UNIVERSITY, Argentina - AALBORG UNIVERSITY, Denmark - UNIVERSITY OF MILANO BICOCCA, Italy
- ARGENTINE BUSINESS UNIVERSITY, Argentina - UNIVERSITY OF POMPEU FABRA, Spain - UNIVERSITY OF FIRENZE, Italy
- PONTIFICAL CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF RIO DE - UNIVERSITY OF ALICANTE, Spain - ROMA TRE UNIVERSITY, Italy
JANEIRO, Brazil - UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA, Spain - UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN, Norway
- DIEGO PORTALES UNIVERSITY, Chile - UNIVERSITY OF BURGOS, Spain - UNIVERSITY OF OSLO, Norway
- PONTIFICAL CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF CHILE, - CARLOS III UNIVERSITY OF MADRID, Spain - VRIJE UNIVERSITY AMSTERDAM, Holland
Chile - UNIVERSITY OF GRANADA, Spain - JAGIELLONIAN UNIVERSITY, Poland
- UNIVERSITY OF VALPARAISO, Chile - UNIVERSITY OF MALAGA, Spain - ACADEMY OF ART; ARCHITECHTURE AND
- PONTIFICAL JAVERIANA UNIVERSITY, Colombia - UNIVERSITY OF MURCIA, Spain DESIGN, Czech Republic
- PONTIFICAL CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF - PABLO DE OLAVIDE UNIVERSITY, Spain - PRAGUE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, Czech
ECUADOR, Ecuador - POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF MADRID, Spain Republic
- UNIVERSITY OF COLIMA, Mexico - PUBLIC UNIVERSITY OF NAVARRE, Spain - STOCKHOLM UNIVERSITY, Sweden
- ECONOMICS TEACHING AND RESEARCH - RAMON LLULL UNIVERSITY (ESADE), Spain - FREIBURG UNIVERSITY, Switzerland
CENTER, Mexico - ABO ACADEMY UNIVERSITY, Finland - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON, United
- UNIVERSITY OF THE AMERICAS-PUEBLA, - UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI, Finland States
Mexico - MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE – BORDEAUX 3 - UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL
- AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF MEXICO STATE, UNIVERSITY, France HILL, United States
Mexico - MONTESQUIEU – BORDEAUX 4 UNIVERSITY, - TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY, United States
- AUTONOMOUS TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE France - WASHINGTON COLLEGE, United States
OF MEXICO, Mexico - UNIVERSITY OF CERGY-PONTOISE, France - BAYLOR UNIVERSITY, United States
- DANKOOK UNIVERSITY, Korea - JEAN MOULIN - LYON 3 UNIVERSITY, France - UC DAVIS, United States
- KYOTO UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN STUDIES, - UNIVERSITY OF ORLEANS, France - CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, United States
Japan - UNIVERSITY OF METZ, France - COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES, United States
- OSAKA UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN STUDIES, - SORBONNE UNIVERSITY-PARIS IV, France - UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, United States
Japan - INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL STUDIES, PARIS - UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, United States
- FREIE UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN, Germany (SCIENCES-PO), France - UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA, United States
- MANNHEIM UNIVERSITY, Germany - INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL STUDIES, - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, United States
- BREMEN UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, BORDEAUX, France - HOOD COLLEGE, United States
Germany - UNIVERSITY OF VERSAILLES SAINT-QUENTIN- - UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA, Canada
- TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF CHEMNITZ, EN-YVELINES, France - UNIVERSITY OF LAVAL, Canada
Germany - PARIS SCHOOL OF MINES, France - UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG, Canada
- LEIBNITZ UNIVERSITY OF HANNOVER, - REGIONAL SCHOOL OF ARTS OF SAINT- - SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER UNIVERSITY, Canada
Germany ETIENNE, France - UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY, Canada

40 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

International mobility of students
The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru promotes intensive student mobility through special
programs –through university networks– or bilateral exchange programs, owing to which
students may join a foreign university for one semester or one year period, taking courses for
subsequent validation in Lima. Among the special programs it is worth mentioning SMILE
(Student Mobility in Latin America and Europe) carried out by the Magellan University Network,
with the participation of European and Latin American institutions; the Students Mobility
Program is carried out by the Inter-University Development Center (CINDA) comprised by
relevant Latin American universities and five prestigious European universities; the Academic
Exchange and Mobility Program (PIMA) in coordination with the Latin American Organization
for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) from UNESCO; the Mobility Program of the Union of
Latin-American Universities (UDUAL); and the UMAP Program (University Mobility in Asia and
the Pacific) official system of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC).

The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru also opens its campus to foreign students through
programs such as the Field School Program in Peru that carries out archeological projects in
Huaca de la Luna and San José de Moro; an ethnographic project of Andean ethnomusic; a
botanic ecological project in the Peruvian Amazon jungle; and an archeological research project
of the Inca culture and Spanish language in Cuzco. We may also mention the Semester and
Summer Programs in the University of Virginia, which allow North-American students to take
and validate regular courses from our university through their institution, and take Peruvian
and Latin American culture courses, in English, in our campus.

During 2007, our institution developed approximately 80 exchange programs that linked it
with 93 foreign universities, a figure that clearly turns it into the leading academic organization
in international mobility programs in Peru. The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru receives
approximately 350 students per year from all around the world, and this figure is continuously
increasing. This process turns our headquarters in Lima into a real international campus, where
students coming from different countries around the world participate and are educationally
trained within an enriched exchange environ that allows them to widen their horizon and to get
better acquainted with and understand other cultures.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 41

 International mobility of professors
Professors are responsible for promoting an international
vision in their respective fields of knowledge and carry out
many different initiatives of international nature related
to the exchange of knowledge, information, technology
and experience, poured into academic educational and
research projects. Hence, the Pontifical Catholic University
of Peru encourages international academic mobility of its
professors and researchers through education and training
overseas, their connection and participation in research and
teaching networks, and combined work for the execution of
development projects, all these actions that will finally enable
them to get in contact with recognized universities and foreign
institutions, and form part of a widely globalized international
context or dimension.
The mobility of professors in the Pontifical Catholic University
of Peru takes place through a number of international
cooperation programs, among which we may distinguish those
promoted by the European Commission, such as the ALFA
Program (Latin-America Academic Training) that promotes
the creation of networks for the development of cooperation
projects in institutional management, as well as scientific and
technical training plans; the Erasmus Mundus Program, which
finances high quality master courses and fosters post-graduate
training; the Interuniversity Cooperation Programme (PCI)
of the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation (AECI),
which enables the building and development of scientific and
research cooperation networks, as well as teaching at master
and doctorate level; the Theme Networks of La Rábida Group
of Spain, which purpose is the creation of regional research
and development networks for combined projects; the PREPA
Program of France, that supports the creation of master
courses between French and Latin-American institutions;
the Fullbright Commission Senior Specialist Program that
enables the visit of experts from the United States as project
consultants; the Carolina Foundation Programs that allows
42 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
the yearly specialization of two professors at doctorate level,
among others.
The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru has generated teaching
cooperation and exchange links in Latin America, through
the Horizontal Cooperation Program with Argentina and the
Mexico-Peru Scientific Cooperation Program. At an international
agencies level it is worth highlighting those projects developed
with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World
Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID),
the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Korea
International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and the Ford
Foundation, among others.
These programs allow the annual mobility overseas of
approximately 50 professors from the Pontifical Catholic
University of Peru within the framework of academic projects
undertaken by relevant European and Latin-American
consortiums or networks. These cooperation projects are linked
to the academic and scientific development of the different fields
of knowledge, as well as to the strengthening of the institutional
management of the universities that comprise the network.
Likewise, this house of learning receives approximately 60
foreign professors arriving in Lima per year to practice different
activities of an academic, scientific and cultural nature, which are
also linked to the execution of training and research projects.
As the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru promotes the
specialization and academic advance courses abroad, it has
negotiated cooperation agreements allowing its professors to
carry out post-graduate studies in prestigious universities of the
United States and Europe, as well as their participation in grant
programs offered by international cooperation agencies. Thus,
around one hundred professors from our university have carried
out studies abroad in the recent years.
Peruvian University Network
In the light of the new challenges faced by the current university
situation, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru has taken the
decision to foster university cooperation at a country level, forming
an alliance with twelve universities that share the same vision and
that constitute a potential core of regional development.

The purpose of this alliance signed on November 20, 2007, is to

undertake a cooperation program complying with the following
objectives:

- Promote and professionalize interuniversity cooperation at

a country level, in the educational, scientific, technological and
cultural fields.
- Establish and strengthen links between the participating
university authorities, as well as between professors, researchers
and students of said institutions.
- Strengthen the university institution and contribute to its
development.
- Foster research as the mainstay of country development and
university activity.
- Promote the culture of quality in university education.

The Peruvian University Network (RPU) is comprised by the

following institutions:

Catholic University of Santa María.

Catholic University of Trujillo.
National University of Cajamarca.
National University of the Peruvian Amazon
National University of Piura.
National University of San Agustín of Arequipa.
National University of San Antonio Abad of Cuzco.
National University of San Cristóbal of Huamanga.
National University of Trujillo.
National University of Central Peru.
Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University.
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 43

 The Cooperation Program with the Peruvian University and the solution of social conflicts, through university social
Network enables the development of activities on three levels: responsibility activities that imply the transfer of knowledge
and capacities by the Network universities.
1. Professors and researchers:
- Exchange of professors and researchers within network Internationalization of the Peruvian University Network:
universities to participate in conferences, teaching or
research. The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru promotes the inter-
- Pedagogic support workshops, with the support of nationalization of the Peruvian University Network through
MAGIS-PUCP, aimed at the continuous education of the the Exchange of foreign experts among universities of the
university professor for the comprehensive development of Peruvian University Network in order to share knowledge and
the teaching function, its modernization and innovation. experiences in areas of common interest.
- Teaching apprenticeships, understanding as such, a training
or advance course program achievement, seeking to bring Within this context, the Embassy of France offers support to
together professors of related fields, which content is the Peruvian University Network through a special program
prepared under mutual agreement between the demanding called ‘French International Mentoring’, with the purpose of
and the receiving academic units. strengthening the international dimension of the Network
- Mentoring between two professors of the same field of member universities in the interior of the country.
study, the ‘mentor’ offering training and orientation to a less
experienced professor. The international mentoring consists in the execution of short
- Training and updating support for professors, offering term academic activities in universities of the Peruvian Univer-
scholarships for post-graduate courses in areas of interest. sity Network, extending to such universities the visit of French
- Combined teaching, research and extension activities that experts coming from the PUCP, as well as specialists from the
have institutional or regional impact. French Institute of Andean Studies (IFEA) or from the Research
and Development Institute (RADI) based in Peru.
2. Undergraduate and postgraduate students:
- Mobility of undergraduate and postgraduate students for
one academic semester, selected by the institution based on
academic excellence.
- Support for research or project undertaking in universities of
the Peruvian University Network.

3. Institution and region:

- Combined organization of courses, conferences, workshops,
congresses and other events in the fields of interest of the
universities that form part of the Network.
- Exchange of bibliographic and audiovisual material, as well as
combined text editing.
- Promotion of cultural integration and transmission, through
the exchange of knowledge, research and the dissemination
of each region’s cultural expressions.
- Support for the comprehensive development of regions

44 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

University Consortium
The University Consortium is an association formed by the
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, the Cayetano Heredia
Peruvian University, the University of the Pacific and the
University of Lima in June, 1996, which objective is to join
individual efforts and boost the combined act of these four
institutions towards the comprehensive development of Peru,
based on values such as: truth, respect for individual dignity,
freedom of thought, social responsibility and commitment
towards development.

The University Consortium mission is to extend knowledge

through inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional project
development, the enhancement of highly skilled human
resources at the service of the country and the execution of
specific social projection actions.

Likewise, the committed objectives of this association are:

- To contribute to institutional enhancement of universities

through the preparation of highly qualified human resources
and the development of a culture of self-assessment of the
administrative, teaching, research and social projection
activities.

- To execute inter-institutional research and development

projects within the framework of university social implication
programs. To that effect, priority is given to development
agents and the promotion of viable alternatives for poverty
remediation.

- To benefit, through the transfer of knowledge, not only

professors and students of the University Consortium but also
organizations of the civil society and the State that may require it.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 45

46 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Chemistry in paradise
Amazing research work in our scientific station in the Amazon Forest.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 47

 A group of specialists of the
Environmental Research Institute of the
Catholic University (IDEA-PUCP) stayed
in Tambopata for a week, a protected
area of the Peruvian Amazonía, to
study a chemical relation between ants
and trees, and to measure the gases
emitted by the plants.
The scientific station for biological and
environmental research of IDEA-PUCP
is located inside the National Reserve of
Tambopata, one of the areas with greatest
At a point in their scientific undertaking, the researchers had to use a canoe, because the rain had flooded biodiversity in the world, observed in both,
the precarious path opened across the thick vegetation of the forest. animal and vegetal species. Thanks to an
agreement entered into by the university,
60 hectares have been assigned for students,
researchers and professors of the university to
use them in their different studies.
On this occasion, three young researchers,
graduated from the Chemistry Area, currently
involved in a study about the symbiotic
relation between trees of the tanganara or
Triplaris peruviana species and Pseudomyrmex
ants, traveled there.
In this case, the plants are hosts to the
insects, as the entire ants’ nest is inside their
hollow trunks and in exchange, the ants,
which are very aggressive, protect them from
any herbivores that may approach. The result
is that the trees do not require any more to
produce toxins to defend themselves so they
use that surplus energy in their own growth,
reaching up to 25 m high.
The purpose of this investigation, then,
is to understand the evolution process of
these two species and to determine how
the Chemistry expert enters the results of the study into her portable computer. the lodge has a solar panel the ants identify their host plant. To that
system, but the energy is only used for the kitchen, the dining room and computers. Lighting is with candles.

48 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

Using a volumetric pump connected to a hose, the scientists take samples of volatile gases to establish the chemical profile of the forest. This procedure will be repeated every two months.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 49

A naturalist resident and two chemists, accompanied by a visitor, look around for leaves required for their experiment. As it is a tree that may reach up to 25 meters, they only pick the leaves they find on the ground.

50 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

the researcher pins the leaves gathered on the trunk of the TRIPLARIS. After a few minutes, the PSEUDOMYRMEX ants attack the treated leaves fiercely, but do not touch the other ones.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 51

 effect, the chemists performed an interesting
experiment: they gathered leaves from
the Triplaris and left some of them in their
natural state, as they were found, while they
soaked the others with different chemical
compounds.
Then, they pinned all the leaves on the
trunk of a Triplaris and observed. When the
ants realized there was something on their
tree, they immediately moved to the trunk
and they voraciously attacked the leaves
that had been treated, biting them until they
managed to separate them from the trunk.
The only ones left on the same place were
the natural, untreated leaves, as the ants
recognized them and did nothing to them.
The researchers suspect that the surface of
the Triplaris leaves have a wax or some other
element, typical and unique, that enables the
ants to identify their tree; however, they need
to study further to confirm this scientifically.

Climate change awareness

Another of the tasks the specialists needed
to undertake was to measure the volatiles,
which are the gases emitted by the plants in
these tropical forests. Provided with a global
positioning system device (GPS) they took gas
samples and readings of the temperature and
humidity in two points of the natural reserve.
Once they are back at the laboratory, they will
identify how much of each type of gas there
was at the moment in the forest.
This type of monitoring will be conducted
always in the same places, every two months
and in the long term it will be possible to
determine the variation of the composition
and the amount of gases caused by the
climate change.

52 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 53
54 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Research
At the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru research is con-
ceived as a knowledge generation activity, essential for the
university life and the comprehensive progress of society. That
is why the University fosters, through different means, studies
and research to expand the boundaries in different fields of
knowledge, with special emphasis on those which decisively
contribute to the development of Peru.

The different types of research are supported in consonance

with the knowledge areas the University develops. The basic
research –theoretical and experimental– is considered a priori-
ty as a sine qua non condition for the widespread and original
production of new knowledge. The applied research is also
strongly promoted, as a display of basic knowledge to address
concrete and practical problems, most of all, of the national
environ. Finally, scientific research that unfolds in technologi-
cal developments and innovation is encouraged, in the relevant
areas, as a way to contribute to the economic growth of the
country in the context of knowledge society.

The research spheres of the staff are, mainly, the academic

departments that encourage academic research according to
specific study plans. These activities are displayed, among the
students, through the Faculties and the Graduate School, which
establish specific requirements for research in their study
plans, as well as the regulations for thesis elaboration. The in-
terdisciplinary or highly specialized research is encouraged by
the centers and institutes that, generally, have their antecham-
ber in the formation of groups and research networks.

The Academic Research Department (DAI) is the unit in charge

of the promotion, supervision and global support of the resear-
ch activities developed by professors and students from the
university academic departments, centers, institutes, laborato-
ries, groups and networks.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 55

 Lines of Research
The Academic Research Department (DAI) promotes the
definition of lines of research as a way to encourage the
confluence of different projects, both to channel the capacities
and institutional resources more efficiently and to better
address the wider problems of the university environment.
A line of research is not only a subject area, but an “organizer
axis” that aids the articulation between research projects,
as well as the study with other academic activities; the
professors’ and students’ productivity within the framework
of cooperative efforts of research; and the continuity of the
research activities by displaying their results through new
projects and initiatives.
A total of 184 lines of research have been identified in fields of
knowledge as different as Biochemical and Chemical Ecology,
Decentralization and Governance, the History of Law in Peru,
Educational Governance, Alternative Energies, Peruvian
Seismic-resistant Buildings Risk and Performance, Intercultural
Communication; State Reform; Corporate Strategy and
Emerging Markets, Economic and Technical Conversion, Pre-
Hispanic Iconography, Quantum Optics, Chemical Synthesis,
Art and Technology, within the following typology:
56 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
- Institutional Lines of Research: formally endorsed by the
institution.
- Sectoral Lines of Research: determined by each academic unit
with the evaluation and approval of the DAI.
Master Lines of Research: established by the academic
community with the approval of the DAI and the endorsement
of the Rectorate, from the conjunction of diverse sectoral lines,
as an answer to the needs and demands of the university
environment.
Non-institutionalized Lines of Research: determined by
each academic unit or research group, still without the final
approval of the DAI.
Individual Lines of Research: freely determined by each
professor.
So, individual researchers, research groups and academic
units can freely create their lines, but for them to be declared
institutional (master or sectoral) they must undergo a
permanent procedure of evaluation which determines their
consistency, according to the following criteria:
Articulation: connection between research projects, thesis
consultancy, publications, scheduled events, and other
academic activities.
Productivity: volume and quality in the bibliographic
production (books and articles in specialized magazines)
technical production (prototypes, registrations and patents)
and cultural production.
Continuity: follow up since the constitution of the line,
splitting of concluded projects and formation of new
researchers.
pontificia universidad católica del perú | 57
 Support and Stimulus
for Researchers
The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru organizes through
the Academic Research Department (DAI) different contests
and programs to support and stimulate professors and
students who are involved in research at the campus. There
is a Research Award, recognition for the best works annually
developed; and the Annual Research Project Contest, which
institutionally and economically supports approved projects
in the scientific, technological and humanistic areas. Likewise,
as from 1980, the possibility for some professors to devote
themselves entirely during a semester to study and research
for a determined project is offered, releasing them from other
academic and administrative responsibilities.

For university students there are: a Research Induction Support

Programme (PAIN) which promotes the insertion of young
students in high quality research projects; a Graduate Students
Research Support Program (PAIP) which stimulates the
specialized research by master and doctorate degree students;
and the Research Award, a recognition to the best works
developed by students every year.

Resources and tools for researchers

Seeking to offer favorable conditions for research development
at the campus, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru places
at the disposal of professors and students state-of-the-art
technological tools. That way, whoever does research work
at the university can access the DAI Information System,
the CvLAC-PUCP Platform, the ScienTI Platform, the ScienTI
Net, the Next Generation Research Net (RINGPUCP), and the
Peruvian Academic Net (RAAP). They also have free access
to databases for researchers like Worldcat, Latin American
Network Information Center or News Archive Search.

58 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

Research Centers and Institutions
Philosophical Studies Center (CEF)
Entity to promote research and debate on philosophical issues
in the different fields of knowledge, current social situation and
culture, which maximizes the lines of work of the university
Philosophy Professors. It also coordinates research activities and
projects on interdisciplinary and philosophic relevance matters,
promotes Philosophy publications and their dissemination,
performs continuous exchange with foreign peer institutes and
organizes international activities in this field.
Center for the Study, Research and Dissemination of Latin
American Music (CEMDLAT)
A unit promoting the knowledge, dissemination and
appreciation of Latin American music, encouraging the
research work in matters related to its history, its technique
and its aesthetics, offering possibilities of higher studies in
the creation and interpretation fields. It is also important
the documentation and preservation work of these artistic
manifestations, wherefore a system is being developed, which
includes catalogue and card indexes of the most prominent
and representative Peruvian composers born between 1900
and 1940.
Architecture and the City Research Center (CIAC)
Institution contributing to better comprehend the complexity
inherent to the architectonic and town-planning production,
seeking to encourage the development of solid proposals which
outstand by their commitment to offer quality cities and
architecture and to contribute to ensuring the comprehensive
and sustainable territorial development.
Applied Geography Research Center (CIGA)
A team in charge of consolidating and disseminating a new
systemic approach in Geography to generate a sounder
and more accurate knowledge of the national space and to
confer value to the geographical research for the local and
regional development. During the last years, cutting-edge
technology has been adopted by CIGA in the teledetection
and microinformation areas to increase research. The purpose
is to expand the natural resources management capacity
by improving analytical techniques, faster access to data,
geographical information system analysis (SIG) integration of
teledetection and specialized professionals’ training.
Educational Services and Research Center (CISE)
A unit created to design and carry out research and educational
development projects, to support the university professional
academic training as well as to assist in consulting, training
and continuing education programs for teachers of the
national teaching career. Likewise, it contributes to the
innovation and dissemination of the country educational
advancements.
Center for Research on Sociology, Economics, Politics and
Anthropology (CISEPA)
Entity founded to offer assistance in the design of
development projects which addresses the country issues in
an innovative manner, using fundamental instruments like
basic research, focused on the building and development of
knowledge, as well as the applied research, focused on the
elaboration of studies for the design of policies, diagnostics
and evaluations. CISEPA supports both types of research,
promoting their integration as part of the training, teaching
and learning processes the university imparts. To develop these
challenges, CISEPA counts on the contribution of professors and
students of the Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science
departments, as well as on a broad relationship network with
universities, governmental entities, companies and national
and international civil society organizations, with which it has
developed research work, projects, debate venues, workshops,
seminars and publications.
Corrosion and Protection Institute (ICP)
Entity created with the cooperation of the German
Government, to promote a better understanding of the
scientific characteristics of corrosion and the technology
to apply for its control. Through its research, prevention
and dissemination work, costs and losses caused by
pontificia universidad católica del perú | 59
 this phenomenon decrease, lengthening the lifetime of
materials and reducing contamination of products and of the
environment. In addition to the continuing specialization
of teachers and professionals in renowned international
companies and institutions, the institute provides
infrastructure to enable addressing the most urgent corrosion
issues of the productive sector of the country, in an effective
manner and coherent with the current technological demands.
Environmental Studies Institute (IDEA)
A unit conceived to train professionals in technical knowledge,
experts in environmental and related issues, capable of
managing sustainable development projects and to rationally
take advantage of the resources offered by the Peruvian
sociodiversity and biodiversity. IDEA develops interdisciplinary
research studies and consulting on varied environmental
issues; as well as dissemination, training and support activities
in the rendering of community services. One of its main
projects has to do with the biodiversity and conservation
of the Tambopata National Reserve, located in the Peruvian
Southeastern Forest, where IDEA has established a permanent
scientific station for biological and environmental research
that welcomes national and foreign students, teachers and
professionals.
International Studies Institute (IDEI)
An entity devoted to promoting and developing
interdisciplinary studies and scientific research on
international issues, with the purpose of contributing to
a better insertion of Peru in Latin America and the global
scenario, through broadcasting and academic promotion
activities, consulting and arbitration, support to training,
production of publications and by establishing relationships
for scientific exchange with similar institutions.
Ethnomusicology Institute (IDE)
Entity in charge of preserving and revitalizing the cultural
heritage of the aboriginal and mestizo populations of the
Andean countries (Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia) through the
audiovisual study and documentation of their musical
expressions, in contexts like celebrations, rituals and
60 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
traditional dance. The IDE researches in specific regions of the
Andean countries documenting the varied musical traditions
and their role in culture. Upon completion, the projects are
included in books, records, documentaries and interactive
materials to be disseminated in Peru and the world, through
organizations as prestigious as the Smithsonian Institution
of the United States. Likewise, IDE maintains an important
library and a valuable archive comprising audio and video
recordings and photographic material, organized in collections
compiled by the researchers themselves or granted to the
institution.
Institute of Research for the Teaching of Mathematics
(IREM-PUCP)
Peruvian brand of the Institut de Recherche pour
l’Enseignement des Mathematiques (IREM) created in France
and turned into an international academic network, with the
purpose to develop research and activities to stimulate the
improvement of the mathematics education quality. In the
productive learning process, the role of school and university
teachers is paramount, so they must undergo a good training
in mathematics counting with methodological resources to
facilitate the students’ comprehension. IREM works to provide
teachers with the possibility of continuing training, integrating
theory and practice, generating problem solving spaces, and
displaying the connection between the different mathematics
areas and with the outside.
Radio-Astronomy Institute (INRAS)
A unit established by the end of 2007 to research on Radio-
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Spatial Science and Engineering
areas. Among its main objectives is the creation of an
infrastructure to observe the universe, starting with the
construction of a 20-meter diameter radio telescope. The
institute is the first in the area of Radio-Astronomy in Peru,
opening a new stage to access the international concert,
undertake the search for new knowledge and the researchers’
training on a forward-looking approach subject. Likewise,
it intends to establish alliances with observatories and
universities around the world to undertake joint tasks in
research and academic training.
Scientific and Technological
Laboratories
The Sciences and Engineering areas of the Pontifical Catholic
University of Peru comprise about 70 highly specialized
laboratories at the disposition of university students,
professors, researchers and graduates, and open to public
and private companies and institutions that may request
tests, consulting services and expert opinions, in a wide array
of fields like mining, hydrocarbons, manufacturing, metal-
mechanics, agribusiness, textiles, fisheries and construction.

Center for Manufacturing Advanced Technologies (CETAM)

- Numeric Computerized Control (CNC): teaching of numeric
control machinery programming, as well as the use of
computer assisted manufacturing (CAM) software. It has a
lathe, a milling machine and simulators.
- Pneumatic: training in the use of pneumatics and electro-
pneumatics for the manufacturing automation, utilizing
didactic modules, electro-valves and pistons among others.
- Computerized Metrology: linear measuring metrology
practices using a coordinates-based measuring machine
(CMM).
- Robotics: instruction in the use, application and programming
of robots. CETAM currently comprises six robots.
- Oil-hydraulics: teaching of the hydraulic use for production of
forces, torsion forces and movements, as well as its automation
in the use of heavy machinery. It has Norgren-Herion didactic
modules.
- Integrated Computerized Manufacturing (CIM): training
in manufacturing, programming and performing using
computing integration. It comprises six stations: storehouse,
manufacturing, welding, projects, assembling and quality
control.
- Automation Technology: training in programmable logic
controllers (PLC) programming, manipulating digital and
analogical entries/exits, using the sentence list language and
the ladder language.
- CAD-CAE Programming: teaching of the use of 3D drawing
software. Also calculations by finite elements to analyze efforts
and distortions of structural elements and machines, exposed

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 61

 to static and dynamic loads, as well as temperature distribution
in elements subjected to heat and vibration sources.
Certification
- Certification Laboratory: it is targeted to the certification
of electronic, electric, electromechanic and computerized
systems, equipment and components, as well as slot machines
and mechanic-electronic games.
Corrosion and Protection
- Paints and Accelerated Corrosion Laboratory: works carried
out include paint system selection, corrosive medium
evaluation (air, waters, soils, chemical agents) and on-site
inspection and supervision.
- Metallography Laboratory: it offers services of manufacturing
processes studies, determination of macro and micrographic
structures in industrial use alloys, failure analysis in parts or in
service conditions, evaluation of coatings on metallic materials
and thermal treatments for metals and corrosion resistant alloys.
- Chemical Analysis Laboratory: it has appropriate equipment
to apply classic methods, like volumetry and gravimetry,
as well as the instrumental methods like visible molecular
absorbance spectroscopy, atomic absorption, flame through
hydride generation and with graphite oven, flame emission
and inductively coupled plasma emission, apart from
electrochemical techniques.
- Special Corrosion Testing Laboratory: it provides consulting
services to verify compliance with technical specifications of
anticorrosive protection materials and systems, in accordance
with predominant environmental parameters in servicing
conditions.
- Electrochemical Laboratory: identification of potential
corrosion systems in installations or equipment projects. In
addition, the laboratory assesses the effect on the metallic part
in contact with the medium or under operational conditions
and determines the susceptibility of metallic materials under
different types of corrosion in a defined medium.
Physics
- Experimental Physics Laboratory: undergraduate and post-
graduate courses are developed in relation with plasma lines,
62 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
optical microscopy, microwaves, nuclear footprints technique
and cuasi-crystals modeling.
- Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Electricity and Magnetism
Laboratory: testing and experiments on these disciplines,
addressed to students of General Studies, Science and
Engineering.
- Physical Analysis Laboratory: it offers state-of-the-art
technology and professional capacity, providing diversified
services, like physical, electrical, mechanical and thermal
testing, among others.
- Materials Science Laboratory: development of new variable
bandwidth semiconductors is carried out to understand their
properties.
- Acoustics Laboratory: it is qualified to offer noise measuring
and control services, acoustic design for commercial areas,
auditoriums and theatres, apart from ambient acoustics.
- Thin Film Laboratory: it develops research, training activity
and third party servicing, offering its high vacuum system for
thin film evaporation, nonreflecting and specular optics.
- Optics Laboratory: it has workshop machines to manufacture
precision optics; measuring and verifying systems for planes,
spheres and angles; equipment for spectroscopy, for physical
optics and lasers, as well as for the optic and photonic
materials study.
- Polymers Laboratory: it is devoted to research on Polymer
Chemistry, as well as to teaching polymers in general and
to polymer analysis services for plastic companies. It has a
Heraeus electric stove, a Sartorius scale, a rotary evaporator, a
vacuum pump, among other equipment.
Electricity and Electronics
- Electronic Systems and Circuits Laboratory: it has equipment
and installations for training, experimentation, evaluation,
simulation and development of analogical and digital circuits,
with discrete components and low frequency and up to 1 MHz
frequency integrated circuits.
- Microprocessors Laboratory: it has equipment and
installations that enable the training, experimentation,
evaluation and development of systems based on
microprocessors and microcontrollers.
- Microelectronics Laboratory: it has equipment and
installations that enable designing application-specific
integrated circuits (ASIC) and reconfigurable architectures for
implementation in field programmable gate arrays (FPGA).
The main activities developed are focused on research in the
Microelectronics area.
- Electronic Projects Laboratory: it has equipment and
installations that enable manufacturing mechanical and
electronic systems and circuits based on discrete components,
integrated circuits, micropocessors, microcontrollers, engines
and mechanic parts.
- Advanced Control Laboratory: it has an appropriate
infrastructure to perform laboratory practices in the
automation and control field. It provides services and trains
personnel, professional as well as technician, from industrial
and service companies.
- Digital Signal Processing Laboratory: it has equipment and
installations to train, evaluate, develop and research systems
and projects in the speech and audio, images and video, active
noise control, ultrasound and programmable logic treatment.
- Electricity and Electric Machinery Laboratory: it renders
services to the university community and to the industry
about the electric power use. It develops its activity in teaching,
research, project development and industry services.
- Automation and Control Laboratory: it enables the
performance of laboratory practices in the industrial processes
automation and control for the Electronic, Mechanical and
Industrial Engineering undergraduate professional courses.
- Electrical Systems Laboratory: it offers laboratory courses
on the industrial use of electric power for Electronic and
Mechanical Engineering students. It provides services to the
university community and to the industry in general.
- Bioengineering Laboratory: it has a specialized equipment for
Bioengineering development for both, academic and research
work, at undergraduate and graduate levels. It has simulator
equipment and biomedical signal gauges, data acquisition
system for experimental physiology, digital oscilloscopes and
computers.
Civil Engineering
- Antiseismic Structures Laboratory: it has equipment to
manufacture baked clay elements, concrete covers and concrete
paving-stones. Besides, it performs methods to extract and test
cylindrical test specimens and reinforced concrete joists.
- Soil Mechanics Laboratory: it guides and strengthen the
development of knowledge in the fields of construction
materials, geology, soil mechanics and pavements.
- Hydraulics Laboratory: it has a locally made horizontal flow
canal which enables developing flows under sluices, forces
over sluices, uniform flow in canals, flows over spillways,
hydraulic jump and specific power. In addition, it has an
available locally made tubing system, a device for hydrostatic
and fluid properties testing, a permeability tank, a raised-
tank/cistern pump system and an equilibrium chimney for the
hydroelectric scheme mass oscillation study.
Mining Engineering
- Mineralogy and Petrography Laboratory: works performed
include work and research applied to the exploration of
mineral deposits, control of concentration plants and
civil works processes, as well as rocks for foundations and
sediments in hydraulic works.
- Rock Mechanics Laboratory: it enables students to develop
abilities to apply rock mechanics concepts, relating results
with actual situations in the mining area.
- Hydrometallurgy Laboratory: it has advanced equipment
like galvanostat-potentiostat, pH-meters, oximeters,
conductometers, peristaltic pumps, drying/sterilizing and
culture stoves, orbital agitator, among others.
- Mineral Chemical Analysis Laboratory: it has the
infrastructure and necessary material to analyze carbon, to test
acid rock drainage, to perform quantitative chemical analysis
by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and soil analysis.
- Mineralurgy Laboratory: it has a jaw crusher, a disc and
roll crusher, a vibrating sieve, Knelson and Falcon centrifuge
samplers, bar and ball mills, granulometric classifiers,
magnetic separators, among others.
- Pyrometallurgy Laboratory: it has furnaces to perform metal
drying, roasting and calcination testing.
Telecommunications Engineering
- Communications Systems and Circuits Laboratory: it is
equipped for Engineering students to carry out practical
pontificia universidad católica del perú | 63
 experiences to reinforce their basic knowledge.
- Software Laboratory: for telecommunications software
research, with a special emphasis on free software
development. Likewise, it is used to make its development
useful to the community in general.
- Telecommunications Systems Laboratory: it is equipped with
very powerful computers, used for planning and simulation
of telecommunications networks and the processing of
telecommunications applied signals.
- Wireless Telecommunications Laboratory: research with
modern wireless telecommunications technologies is
performed. It also offers services and certifications on non-
ionizing radiation measuring, determination of antennae
parameters and characterization of microwave elements.
- Commutation and Networking Laboratory: it develops
practical sessions of telematics and networking; it is also
equipped to dictate extension courses, such as the Cisco CCNA
certification and IP Telephony, among others.
- Optical Telecommunications Laboratory: optical
communication technologies research is carried out to offer
optical fiber and copper structured wiring up services.
Industrial Engineering
- Quality Control Laboratory: the laboratory has the following
equipment and tools: Ohaus Explorer balance, Mitutoyo
Vernier and Xpult catapult.
- Research and Operations Laboratory: its computers run
the following software: Version 14 MINITAB, LINDO, ARENA
9.0, VISUAL JOB SHOP 2.6, Educational Version MATLAB and
PROJECT 2000.
- Industrial Processes Laboratory: plant capacity, technological
transfer and modernization are designed and determined,
as well as automation of these processes and in-company
training.
- Ergonomics Laboratory: it has an environmental conditions
simulator, equipment to measure physical effort, luxation
meters and anthropometric meters.
- Industrial Safety and Labor Study Laboratory: it has a gas
monitor, a thermal stress meter, dosimeter, hygrometer,
sampling pump, anemometer, urometers, vibrations meter
and distance digital meter.
64 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Computer Engineering
- Project Research and Development Laboratory: it comprises
the software engineering, information systems, programming
languages and operational systems areas.
- Networking Laboratory: it has a diversity of network
equipment like concentrators, switches, routers and access
points, among others.
- Multipurpose Laboratory: it has standard equipment,
software and operational systems as needed for students to
perform academic activities and secure their knowledge.
- Information Technology Laboratory: it is focused on
developing academic, curricular and extracurricular activities
of the Computer Engineering Department and other university
specialties and units that may need it.
Mechanics Engineering
- Manufacturing Laboratory: it offers mechanizing services to
materials and industrial parts laboratories, digitalization and
expert opinions to students as well as companies that may
need them.
- Power Laboratory: it has an appropriate infrastructure
to perform pressure, temperature, relative humidity, flow,
torque and angular velocity measuring and evaluations of
thermal isolation, heat exchangers, steam installations and air
conditioning.
- CAD-CAM Laboratory: it has state-of-the-art software for
design automation and manufacturing of 2D and 3D modeling
tools, finite elements and computer assisted manufacturing. It
is of exclusive use for undergraduate and graduate students of
the Mechanical Engineering Department.
- Environmental and Energy Analysis Laboratory: it offers
diagnoses on the energy quality of electric power installations
and carries out environmental monitoring programs,
environmental reports, environmental impact assessments
and environmental management and adaptation programs.
- Materials Laboratory: it offers materials identification
services, welding and welder procedures qualification,
industrial equipment inspection and product certification.
Mathematics
- Statistics Laboratory: it offers statistics services such as
consulting on the implementation and design of surveys,
results analysis and processing, as well as technical consulting
on statistic analysis.

Chemistry
- Magnetic Resonance Laboratory: it has a 300 MHz Bruker
spectrometer which enables programming different types
of mono and bidimensional experiments. Studying them
in detail, the chemist may infer the simple and complex
molecules chemical structure.
- Pilot Plant: it performs extraction, purifying and derivation
of substances from biomass. The processes and research work
support graduate and master degree theses and national and
international projects. It also offers treatment and research
services to external clients.
- Chemical Analysis Laboratory: its objective is the creation of
new chemical analysis methods, offering the market efficient
organic as well as inorganic services.
- Research Laboratory: it comprises several laboratories where
research is carried out on the materials, environment, natural
products, chemical synthesis and analytical techniques lines.
- Instrumental Analysis Laboratory: it has equipment for
liquid chromatography (HPLC), gases chromatography (GC),
IR and UV-Visible spectroscopy, atomic absorption and flame
photometry.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 65

 Groups and networks
The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru has more than 50
groups comprising professors, researchers and students of our
university, as well as a series of networks established with
other specialized institutions to develop projects and activities.
Groups
Juridical Clinic of Public Interest Actions: it funnels common
interests from different society groups seeking to incorporate
them into the political and juridical decision-making processes.
It undertakes cases in defense of public interest with a
strategic perspective, integrating the client agenda with the
public interest one.
Build, Citizenship, Education and Culture: it promotes the
building of citizenship since adolescence. It fosters citizen
values like respect, responsibility, solidarity, tolerance and
justice, and encourages individuals to integrate them in
a relationship with themselves, their community and the
Nation.
Rural Sector Support Group (GRUPO): it fosters the use and
application of renewable energy sources like water, wind, the
sun and animal traction to satisfy the rural sector needs and
the environment conservation.
Bioengineering Group: it researches and develops biomedical
instrumentation and health sector applied technology.
Automation and Control Group (ACA): it promotes the
scientific and technological participation of the control theory,
the automation and its elements in the industrial field.
Multimedia Development Group (GDM): it researches and
develops multimedia applications integrating innovative
concepts and methods to improve training and research
quality.
Eolic and Aerodynamic Projects Studies Group: it designs and
66 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
develops equipment to enable the exploitation of our country’s
eolic resources, especially in the coast.
Gender Studies Group: it reflects, analyzes and articulates, with
critical and creative capacity, identity, gender, class, ethnicity
and generation matters. It contributes to the enrichment of
knowledge on the social situation, the interactions among
people and the life world.
Oral History Group of the PUCP (GHOPUC): it promotes a
multidisciplinary research space in which the oral history is
the main axis of the proposal, as a new methodological source
of pedagogy and research.
Polymers and Composed Materials Research Group (POLyCOM):
it researches in polymer and compound materials science
and technology, exploiting the country resources to obtain
advanced materials at lower costs.
Natural Products Research Group: Nature and Health
(NATySA): it studies and analyzes the chemical properties of
Peruvian medicinal plants and develops technology for their
industrial exploitation.
Systems and Medical Equipment Research and Development
Group (GIDEMS): it develops technology for the design and
elaboration of medical equipment and systems at low cost,
appropriate to the national reality.
Interdisciplinary Group for Research Applied to the Arts and
Design (AXIS Arte): it is devoted to the educational innovation
and the incorporation of new learning technologies, as well
as to design and identity matters and education for the
conservation of the cultural and natural heritage.
Software Engineering Research and Development Group
(GIDIS): it studies methodologies and solutions for information
technology systems in organizations disseminating modern
tools and techniques.
Engineering Computational Methods Group (GMC):
it researches in the computerized simulation field for
engineering, offering higher power and development of more
technology for its application in the Peruvian industry.
Microelectronics Group (GuE): it works in the field of the
integrated circuits (chips) and programmable logic devices, to
implement complex electronic circuits and systems with clear
economic advantages.
Applied Optics Group (GOA): it is devoted to the optical
metrology and technology study, thin film, holography and
lasers.
Quantum Optics Group (GROC): it researches in the quantum
optics field, making theoretical calculations in close contact
with experiments performable in international laboratories.
Digital Signal Processing Group: it studies the voice and
image synthesis and recognition, technology which seeks the
interaction of users with the machines to their own benefit.
Family and Justice Group: it offers a multidisciplinary
contribution to the juridical culture of family judges for better
case resolving, turning into an opportunity of change for the
individual, the family and society.
Art Research Interdisciplinary Group (GUIA): it promotes
the cognizance, dissemination and appreciation of Peruvian
art within the Latin American and world context, with an
intercultural vision, seeking their applicability in human
development projects.
Yachay Group: it promotes the industrialization of the Peruvian
natural resources and their sustainable exploitation, as a
means to improve the human groups quality of life. Their
project involves the entire production chain, from the sowing
up to adapting to market demands.
Physics Teaching Improvement: it creates new methodologies
and materials for teaching this scientific discipline. It designs
and elaborates toy prototypes and low cost teaching modules,
with local raw materials, for the instruction of Physics in
secondary and university education.
Social Projection in Law (PROSODE): it promotes juridical
research and its practical application to concrete national
situation events, contributing to enhance the life level of the
less favored, through the orientation, knowledge and defense
of their rights and obligations.
Carbon Project: it investigates the energy potential of different
agribusiness elements to use them as alternative energy
sources, caring for the environment and the natural resources.
Interdisciplinary Seminar on Religious Studies (SIER): it
promotes the study of religion in its multiple manifestations,
with the input of theoretical and methodological perspectives
from different disciplines, opening a critical space to debate
and exchange of ideas.
Visual Anthropology Workshop (TAV): it is a debate, research
and audiovisual production space in social sciences. It is an
interdisciplinary and intergenerational meeting where social
and human disciplines, as well as artistic and technological
ones, are summoned.
Law Workshop: it promotes the confluence of every
branch of the juridical science towards the search for
concrete development alternatives. It studies, analyzes and
disseminates environmental, commercial, constitutional,
procedural, civil, tributary, international, criminal law and the
children and adolescents’ rights.
Popular Mentalities Studies Workshop (TEMPO): it analyzes
testimonies, interviews and novels from a collective
hermeneutic approach and promotes the study of different
aspects related to society.
Research Group: a space to reflect on the university research
labor and on the existing scientific-technologic paradigms
of the different areas of knowledge. Likewise, it supports
the research proposals and projects developed by students,
pontificia universidad católica del perú | 67
 graduates and scholars in general, facilitating team work and
the contact with other disciplines.
Condensed Matter Theory: it investigates the metallic
amorphous systems and studies their electronic structure,
electron distribution and the conditions for their formation.
Chemistry Teaching Strategies Design and Research
Group (GIDEEQ): it researches, develops and applies new
methodologies and educational materials for the teaching of
Chemistry at university level.
Telecommunications Development and Research Group (TELCO
I+D): it carries out studies in basic and telecommunications
applied sciences, developing new technologies and solutions to
cope with problems.
Creativity, Technology and Talent Group: it promotes
the appreciation of high capacity and talent in different
knowledge and human creation areas, with an intercultural
vision, seeking the applicability of training and development
projects.
Biological Laboratories Equipment Development Group
(EquiLaB): it carries out research activities in the different
electronic areas, with application in the field of life sciences.
It is focused on developing equipment suitable to the national
laboratories needs.
Astronomy and Astrophysics Group: it integrates students and
professors interested in these scientific disciplines, aiming at
promoting their study and dissemination.
Entrepreneurial Social Responsibility Indicators Group
(INDICARSE): It promotes the research of entrepreneurial social
responsibility indicators in the agriexporting sector, adjusted
to the national situation and which may favor an improvement
of entrepreneurial competitiveness.
Textus Group. Research and Services in Communication
Competences: it researches and offers services within the
Linguistics area, applied to the teaching and learning of text
68 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
production and comprehension at different educational and
professional levels.
Rural Telehealth, Telemedicine and Telecommunication
Group (GTR-PUCP): development, application, analysis and
impact evaluation and dissemination of information and
communication technologies (TIC) adequate to contribute to
the improvement of the quality of life of communities lacking
or with limited access to communication means.
New Products and Innovation Group (NUCLEO NPI): it
is oriented to the research, consulting and training in
technological and organizational innovation matters, as well as
the development of new products and services.
School Research Workshop (TIE): an interdisciplinary space to
study the school institution for the purpose of supporting the
educational management renewal.
Disputes Resolution and Transformation Laboratory: it studies
strategies, approaches and experiences to elaborate proposals
and spread criteria to facilitate the settlement of disputes.
Integration and Development of Peru Workshop: it analyzes
the national development problematics, specially the
international insertion of Peru.
Narrative Studies Seminar (SEN): it is more interested on the forms
than on the narrative contents. It welcomes researchers of the
multiple narrative “fiction” expressions: myths, stories, written
and oral literature, as well as television expressions, with the aim
of deepening their analysis and sharing their approaches.
Complex Systems Research Group: it designs methods and
tools to analyze and describe the complex systems behavior
and characteristics, studies the mechanisms followed by
the interaction within the complex systems to produce the
observed emergent phenomena, and disseminates information
on complex systems theories and their applications.
Experimental Psychology Group: it researches different
psychological matters, like compared cognitive processes,
psychology of emotions, perception and psychopharmacology,
from an experimental perspective.

Environmental and Economic Behavior Research and Studies

Group (GEA): it promotes the importance and awareness of
environmental care and their incorporation in human and
economic development contexts. It gathers contributing efforts
to knowledge, through basic and applied research.

Social Complexity Computational Research Seminar: it

analyzes complexity and its relation with economic, cultural,
social, organizational, political and government phenomena,
using computational models and simulations based on non
linear and emergent dynamics.

Tourism Studies Workshop: it investigates the tourism

phenomenon from the Social Sciences perspective, for the
purpose of contributing to the design of sustainable touristic
development models, within the framework of respect for the
environment and the cultural identity.

Childhood Anthropologic Studies Workshop: it studies the
childhood subject from a great diversity of approaches, with
and anthropological emphasis and from multiple specialties:
education, health, biology, psychology, social work, law,
philosophy, apart from social sciences.
Networks
Peruvian Phenomenology and Hermeneutics Circle (CIPhER):
a private, academic group, politically independent and non-
profit group, that seeks to stimulate, harmonize and promote
phenomenological and hermeneutical research in Peru. It
supports publications and projects related to the sector.
Technological Prospective: a multidisciplinary human group
seeking to disseminate and train members of the university
community in the exercise of technological prospective, to
have a look on the future and develop a vision of the needs of
tomorrow’s society.
Alfa Emertec Network: it was created for the intercontinental
impulse of the emergent technologies research for the food
industry and the university-enterprise cooperation, whose
main objectives are the dissemination and incentive of the
sector.
Intercultural Studies International Network (RIDEI): it was
created to study the current world intercultural phenomena.
It congregates ten Latin American and European universities,
as well as all those professionals interested in deepening,
participating, debating and proposing projects in related
matters.
Welding Peruvian Network (RPS): a group to promote the
integration among professionals linked with the Welding
Engineering sector, establishing debate spaces, research,
exchange of professional experiences and relationships.
Cleaner Production Network (RDPML): it articulates the
different university actors who work or seek to work in
subjects related to cleaner production and serves as a link with
other society actors involved in this issue.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 69

70 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
So far, so close
After twelve centuries, the secrets of a pre-Hispanic
culture that inhabited our campus were dug up.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 71


An archeologist and two students examine in detail clay containers found in the most recent excavations.
An expert performs an altimetric registry in order to
determine the several layers found in the excavation.
72 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
An archeological site located within the
boundaries of the Catholic University
enables our students and professors to do
research on how the ancient inhabitants
of Lima lived and why they died.
The archaeology students of the Pontifical Ca-
tholic University of Peru do not need to travel
far to acquire professional practice. Inside our
own campus, a few meters from the study
rooms, there is a pre-Hispanic site baptized
as ‘Huaca 20’, which, according to research
works performed in the last three years, has
been classified as the largest funerary center
discovered in Lima to date. The first excavatio-
ns were carried out in the 70’s and approxima-
tely 150 tombs were found, corresponding to
the Lima Culture that flourished in that area
between the years 750 and 850 after Christ.
However, it was only in 2005 that a com-
prehensive research project began in ´Huaca
20’, currently engaging four archeologists,
seven students, three specialists in physical
anthropology, in stone remains and in biology,
one technical draftsman and 15 field assis-
tants, duly trained to undertake this delicate
task.
During these three years, the research team
has made excavations in a 1,280 square meter
surface, and has found 220 other tombs, con-
firming that the site was a complete cemen-
tery, with at least 370 tombs, located next to a
housing area.
How did the ancient Lima natives live?
According to studies conducted, it has been
established that it was a low-income fisher-
men village, mainly dedicated to the extrac-
The Physical Anthropologist performs a thorough tion of sea products and to agriculture, which
examination of the osseous remains found.
an archaeologist and her assistant work thouroughly to take off the soil and other materials found on osseous remains.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 73

Students in the Archeology room filling in the labels and photographic register of each one of the pieces of pottery found.

74 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

The osseous remains of the ancient settlers of the Lima culture were almost always found lying on their side and with their limbs flexed in different positions.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 75

 is not strange, as the site is located only 2 km
far from the Pacific Ocean. Likewise, due to
the finding of different funerary contexts, it
has been proved that the settlers belonged
to several ethnic groups and lived in very
difficult conditions, thus, their life average was
between 45 and 50 years.
Spcialists also discovered a number of
osseous remains of children and it is well
known that children mortality was high due
to malnutrition, parasitosis, tuberculosis and
other diseases typical of the first years of life.
All remains found in this archeological site
have been duly registered piece by piece, with
pictures and graphics of their original position
on site, as well as of the subsequent analysis
in the experts’ room.
A complete and documented report is
published at the end of each research year
period, including images and drawings and
analysis of the pieces, a study that is shared
with the national and international scienti-
fic community in order to contribute to the
better knowledge of the Peruvian Prehispanic
cultures.

76 | pontificia universidad católica del perú

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 77
78 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
culture
The promotion and dissemination of culture is a priority in
the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. To this effect, this
house of learning organizes and gives firm support to different
artistic and cultural activities through different venues, as part
of the comprehensive education it imparts to its students and
the different services it offers to the community in general.

The Department of Cultural Activities is the unit in charge of

organizing the agenda of the areas dedicated to the promotion
of culture in and out of the university. Every week it organizes
the “Cultural Thursdays” with events that disseminate in the
campus different Peruvian and foreign cultural expressions.

In addition, the university has centers and schools specifically

dedicated to the promotion of certain art and culture
expression, as detailed below:

Cultural Center of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru

This institution was created to promote and disseminate
different cultural expressions, such as film making, theater
and plastic arts. Like a bridge connecting the university and
the community, the center is a living entity that serves for
reflection, encouragement and development of national
culture and offers in one same venue expressions of different
disciplines. It also forms part of the Latin American cultural
scenario, with integration as its goal. The Cultural Center
produces a set of activities like theater, dance, music, cinema,
art exhibitions and conferences with excellence as their goal,
contributing to enrich the cultural work and to bring art closer
to the community. It also organizes extension courses open to
the public in general, as part of the continuing education that
drives the university. One of its most outstanding events is the
Latin American Film Festival or Festival of Lima, a gathering of
directors, actors and public that since 1996 exhibits and honors
every year the best films in this part of the continent.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 79

80 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
Center of Oriental Studies
Center for the dissemination of the history, literature,
linguistics, philosophy, art, religion and folklore of Chinese,
Japanese, Korean, Indian and Iranian cultures, through the
organization of courses, conferences, publications and other
activities in the campus. Furthermore, it is in constant contact
and cultural and social exchange with peer institutions in
those countries, as well as with other entities that disseminate
oriental arts and customs.
Music and Dance Center (CEMDUC)
Center for the study and dissemination of Peruvian music
and dances, the purposes of which are the theoretical and
practical knowledge of these expressions and the defense and
development of the cultural and artistic heritage of the nation.
Since its foundation, it assumed that the practice of art is a
cultural right of every person and based on this assumption, it
promotes the activity as a fondness and does not participate
in events of a political or commercial nature. It consists of
two areas: The Permanent Music Group and Peruvian Dance,
where all interested parties from the University Community
participate: non-teaching staff, teachers and students; and
the Open Music and Peruvian Dance School, which offers
extension courses and workshops to the public in general.
‘Andanzas’ Dance and Movement School
This unit promotes dancing as a component of the
comprehensive academic education, generating spaces to
raise its technical level and professional development and
reasserting its role as a means of social communication and
transmitter of culture. ‘Andanzas’ carries out activities in line
with its guidelines, giving special importance to the exchange
through residency programs with foreign choreographers
and dance groups and establishing agreements with other
institutions for the development and implementation of social
projects, where education and the dissemination of values
constitute the main objective.
The students of the last education level of the school
form part of the ‘Grupo Andanzas’ that seeks to disseminate
contemporary dance in its different expressions. Since 1995,
they have staged many varied full pieces and choreographic
pieces and have also participated in different festivals.
The school also organizes a contemporary dance festival
every year, which brings together the most prominent artists
of Lima.
Female Choir
The Female Choir of the Pontifical Catholic University of
Peru was founded in 1996, following the First Singing and
Choral Conduction Workshop organized by the Center for the
Study, Research and Dissemination of Latin American Music
(CEMDLAT).
Its ample and varied repertoire covers universal choral
music from different times and styles, as well as popular
Peruvian and Latin American music. Its musical dissemination
work includes numerous didactic concerts and presentations in
schools, hospitals and churches.
Madrigalists Choir
The Madrigalists Choir of the Pontifical Catholic University
of Peru is a group devoted to cultivating and disseminating
chamber choir music. It has among its members some solo
singers renowned in Lima and the repertoire it offers covers
work from the Renaissance to nowadays, including Latin
American colonial compositions. It frequently participates in
special presentations with the National Symphonic Orchestra.
Ancient Music Group
It was formed in 1995, with the purpose of disseminating a
Renaissance and Baroque repertoire and contributing to the
formation of a new public fond of good music. In its concerts,
they basically interpret baroque pieces using instruments of
the period: harpsichord, recorders (soprano, tenor, contralto
and bass), lute, viola da gamba (soprano and tenor) and in
some occasions, medieval and renaissance instruments like the
crumhorn. Its repertoire includes the work of Italian, English,
French, German, Spanish and American composers of the
colonial period.
The ‘Lima’ Strings Quartet
It was established in 1996 and it is the only stable professional
quartet in Peru, that disseminates a vast repertoire of chamber
pontificia universidad católica del perú | 81
 music, including the work of Peruvian composers. Furthermore,
it has made numerous appearances in throughout the
Peruvian territory and has offered successful international
presentations, like its highly praised participation in the First
Latin American Festival of Chamber Music, held in Washington
D.C., where it represented Peru.
‘Aranjuez’ Strings Quartet
Founded in December 1994 and then incorporated to the
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru aiming at expanding
its artistic and cultural activities. It is made up by young,
prestigious musicians and is the first stable group of its nature
in Peru.
Big Band
Youth orchestra formed by 25 university students, that
emerged in 2006 from a music workshop dictated by a
Literature Major student. It has a wide repertoire that includes
jazz, bolero and mambo classics, as well as unforgettable pop
and rock songs, film soundtracks and even Christmas music.
Catholic University Theater (TUC)
For more than four decades now, the TUC has played a
leading role in the history of Peruvian theater, offering high
quality productions of classic, contemporary, Peruvian and
experimental plays that have made it possible to bring the
dramatic arts closer to all kinds of public: schools, prisons,
indigenous communities and different places in Lima and the
provinces.
Additionally, the Drama Education Center of the TUC offers
the professional Acting career, with four years of studies and
workshops for students, teachers interested in drama teaching,
theater professionals and scenic arts students.
The TUC is a place where the actors’ profession has been
dignified and is committed to a project that rests on a history
of love and commitment to the theater. The center was
founded in 1961 by the leading national actor and honorary
doctor of the PUCP, Ricardo Blume, who had recently returned
from Spain after following studies in the Royal Superior School
of Dramatic Art in Madrid.
This was the successful inception of a particular theater
82 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
history, with a mystic based on humbleness, discipline, respect
to one’s self and to the public, where there were no stars small
roles, as the need for team work was permanently stressed.
Archives and collections
One of the most important departments of the Library of the
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru is Archives and Special
Collections. It was initially formed with some first editions and
brochures and was enriched with the donation of manuscripts
and documents from the Peruvian poets Martín Adán and Luis
Hernández.
This section kept growing with original texts and letters
from the acclaimed poets César Vallejo and Abraham
Valdelomar, a contribution of the distinguished plastic artist
Fernando de Szyszlo. There is also material that once belonged
to the intellectuals and artists José Santos Chocano, Daniel
Hernández and Enrique Camino Brent, and the collection of
letters from José María Arguedas began recently.
The Library has systematically undertaken the task
of recovering 19th and 20th century Peruvian brochures,
forming a collection of 19th century Peruvian newspapers
and acquiring valuable private libraries containing works that
are not easily available or are bibliographically relevant due
to their content, especially referred to Peru, their date or their
publishing characteristics.
Martín Adán Collection
Rafael de la Fuente Benavides (1908-1985) was the civil name of
this writer, whose importance in the Hispanic literature places
him among the greatest creators of this century. The life of
Martín Adán is a plentiful affluent of a vast and plural work. He
wrote prose and essays, but made history thanks to his poetry.
The collection was generously donated to the Catholic
University by his friend and executor Juan Mejía Baca, an
important Peruvian publisher, and represents an effort of this
institution to preserve significant cultural values and riches. At
the same time, it is a demonstration of the trust deposited in it
as the guardian of these goods.
To date, the Martín Adán Collection has been used by re-
searchers, mostly foreign, and has enabled the achievement of
great progress in the analysis of this writer and his work. It has
also been the source of information for the press media and for
expositions by other institutions.
As part of the responsibility assumed with this collection,
the university is in the process of publishing the work of Adán.
The future objective is to digitalize the collection, which will
enable making it available to the public through the Internet.
Luis Hernández Collection
Luis Hernández (1941-1977), considered one of the greatest
poets of his generation, published while alive only three
brief poem books in the early 60s. As from 1965, he opted
for a marginal creation system that consisted in creating
handcrafted books using diverse and careful graphic resources
and giving them away indiscriminately, as if they were
samples of an ephemeral art that was not intended for
publication or even for reading. The poet did not keep a copy
of these books, that sometimes repeated partially and did not
always have a structure. This attitude towards creation, added
to different striking elements of his personal life, obtained for
the poet a fast and undesired mythical image.
It has been said that the books of Luis Hernández were
more than one hundred. The incidents they have undergone
have caused that a good number of them is currently lost or
damaged.
The collection of the Central Library of the Catholic
University started in the early 2000, with the donation of a
set of manuscripts of this poet, adhered to the back of a small
piece of furniture, like a collage, which are now known as the
“wardrobe books.” The arrival of these documents gave rise to a
conference and an exhibition that was enriched with the loan
of almost 50 books, collected from different persons for the
1999 Lima Biennial Exhibition.
The protection of the originals of Luis Hernández was an
urgent problem as, notwithstanding the importance of this
poet, his texts are far from being sufficiently published and his
originals are scattered in the hands of different persons. These
conditions motivated the Central Library of the university
to ask his relatives for their authorization to digitalize the
documents in order to virtually preserve this rich legacy at
risk. Furthermore, it motivated the owners of other books to
approach the library of their own accord to contribute to the
collection.
The digital copies of the collection have enabled the Central
Library and the Digital Communication Office to create a
website where these books can be appreciated page by page,
as well as other manuscripts, documents, an anthology and
different materials related to this poet, that add up to over
2,000 images.
Outstanding printed documents
‘Tercero Cathecismo y exposición de la doctrina christiana,
por sermones. Para que los curas o otros ministros prediquen y
enseñen a los Indios y a las demás personas, conforme a lo que
en el Santo Concilio Provincial de Lima se proveyo Ciudad de los
Reyes: por Antonio Ricardo, (primero Impressor) en estos Reynos
del Piru’ / “Third Catechism and exposition of the Christian
doctrine, by sermons. For the priests and other ministers to
preach and teach the Indians and other persons as provided
for in the Saint Provincial Council of Lima, City of Kings: by
Antonio Ricardo (first Impressor) in these Kingdom of Piru”,
1585.
‘Gramática y Vocabulario en la lengua general del Perú’ /
“Grammar and vocabulary in the general language of Peru” /
Diego de Torres Rubio. Seville: House of Clemente Hidalgo, 1603.
‘Arte de la Lengua Aymara’ / “The art of the Aymara language” /
Diego de Torres Rubio. Lima: by Francisco del Canto, 1616.
‘Arte de la lengua general de los indios del Perú’ / “The art of the
general language of indians in Peru” / Roxo Mexia and Iván
Ocon, Lima: by Jorge López de Herrera, 1648.
‘Segunda parte del Ingenioso Cavallero Don Qvixote de la
Mancha’ / “Second part of the ingenious cavalier Don Quijote
de la Mancha” / Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, author of the
first part. In Madrid: By Iuan de la Cuelta, 1615.
pontificia universidad católica del perú | 83
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In the Heart of the Sacred Valley
The Catholic University opens an academic center in Pisac, Cuzco

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 85

 It was a lifelong dream soon to come
true. Students and professors of
the Pontifical Catholic University of
Peru will be able to freely dedicate to
cultivate their minds and spirits no less
than in Pisac, a quiet and traditional
Andean town, located in one of the most
beautiful places in the world: the Sacred
Valley of the Incas.
A large and typical mansion of the 18th
century, very well preserved, will host the
Valentín Paniagua PUCP Academic Center
This mansion, with a simple and typically Cuzco-style, has a stone arcade with a bas-relief inscription that – Pisac, a place dedicated exclusively to study
reads ‘Year 1832’. and research, far from the hustle and bustle of
the town.
Students, professors and researches of
our university will participate in national
and international seminars, apprenticeships
and short workshops there, although all
inhabitants of the Sacred Valley and of the
City of Cuzco may benefit with projection
activities for the community.
This program bears the name of the
distinguished lawyer from Cuzco, Valentín
Paniagua Corazao, who was Constitutional
President of the Republic between November
22, 2000 and July 28, 2001, during a transition
administration. Known and respected for
his wisdom, his honesty and, above all, his
deeply rooted democratic spirit, he was also a
dedicated professor in the Law Program of our
university.
The operation of this special academic
center will also make it possible to receive
distinguished guest professors from within
Peru and from abroad, to dictate courses and
All the rooms are arranged around a great stone-cobbled patio, the center of all constructions, while the seminars for up to one entire semester.
second floor is typically lined by long and simple wooden balconies.

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Overview of the Valentín Paniagua PUCP Academic Center – Pisac, which is already undergoing refurbishing. The famous terraces may be seen in the back, as designed by ancient Peruvians to grow their crops.

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 Llamas are beautiful, domesticated South American Panoramic view of the famous City of Cuzco, taken from the bell tower of the Church of Saint Christopher,
camelides, used as carriers. patron of the city.

The native communities of the highlands in the Sacred Valley dedicate themselves mainly to the farming of Colored with natural dyes and knitted in the traditional way, the camelid wool fibers are turned into
food products for local consumption. bright blankets and ponchos that are offered on Sundays at the Pisac Fair.

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Young school students from neighboring communities will also benefit from the social projection activities that the PUCP Academic Center will carry out.

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 Reaching up to the sky
At 2,800 meters above sea level, the Sacred Valley
of the Incas is one of the main tourist attractions
of Peru. When leaving the valley where the City
of Cuzco is located, barely half an hour by car,
the landscape turns greener and the climate
warmer. Despite the thick and varied greenery, it
is possible to go on long hikes and even to take a
pleasant nap under the shade of a tree, as due to
the altitude, there are no mosquitoes that disturb
the peace and quiet all around.
During the pre-Hispanic time, the mountains
in this valley were surrounded by farmed
terraces, as old Peruvian used the terrace-farming
technique to make good use of the rain water.
These terraces have withstood the passing of the
centuries and today the descendants of the Incas
still grow there their cereals, vegetables and
tubercles they need to feed their families.
Pisac is one of the most important
communities in the area. Its surroundings are
filled with archaeological remains of ancient
dwellings and produce collection centers, known
in the quechua language as ‘tambos’.
Every Sunday, at dawn, the main square
booms with colorful blankets and ponchos
knitted with fine alpaca and vicuña wool,
silver necklaces and earrings lined with semi-
precious stones, beautiful and practical ceramic
pieces and great variety of other products
typical of the Andes, in what is, no doubt, the
most well-stocked crafts fair in the valley. The
great construction skill of our ancestors is
evidenced when trailing along the Vilcanota
River that becomes later the Urubamba. Huge
palaces, fortresses and sanctuaries may be
observed along its winding riversides, entirely
built of stone, like the citadel of Machu Picchu.
The ancient wisdom of the Incas transpires
everywhere and will be passed along to future
generations in our new home.

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The Riva-Agüero Institute
The Riva-Agüero Institute (IRA) is an academic unit of the
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, created in 1947 in
recognition of José de la Riva-Agüero y Osma (1885-1944) one
of the most notable Peruvian humanists of the 20th century
and great benefactors of this house of learning. In 1953, the
Vatican gave the institute the category of School for Advanced
Liberal Arts Studies.

The foundation document of the IRA sets forth as its purposes,

to honor the memory and work of José de la Riva-Agüero y
Osma, safeguard his documentary legacy (the library, the
documents and manuscripts) and create a learning center that
would encourage humanistic research and advocate Hispanic
tradition and comprehensive Peruvian identity values.

The IRA is established in the colonial house where Don José lived
until almost his last years, in the Historic Center of Lima. The most
significant belongings of its owner are kept in this place, house
furniture and especially, the extremely valuable library and the
historic and personal archive he accumulated throughout his
life and which today is at the service of the students of history,
literature, linguistic and, in general, the liberal arts.

The institute is formed by researchers –teachers and students–

divided into six specialized seminars: Archaeology, Popular
Art and Culture, Law, Philosophy, History and Language and
Literature, all of them focused in the generation of knowledge
through the promotion of specialized or inter-disciplinary
study teams.

Furthermore, it also comprises four academic service units:

the Historic Archive, the Library, the ‘Josefina Ramos de Cox’
Archaeology Museum and the Popular Arts and Traditions
Museum. These entities seek to preserve and defend the
cultural heritage, in particular, the archaeological, craftwork,
bibliographical, documentary, historic and immaterial heritage
they treasure. They also organize activities for cultural
projection and dissemination.

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 Research Seminars
- Popular Arts and Culture Seminar: focused on the study of
Peruvian traditions and folklore.
- Archaeology Seminar: over the years, it has followed different
lines of research: the archaeology of Lima, the archaeological
problems in the Andes, and the settlement or symbology
patterns in the central coast areas, the north coast and the
south forest area, while during the last decade they have
devoted to studying the colonial and republican material found
in the Historic Center of Lima.
- Law Seminar: its work rests on two fundamental mainstays:
the study of Law within the context of the social situation and
the history of Law. This latter subject is the one that has gained
the greatest importance and strength among the research
works on recent times, owing to the experts that have joined
in the task of studying it and to the events that have been
organized to broaden the knowledge on this subject.
- Philosophy Seminar: its work runs along two fundamental
cores. The first one is philosophy in Peru and Latin America,
which is associated to the history of colonial and republican
Peruvian and Latin American philosophy and the philosophical
reflections on Peru, which include issues such as national
identity and cultural difference, problems and possibilities
and inter-disciplinary dialogue. The second one is faith, culture
and university, focused from the perspective of institutional
identity and academic pluralism, the Christian faith and
culture and the dialogue with the Catholic theology.
- History Seminar: its purpose is to promote historic research,
particularly in Peru and also to disseminate historiographical
works and foster the meeting of Peruvian researchers with
foreign scholars of Peruvian studies. Its activities also include
the publication of history text books, dictating advanced
courses for teachers and the organization of conferences,
symposiums, round tables and monthly gatherings.
- Language and Literature Seminar: it works through the
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research and the publications of its members. In addition,
it organizes academic activities from time to time, such
as conferences, analysis cycles and conversation circles,
where researchers meet at the Riva-Agüero House to share
experiences and make joint contributions.
Publications
Over its 61 years of existence, the IRA has published more than
two hundred titles, many of them thanks to the work engaged
by the members of each of the seminars of the institute.
Furthermore, in 1962, the IRA started to edit the complete work
of Don José de la Riva-Agüero y Osma. To date, there are more
than 20 volumes published that include his thesis “Character
of the Literature of Independent Peru” and “History in Peru”, in
addition to his collection of letters, sent and received, through
which it is possible to take a close look at his ideological and
intimate convictions and those of his correspondents, among
them, distinguished Peruvian, Spanish and Latin American
politicians and intellectuals.
The “Research Books” are the body that displays the result
of research grants sponsored by the institute or research
advances of other works of greater magnitude. Its format
makes it possible to individually publish a monograph on a
specific subject related to human sciences. These books include
a wide array of subjects such as pre-Hispanic and colonial
archaeology, Andean and colonial history, history of the
Spanish colonial and republican law, colonial literature and
applied linguistics, among others.
Library of the Riva-Agüero Institute
The Library of the IRA operates since the institute was founded
in 1947. The bibliographic fund was started with the personal
collection of Don José de la Riva-Agüero y Osma, and today
holds more than 80,000 titles, in addition to the collections
of journals and newspapers, some of them dating back to the
18th and 19th centuries. It also holds a set of books from the
16th to 18th centuries that form the valuable Reserved Fund,
of approximately 4,000 titles, half of which are European and
American editions.
The fundamental objectives of the institute are to promote the
access, generation and dissemination of information required
for the research, teaching and learning of subjects concerning
humanities and those related to the Peruvian identity, at
the same time, guarding, keeping, preserving and making
available to researchers the bibliographic resources of the
institution, built upon the legacy of Don José de la Riva-Agüero
y Osma.
This library is considered as one of the main repositories for
the research on Peruvian and American identity in the country,
only comparable to the National Library of Peru. Its funds
are enriched from time to time through the exchange and
purchase from academic institutions and university publishers
in Latin America, the United States and Europe.
Of special significance to the wealth of the bibliographic funds
are the donations received from the members of the IRA,
who collaborate on a permanent basis contributing with
copies of their production or of their interest. Likewise, many
are the families of distinguished intellectuals who, after
they pass away, deposit their complete collections in the IRA
Library.
Riva-Agüero Historic Archive
The Riva-Agüero Historic Archive was founded in 1975,
complying with a testament clause of Don José de la Riva-
Agüero y Osma that set forth the formation of an archive with
the documents he had left to the university.
This collection constitutes the original fund of the archive
and was formed through the zeal placed by its owner in the
preservation of the documents he had inherited from his
ancestors and of those treasured by him throughout his life.
It consists of manuscripts, printed material, photographs,
daguerreotypes, postcards and cartographic material that cover
a period from the 16th to the 20th century.
Both the archive and the library have been notable increased
with the acquisition, through purchase, donation or assignment
for use, of different collections, including the Denegri collection,
documents belonging to presidents like José Luis Bustamante
y Rivero and old directors and intellectuals like Víctor Andrés
Belaunde.
‘Josefina Ramos de Cox’
Archaeology Museum
The Archaeology Museum is an academic service unit of the
Riva-Agüero Institute that opened its doors in 1971. Three
years later, the university authorities decided it would bear the
name of Doctor Josefina Ramos de Cox, to honor the memory
and work of who had been its main promoter.
Its essential end is to share with the community the history
of pre-Hispanic Lima within the larger frame of the central
coast and its analogies with the regional and national
history of the Andean culture. The ‘Josefina Ramos de Cox’
Archaeology Museum exhibits also archaeological evidence
of the pre-Hispanic manor of Maranga, found during research
excavations in a protected area of the present university
campus.
Added to this significant experience in the recovery of the
pre-Hispanic history of the region of Lima, is the advantage
of having its permanent seat in a historic building, witness to
the colonial and republican history, located in the traditional
Espaderos Street, fifth block of Jirón de la Unión, known as the
“O’Higgins House,” due to the fact that the Chilean liberator
and Great Marshal Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme lived there
the last years of his life.
Popular Arts and
Traditions Museum
Close to reaching its 30th anniversary since its foundation,
the Popular Arts and Traditions Museum of the Riva-Agüero
Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru is more
vital than ever, inserted in the new vision of the contemporary
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museum: a live space that becomes a place of learning and
where the community sees itself reflected.
The museum currently holds one of the most important
ethnographic collections of Peru, with over 7,000 pieces of
different origin and materials. They have been gathered since
the second half of the last century and strengthen the nature
of custodian of the immaterial heritage of our original peoples
that the institution has advocated since its foundation.
The museum maintains institutional relations at a national
and international level, collaborating with theme-specific
exhibitions, research works, meetings and conferences
related with the immaterial heritage, and the traditional art
and knowledge. Likewise, it keeps a fluid connection with
traditional artists of the country and seeks the preservation
and dissemination of their work locally and abroad.
This collection is available to researchers and students of Peru
and abroad who require analyzing it, prior presentation of
research projects where they specify their interest and the
goals they expect to achieve with their investigation.
Riva-Agüero House
The Riva-Agüero House is a notable expression of the civil
architecture of Lima, built during the last third of the 18th
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century by the Spanish Colonel Domingo Ramírez de Arellano.
It is a clear example of a colonial house, which due to its
different construction and reconstruction stages, ended up
combining different architectural types and styles.
The ground floor of the building has two patios, typically 16th
century Spanish, with a neoclassical 18th century façade and
19th century architectural details with French influence.
The façade, showing a very clean line, combines an elegant
gate with republican balconies and windows with richly
decorated wrought-iron bars. The hallway leads to the main
patio of the house, beautifully proportioned, crowned by a
gallery that runs along the four sides of the second floor and
decorated with two 18th century cannons found buried under
the floor of that same space.
To the right of the main patio is the family chapel, with a
magnificent painting of the passion of Christ above the altar.
Beside the chapel is the staircase that leads to the second
floor, fitted today as a museum and where the bedrooms of
the family house were located. Across from the chapel there
are two reception rooms where the original furniture and
decoration have been preserved, mainly 18th and 19th century,
neo-classical and Second Empire style furniture and fittings.
The Riva-Agüero House treasures part of the original furniture
and art collection of colonial times and beginning of republican
life. Beautiful vases, chandeliers and mirrors are accompanied
by old family portraits, all of them ancestors of Don José de la
Riva-Agüero, as well as other paintings with landscape and
religious motifs.
What used to be the main living room of the house hosts today
the ceremonies room of the Riva-Agüero Institute, while in the
old dining room there is now a large reading room, also used as a
classroom. In the side wing of the main living room was located
the study room and desk of Riva-Agüero. In the back, there is a
Sevillian-style patio with a fountain and a secondary stairway
to the second floor, that complete the magnificent house, a
monumental architectural milestone of the historic center of Lima.
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Foreign and native
languages
Language Studies Institute of the
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
As foreseen by the Institutional Strategic Plan, one of the
objectives of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru is that
its students in the different academic fields achieve reading,
conversation and writing levels in foreign languages.

In this respect, the Language Studies Institute of the Catholic

University is the unit in charge of teaching foreign languages
and covers both the needs of university students and of
professionals and public in general. It has currently four
venues that offer all infrastructure facilities and technology
required for the adequate fulfillment of its objectives.

Added to this main offer, as is the teaching of the English

language in the forms of regular courses with specific
objectives and preparation for international exams, and
courses especially aimed at children and adolescents, it is also
important to mention the courses of Spanish for foreigners.

Confucius Institute of the

Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and the Confucius
Institute of the People’s Republic of China have created a
joint venue in Lima, to promote cooperation between the two
countries in the education sector, to support and foster the
development of the teaching of Chinese in the country and to
increase the understanding and friendship between these two
millenary cultures.

To achieve its purpose of being the great disseminator of the

Chinese culture and language in Peru, the Confucius Institute
of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru is engaged in the
following activities:

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- Teaching of the Chinese language, availing of multiple
educational resources such as multimedia classrooms and
virtual centers.
- Training of teachers in Chinese language for primary,
secondary and tertiary education entities.
- Organization of Chinese exams for foreigners and certification
of Chinese as a foreign language for teachers.
- Dictation of courses of Chinese focusing on the needs of
different social sectors.
- Organization of academic activities and contests of Chinese
language and culture.
- Programming of Chinese films and television cycles.
- It will offer consulting services to the people interested in
studying in China.
- Dissemination of reference material for people in the
educational sector and other professionals.
Native languages
The linguistic diversity of Peru is one of the subjects broadly
documented, studied and researched in a multi-disciplinary
manner by the Liberal Arts area of the Pontifical Catholic
University of Peru, understood as a cultural wealth and not as a
problem in the country.
In addition to the wide array of studies published on Peruvian
native tongues, such as aymara, ashaninka and uro, the most
important project developed in the university is ‘RunasimiNet,’
which includes a complete on-line interactive course to
learn quechua or ‘runasimi’, the most important indigenous
language in the American continent, currently spoken by
about 10 million persons in some territories of Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.
This completely new course, addressed to speakers of
Spanish who wish to learn quechua as a second language, to
understand and become better acquainted with the Andean
culture, was produced by a multi-disciplinary team of the
Catholic University that includes anthropologists, linguists,
educators, systems engineers and multimedia designers, and
with the further support of several units of this institution.
This effort was internationally recognized by the Union of
Latin American Universities (UDUAL) with the awarding of the
“UDUAL Award for Research Support” in 2004.
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Centers and
institutions for
information and
training
Innovation and Development
Center (CIDE)
Unit of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru devoted to
the promotion of entrepreneurial culture within and outside
the university community, encouraging the creation and
development of enterprises that will fully exploit the education
and knowledge received at the university for the generation
of goods and services with added value, and supporting its
introduction to the national and international market.

Experience has demonstrated that there is a high percentage

of students with good ideas, capable of generating their
own work sources; however, planning problems do not
let them develop their business projects. CIDE is focused
on the promotion of the entrepreneurial spirit, fostering
managerial tasks, graduation thesis applied to industry and
the development of degree course prototypes. Likewise, it
obtains funds for applied research, contract management for
technological applications, exploration of new markets and
establishment of contacts with the State, companies and other
technological centers.

Quality Institute
This institute seeks to disseminate and promote the culture of
quality in the different sectors of society, through education,
training, applied research, consultancy and auditing, following
the professional excellence and ethic values of the Pontifical
Catholic University of Peru.

These services allow the Quality Institute to have an active

participation in the community development and in the

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 different production sectors, having executed works in the
quality management systems of private and public hospitals,
food safety and ISO 9000, ISO 14000 and ISO 17025 standards.
Its strategic axes are excellence in organizational performance,
leadership, process management, information and analysis,
as well as how to approach clients, interested parties and the
market.
Information Technology Institute
(InfoPUC)
An educational unit involved in the different information
technology areas that introduces the new computer tools and
offers permanent training in technological progress. It offers
its service to university students, professors and employees, as
well as schools and public and private entities.
InfoPUC organizes extension courses in comprehensive
programs, operational systems, office software, website design,
graphic application, web development, systems specialization,
specializations in hardware and specific programs applied to
each university degree.
Advanced Manufacturing
Technology Center (CETAM)
Seeking to promote that the Peruvian industry increases its
automation level and become more competitive with high
quality products and flexible production processes that may
enable its adequate insertion in the globalized market, the
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru created the Advanced
Manufacturing Technology Center (CETAM).
The combined work of professors in the electronic, industrial,
information technology and mechanics engineering
specialties, contributes to the education of professionals in
the most modern product development and manufacturing
technologies, supports the country technological development
through adequate treatment of planning, execution and
start up of manufacturing projects, disseminates the modern
technologies for production design, manufacturing and
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management and, furthermore, offers consultancy services to
entities in comprehensive computer-assisted automation and
manufacturing.
Center for the Analysis and
Solution of Conflicts (Consensus)
Interdisciplinary team of professionals dedicated to the
analysis, management, follow-up and pacific and effective
solving of conflicts through education, applied research and
consultancy, following the ethic principles of the Pontifical
Catholic University of Peru.
Its services are focused on the analysis of the nature of
conflicts and the building of skills in order to turn them into
development opportunities for individuals, organizations,
entities and communities, as well as to enable real citizen
participation in the solution of their differences, pursuing a
transformation of the society, starting from the comprehension
and practice of a real culture of peace.
Institute for Democracy and
Human Rights (IDEHPUCP)
University initiative aimed at strengthening the rule of
law, citizenship, the full effectiveness of human rights and
institutions proper of a democratic system in Peru, through
the dissemination, raising of awareness and generation of
academic venues and non-partisan political reflection forums.
Furthermore, IDEHPUCP works in the presentation of proposals
that contribute to the consolidation of human rights and
democracy and the promotion of related public policies,
developing academic education and professional training
tasks, social and legal research, as well as the promotion of
dialogue and debate venues, within the academic community
and in the Peruvian society in general.
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Agricultural Technology
Experts of the Catholic University develop an automatic system
for the selection of paprika and other vegetables.

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 Peruvian agribusiness requires
automatizing the product selection
process, which is currently manual.
This would guarantee greater objectivity,
celerity and efficiency, at a lower cost. A
multiple discipline group of the Pontifical
Catholic University of Peru assumed the
challenge and designed a system that
can boost national exports.

Eight researchers and professors of the

Mechanical, Electronics and Information
Overview of the Automatic Paprika Selection System by Artificial Vision, designed and developed by a Technology Engineering specialties joined
multidisciplinary group of professors and researchers of the university. efforts to develop an innovative project:
design and build a prototype that would allow
automatic selection of agricultural products,
classifying them according to their color and
shape, and using none less than an artificial
vision system.
During the first stage of the process, it
had to be decided what was the best product
to test the prototype and, to that effect, the
specialists contacted the farmers in the
southern region of the country. The paprika
producers associations informed about the
difficulties they encountered to classify the
product manually, hiring a good amount of
temporary workers.
This product, which occupies the first
place in the list of Peruvian exports, is sold
internationally taking into account its size and
color; therefore, a homogeneous shipment has
a greater value. The group decided then to use
paprika to test the project, which demanded
the development of a fast and reliable system
that in addition, could be configured for
The paprika units already sorted by the system are conveyed to a plastic basket, where they are temporarily different kinds of agricultural products.
stored, for ongoing transfer to their final location.

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The mechanic module takes care of dosifying, transporting and separating the products by means of a conveyor belt and three pairs of gates. This system allows to classify the paprika into four different qualities.

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Paprika is a product that originated in America and was grown by the ancient Peruvians since time immemorial. The Spanish conquerors took it to the old continent and its use as a spice extended throughout the world.

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According to official reports, Peru is the first world exporter of paprika, with US$ 95 million in sales abroad during 2007. The main destinations are the United States (41%) Spain (35%) and Mexico (14%).

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 The prototype operates as follows: in
principle, a mechanic systems screens the
products that meet the sizes within the range
specified to the computers and places them
on a conveyor belt. When passing through
an artificial vision system, which uses a
video camera, they are sorted into different
categories. In addition, a rotary system makes
it possible to flip over the product in order
to examine them on both sides. Finally, an
expulsion mechanism drives the products to
the respective containers.
The project was totally successful, as it
achieved the main objective of the system: to
sort an agricultural product by size and color.
Pending for future research is how to orient
this technology to the sorting of agricultural
products such as fruits and vegetables in
general.

Red Gold
America is considered the center of the origin
of paprika. Some authors believe that it was
planted in different places of South America,
to be later disseminated throughout North
America, before the arrival of the Europeans
Others believe that it may have originated
in India. Nevertheless, the most credible
reports indicate that Mexico and Peru grew
peppers even before the arrival of the Spanish
conquerors.
The cultivation period of paprika, from the
sowing to the first harvest takes five months,
with the harvest period extending for sixty
days. In Peru, paprika is grown in the valleys
of the coast and about 62,000 metric tons are
obtained per year. Besides its use in the food
industry, as a condiment, both whole and
ground, it is also used as a natural dye in the
production of sausages and in the cosmetic
industry.

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Publications
The Publishing Fund of the Pontifical Catholic University of
Peru was created in 1977 and is in charge of the publishing
and presentation of books, magazines, university texts and
other conventional or electronic publications as proposed by
the respective university authorities. Among the fundamental
objectives of the Publishing Fund are fostering intellectual
creation, promoting research and supporting teaching activities
through its publications, seeking their broadest dissemination
both in Peru and abroad. It also seeks to establish cooperation
programs with other publishers in the country and abroad. Thus, it
is involved in different agreements entered into by our university
with other foreign institutions and universities that provide for
the co-publishing of books, such as the Economic Culture Fund of
Mexico or the Columbia University (United States).

Over the years, the Publishing Fund has kept on extending

its work. It currently has 11 collections that cover different
subjects, such as Law, the Arts, Social Sciences, Communication
and Literature and others. Between 1989 and 2007, it has
published 624 titles, a record figure, compared to the rest of
universities in Peru. In addition, it publishes on a regular basis
19 specialized annual or bi-annual journals that add to a total
of 515 published volumes, equal to 257,500 copies.

Furthermore, the fund has been present in publishing

exhibitions in the different regions of the world, such as the
International Book Fair of La Habana (Cuba), Jerusalem (Israel),
Frankfurt (Germany), Santiago (Chile), or Guadalajara (Mexico).
These participations not only have been of great importance
due to the significance itself of these events, but because they
have opened a strategic door in each of the markets mentioned.

Every year, the Publishing Fund organizes the Internal Book

Fair of the Catholic University, where 30 Peruvian and foreign
publishing houses and bookstores participate. In addition, it
manages the PUCP Bookstore, which supplies students and
professors with texts and materials and with promotional
items, with a store within the university campus.

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 It also has an On-line Store, the first one of its type that
operates in a Peruvian university, where all the products of the
Publishing Fund may be purchased.
Specialized Academic
and Student Journals
The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru is in charge of the
periodical publication of academic journals produced by the
departments, institutions and centers of this house of learning,
as well as by the students of the different programs.
The following are among the academic journals:
- Agenda Internacional / International Agenda
A publication promoted by the Institute of International
Studies (IDEI), an academic unit that contributes to the
identification of specific interests of Peru and Latin America, in
the face of international issues.
- Anthropologica
Journal of the Social Sciences Department, it assembles
different articles and is published every academic year. It has
collaborators from the university and national and foreign
experts.
- Areté
A publication of the Philosophy Section that proposes a broad
spirit that will not exclude any subject, orientation or age of
philosophy. Research and texts of classic philosophers and of
authors who participate in the contemporary philosophical
activity.
- Contabilidad y Administración / Accounting and Business
Its purpose is to promote and disseminate the production of
articles on current affairs of the Administration and Accounting
disciplines, being positioned as a journal of high academic
standard at both university and entrepreneurial level.
- Coyuntura
A journal of the Center for Sociological, Economic, Political
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and Anthropological Research (CISEPA) that fosters basic
research focused on the construction and development
of knowledge, as well as applied research aimed at
preparing studies for the design of policies, diagnostics
and assessments.
- Derecho PUC / PUC Law
A journal of the Law Program that publishes different articles,
works and documents of interest to teachers, students
and scholars of this career, hosting in its pages the work of
renowned Peruvian and foreign jurists.
- Debates en Sociología / Debates in Sociology
A journal of the Social Sciences Program that publishes
the essays, monographs, reports and research papers of
distinguished collaborators, as well as the most recent edited
publications on Sociology.
- Economía / Economy
Bi-annual journal of the Department of Economics that is
published since 1977. It carries articles, reports and reviews of
works that are of special interest to Peru and in general, to the
developing countries.
- Educación /Education
Bi-annual journal published by the Department of Education,
open to the local and foreign collaboration, that seeks to
disseminate unpublished articles on current affairs and
research on teaching.
- Espacio y Desarrollo / Space and Development
A publication of the Center for Applied Geography Research
(CIGA) focused on exchanging experiences on processes
occurring in the development of regional markets, seeking to
face economic globalization.
- Estudios de Filosofía / Philosophy Studies
Journal published by the Philosophy Seminar of the
Riva-Agüero Institute, to create a venue for the publication
of texts of academic value that may be useful for philosophy
professors and students.
- Histórica
A journal of required consulting for all readers interested in
Peruvian History. With hundreds of articles published, it covers
a wide spectrum of subjects and approaches that enrich the
historical image of the country.

- Lexis
Twenty-three years circulating, this is one of the main journals
on Linguistics and Literature in Latin America. Lexis publishes
original works in different branches of linguistics, the theory of
literary criticism both Hispanic and Andean.

- Magíster en Derecho Civil / Master in Civil Law

Journal published by professors and students of the Civil
Law Master Program, who offer the academic community
original proposals favoring debate and research on this ancient
juridical branch.

- Pensamiento Constitucional / Constitutional Thought

A journal published by the Master Program of Law that
promotes exchange among researchers, teachers and
consultants on constitutional and political issues, contributing
to the academic development of Constitutional Law related to
Political Science.
- Pro Mathematica
Bi-annual publication of the Sciences Department, with
articles that are the product of extensive research by renowned
worldwide mathematicians, and constitute a great academic
contribution to the exact sciences.
- Psicología / Psychology
Journal of the Psychology Section that publishes original
articles related to this specialty area and articles based on
empiric, theoretical or applied research work.
- Química / Chemistry
Bi-annual publication of the Sciences Department, focused
in the dissemination of articles written by professors and
summaries of thesis works by the graduate students in this
field.
Furthermore, faithful to its initiative of fostering periodical
publications in the university, the Pontifical Catholic
University of Peru supports student journals,
among them:
- Derecho y Sociedad / Law and Society
A journal with 16 years experience dedicated to Law,
addressing issues through an approach that reveals a
committed interest to civil society and related matters.
- Derecho Virtual / Virtual Law
Edition of quality juridical publications for the information
requirements of juridical operators, such as lawyers,
magistrates and students. It disseminates juridical culture
through accessible means throughout the country.
- Foro Jurídico / Juridical Forum
Bi-annual journal published by the civil association Foro
Académico, made up by Law students. Specialized in juridical
matters, it distinguishes for its plurality to cover different
issues from the perspective of prestigious lawyers and
students.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 117

 - Ius et Veritas
A publication that disseminates juridical culture, that seeks
to bring Law closer to the society. It also engages in the
organization of seminars in different cities around the country
aiming at decentralizing the critical study of Law.

- Lidera
A journal promoted by the Administration and Accounting
Program, where the students offer reflections on subjects
related to this field and have managed to position it in the
university and entrepreneurial spheres as a publication of high
academic value.

- THEMIS
A journal that has kept its innovative spirit throughout its 40
years of existence. Devoted to juridical subjects with the only
purpose of contributing to the development of Law in Peru and
to the country’s juridical culture.

Electronic publications
Web Pages

- Diké
Information and Legal Opinion web page, dedicated to
facilitating Law operators a quick and direct access to different
sources of information concerning the Latin American legal
world in Internet.

- Palestra
A web page of public affairs of the Pontifical Catholic
University of Peru, focused in the analysis, diagnosis, debate
and opinion of general interest subjects, addressed with a
multi-disciplinary approach. It is a permanent venue for
reflection and dialogue.

Journals

- Arkeos
Electronic journal of Archaeology, created as a space for the
debate and analysis of archaeological issues, as well as for the

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dissemination of studies conducted by students and graduates
of the field.
- Juridical Clinic of Public Interest Actions
A website that disseminates experiences concerning the
defense and advocacy of public interest, as part of the project
Strengthening of the Civil Society and the Rule of Law in Peru,
executed by the Catholic University with the collaboration of
the World Bank.
- El Emprendedor / The Entrepreneur
A journal of the Innovation and Development Center
(CIDE) of the university, specialized in subjects related with
the undertaking, innovation, technology and creation of
enterprises in Peru. It also has a hard copy version that is
distributed free of charge.
- Revista de Educación / Journal of Education
Website publication of the Department of Education that seeks
to channel the thinking, the achievements, the questioning
and the expectations of professors.
- Summa Humanitatis
An electronic inter-disciplinary journal of the Liberal Arts
Department, created to open a space for dialogue and
reflection, that addresses different subjects and issues from
different perspectives.
Bulletins
- Fund Bulletin
Electronic publication that informs subscribers on a monthly
basis about the production of the Publishing Fund of the
Catholic University, its activities, events, statistics, publishing
novelties and, of course, the opinion and profile of its authors.
- Fund News
Monthly digital bulleting that informs its subscribers about
the publications made each month by the Publishing Fund
of the university, such as books or manuals, re-editions or
publications of academic journals.
Institutional Publications
- University’s website
It receives an average of 80,000 visits per month, ranking
third in the list of purely Peruvian most visited Internet sites
in the country. The same team of professionals is in charge
of the construction and maintenance of the digital pages of
the different units of the university and the elaboration of
other digital products for special events such as meetings,
conferences and extension courses, among others.
-Electronic news bulletin
An internal bi-weekly bulletin sent to the entire university
community and an external weekly bulletin with the most
important events taking place in the campus, that reaches over
33,000 subscribers throughout the country every Thursday.
- ‘PuntoEdu’ newspaper
For the fourth consecutive year, the university weekly paper
‘PuntoEdu’ and its cultural supplement ‘Q’ are published with
a print run of 13,000 copies per issue, delivered free of charge
to the entire university community and to journalists, opinion
leaders and teachers of other institutions. The purpose is
to inform about academic, scientific and cultural activities
undertaken in the university and to address issues of general
interest seeking to promote debate and reflection within the
campus.
- ‘Rectorado Expres@’ bulletin
Keeps the teaching staff of the university informed about
fundamental issues of the institutional agenda.
- ‘Gajes del Oficio’ bulletin
It’s a digital bulletin for the administrative personnel with
news and editorials, seeking to involve them with the goals,
strategies, plans and the culture of the organization.
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Services for the
university community
- Office of Students’ Affairs

Students are the core of all the activities that take place at
the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. Taking into account
this principle, the greatest institutional efforts are devoted to
offering them the best comprehensive education, with all that
it implies in the academic and extra-curricular areas.

From the moment the students take their first university courses,
they receive a series of services and they are offered different
possibilities for development, not just as excellent professionals
but also as better persons in a comprehensive way. The Office
of Students’ Affairs is the unit in charge of coordinating these
activities and services, supporting at the same time the students’
initiatives, fostering the organization of groups of interest,
publications and bodies in charge of the same students.

- Pastoral University Counseling Center (CAPU)

An aspect that characterizes the Pontifical Catholic University

of Peru is the possibility it offers the students to be educated in
the religious values and to practice and strengthen their faith
from within the university scope. Every year, over 200 students
get involved in the CAPU activities, preparing themselves
to receive the Confirmation sacrament and working in the
University Missions engaged in social welfare works in low
income areas. They also participate forming part of the choir or
theater groups of the center.

The holy mass is celebrated every day in the CAPU chapel,

located inside the campus, where spiritual counseling is
offered to students that may require it. It is a place for the
celebration of faith, as well as for the encounter with hope and
commitment, which help to better understand the spiritual
education required of professionals that will take relevant
decisions later on.

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 - Health Service

What started as a small emergency dispensary in 1967, in

charge of a general physician, has turned into a real clinic that
offers high quality medical care to the university community
members and is in charge of the planning, organization and
development of educational and preventive activities in the
health field.

The Health Service is comprised by 16 physicians who receive

training on a permanent basis and who offer the best medical
care free of charge in the fields of general medicine, internal
medicine, orthopedics, gynecology, cardiology, neurology,
ophthalmology, oncology, psychiatry and pediatrics.

There is also cutting-edge medical equipment available for

additional exams, such as X-ray images and ultrasound scans,
different laboratory clinical analyses, first aid care, vaccine
immunization, physical therapy and rehabilitation, as well as a
minor surgery infirmary for cauterization, lipoma removal and
suture, among other.

- Psycho-pedagogic Service

The Catholic University’s Psycho-pedagogic Service organizes

programs that foster the building of skills and potential
capacities of the students, promoting the use of their capacities
to achieve a harmonic growth through combined work in the
psychological and pedagogical areas.

Furthermore, it offers psychological attention in general,

vocational guidance, workshops and publication of specialized
guides in learning techniques, so as to facilitate the integration
of students to the university life and provide them support in
their academic development.

- Sports Service

In order to ensure a comprehensive education, guarantee a

proper practice of the different sports and develop future
national talents, the Catholic University offers the students the

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service of experienced professionals in the different specialties
free of charge: physical training, health and the teaching of
disciplines.
Chess, athletics, basketball, baseball, football, footsal,
swimming, rugby, softball, table tennis, carbine shooting,
volleyball, aerobics, karate, kung fu and tae kwon do trainers
offer technique and tactic basics for each activity, enabling
progressive evolution in order to achieve complete command
of the discipline.
Likewise, the university provides modern facilities, with
specially designed areas for each sport and their respective
equipment, such as a modern sports coliseum, athletics track,
football field, special courts and gym, permanently available to
all students.
Furthermore, during academic semesters, championships
are constantly being organized, as well as other sport events,
where each faculty team participates, fostering healthy
lifestyle and fair competition between fellow students.
- Information Technology Services
The Catholic University’s Academic Information Technology
Office (DIA) offers several tools, resources, applications and
computer material, freely available to all students, with
the sole purpose of favoring their academic education and
simplifying their administrative proceedings.
The modern infrastructure available offers the university
community the facilities of 16 laboratory rooms for the
exclusive use of individual students, six days-a- week, during
the entire academic course. Likewise, there are 107 modules
for quick access to Internet and electronic mail scattered
throughout the campus in order to facilitate immediate
consultations.
Moreover, there are currently over fifty hotspots or access
points to wireless Internet, strategically disseminated
throughout the university campus, so that any person having
a portable computer provided with wireless access to Internet
may access the network to look up his/her e-mail or navigate
in the web. This service is completely free and is available the
24 hours.
Among other education resources offered, there is a collection
of over 80 multimedia disks used for conventional, semi-
conventional and distance education, as well as specialized
computer programs that may be freely downloaded for
pedagogical purpose.
Additionally, net servers are provided with large virtual storage
space so that the university community members may save
and share audio, video, fixed images and web files; write
personal or academic blogs, participate in chat forums, debate
forums or groups of common interests; have an e-mail account
or a hard virtual disk, and even edit digital journals with
everything that is needed.
- Social Service
This unit organizes, coordinates and evaluates the application
of different tuition systems, scholarships, university loans and
special economic aid to students that require them, in order to
continue with their undergraduate or graduate studies. This
financial assistance is granted after a thorough verification
of the student’s family living conditions, as well as the
compliance of strict academic performance requirements.
Nevertheless, the Catholic University continues with periodic
assessments of the students’ social-economic conditions
seeking to establish a fair and just classification that responds
to each student’s condition and compensates in a balanced
way his/her human and professional education. In this way,
the institution makes sure that no student is deprived of the
possibility to attend this study center and that all students
assume the cost they can afford to pay.
- Nutrition Service
The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru offers four dining
pontificia universidad católica del perú | 123

rooms, four cafeterias, and three food stands inside the
campus, served by concessionaire companies, with a wide
array of possibilities of balanced foods for light snacks as well
as main dishes, prepared by professional nutritionists, at
reasonable prices and quality, supervised by a committee of
the university authorities.
- Book Bank
The Catholic University Book Bank offers a service that
provides the students with the necessary basic texts required
for the whole semester through a simple and economic renting
124 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
system. It is, furthermore, a financial assistance that most of
the students can afford to pay, that instills solidarity, respect
and responsibility principles, demanding special care of the
books and their timely return. In addition to basic texts, the
Book Bank offers a renting program up to three months for
literature books, theater plays, history studies and editions in
English, so that students may have the opportunity to enrich
their comprehensive education.
- The Job Market
Students of the last semesters and those recently graduated
from the Catholic University have the possibility to be
informed, through this system, of the opportunities for
professional practice and employment, as well as application
on line to calls of their interest.
Additionally, the Job Market offers an orientation service
which includes personal marketing talks, personal reference
system, personal counseling and contact networks.
Furthermore, through the participation in group workshops,
participants may practice different methods of personal
assessment, prepare for job interviews and train themselves to
face future working evaluations.
- Student Organizations
University life is also evident in the activities practiced by
students off the university classrooms. There are different
student associations gathered around a common interest at
the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
The most representative are the Association of Electronic
Engineering Students (AEE); the International Association of
Students (AIESEC) the greatest association worldwide, with the
participation of 800 universities and more than 95 countries;
the Student’s Branch IEEE-PUCP, which is the local chapter of
the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers; and the
Students Representatives before the University Assembly (REA)
whose duty is to attend to the students concerns and present
them before the authorities.
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126 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
University Social Responsibility
As an institution committed to social progress through
contributions made in different fields, the Pontifical Catholic
University of Peru assigns special importance to the concept of
University Social Responsibility (RSU) proposed in a different
and enriched way to consider positive modifications in the
natural and social environment from the university scope.
Since its foundation, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
has been a center of generation, transmission and application
of knowledge and capacities to the benefit of the entire society.
It has contributed to social change based on the values of a
comprehensive education focused on human well-being and
building on a Christian and universal interpretation of ethic
principles. In the recent years, this university has been seeking
to manage all processes that have an impact inside and outside
the university community, identifying and organizing them
with the seal of our institution within the framework of
University Social Responsibility.
The unit in charge of strengthening and promoting this culture
within the university and projecting it outside is the Academic
Office of Social Responsibility (DARS) that coordinates the
work on which the different units of this house of learning
participate, giving the RSU an interdisciplinary and inter-
institutional dimension, generating strong reciprocity links
between the university and the society.
One of the greatest challenges faced by DARS was the
organization and channeling of efforts for humanitarian and
technical aid in the aftermath of the earthquake that affected
the South of Peru on August 15, 2007, leaving 595 deceased,
318 disappeared and 79 thousand houses destroyed.
The response of the Catholic University to this tragedy in the
south was an immediate campaign to collect humanitarian aid
led by DARS, through which the whole university community
contributed with food, water, clothes, medicines and other
essential items, that were delivered to the devastated area.
Furthermore, there were savings accounts opened for all
those who wished to contribute with cash money in order to
purchase mattresses, stoves and other basic equipment that
the southern towns needed and was not receiving through
other donations.
Once the first emergency stage was over, DARS started to
work on the moral as well as physical reconstruction of the
affected areas. DARS formed psychology aid brigades for all the
population, play-educational workshops for children, engineer
teams for housing damage assessment and legal teams to
advise the damaged people on the issue of legal ownership.
They are now working on different programs in combination
with non governmental organizations. Among them, it is
worth to point out the training program for the construction
of safe and healthy buildings, where we may underscore the
construction technology of reinforced adobe developed by civil
engineers of the Catholic University, adapting polymer mesh to
traditional mud-wall construction.
Likewise, the Catholic University is foreseeing the construction
of a Temporary Center for Technical Training in the locality of
El Carmen that will be used as headquarters for all the other
project operations that will contribute to a more dynamic
interaction with the affected towns. The idea is to generate
a training, education, diffusion and specialist’s consultancy
space of the university, for the comprehensive reconstruction
of the South.
A project for the construction of a communitarian center is
also being prepared in the area of Pisco, which will be provided
with kitchen, bakery, emergency medical center, toilet
facilities, workshop rooms, auditorium and administrative
offices. Furthermore, the construction is being proposed of a
three thousand square-meter recreation park, provided with
sport modules, swimming pool, amphitheater, green areas,
children playground and bio-garden.
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Service to Third Parties
Further to services offered through all its centers, institutes,
scientific groups and specialized laboratories, this university
offers computer training, business consultancy and
professional assistance, as well as venues with proper
installations and technology for the execution of events,
such as academic conferences, video-conferences with
foreign countries, concerts or sports activities. There are
four comfortable and spacious auditoriums, in addition to
the impressive Polysportive Coliseum, with capacity for
four thousand people, which may be used by entities and
institutions of the private and public sector.
- Consultancy and Comprehensive Service Center
(INNOVAPUCP)
The management unit that connects the Catholic University
with the country’s productive sector is the Consultancy and
Comprehensive Service Center (INNOVAPUCP) in charge of
channeling, administrating and coordinating the non academic
services of this institution with a multidisciplinary approach,
oriented to offering high qualified assistance with added
value, addressed to the public and private sector, government
bodies, development and promotion institutions, entities and
communities.
The consultancy services offered by INNOVAPUCP are defined
within the following areas, covering almost all the issues
involved: specialized assistance in management and training,
organizations management and development (quality systems,
ISO certification); marketing, advertising and public relations;
systems and computing; support to the construction industry,
architecture and city planning; research, project assessment
and development; legal advisory; education and training;
human resources; environmental services; social research
and development; accounting and finance; mechanics and
design; automation and robotics; mining; energy, electricity,
electronics and telecommunications.
To this effect, INNOVAPUCP is provided with the valuable
support of each one of the units of our institution. Thus,
for instance, in the field of business consultancy, it has the
valuable experience of first class professionals and professors
from the Catholic University Business Center (CENTRUM)
while if the client requires educating specialists in specific
computing and systems areas, the Information Technology
Institute (InfoPUC) offers training and technological solutions
appropriate to each situation.
- Global Development Learning Network
(GDLN PERU-PUCP)
The Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) has
recognized the Catholic University capacities to become the
national coordination center of this organization in Peru,
which commitment has been accepted by this house of
learning, fostering it to assume the efficient administration
responsibility of the transfer of knowledge generated from
Peru, as well as that coming from overseas.
With that purpose, through the use of modern technology
and owing to the combined work with institutions from the
interior of the country, an academic collaboration and transfer
of knowledge network is currently being developed at a
country level, with integrating vocation.
Through this unit, the Pontifical Catholic University of
Peru offers network users the service of its professional
competence in the different fields of knowledge, capacities in
methodological aspects of virtual education and its different
services, based on a modern technological telecommunications
development. This has enabled GDLN PERU – PUCP to support
the execution of more than 30 courses and seminars, as well as
90 global dialogues, offered by different world institutions and
by the university, thanks to the high technology equipment
that facilitate distance communication.
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Special Programs
and Events
- University of Experience Program (UNEX)

Since its creation, in the year 2000, the University of Experience

Program (UNEX) has become an excellent educational option
for adults over 50 years of age, enabling them to acquire high
level knowledge, revaluate their own capacities and skills,
socialize and enjoy the academic environ, and even connect
with other senior students from Latin American universities.

During these past years, more than 500 students have enrolled
in this program and over 75% of them still continue taking
courses in our classrooms, which is an excellent indicator of
the degree of satisfaction and the success of promoting the
self-assessment of individuals throughout their lives.

At an international scale, UNEX promoted the first Latin

American Conference of University Programs for Adults, held
in Lima in 2005, which continuity is now ensured with the
execution of its second edition in Argentina. This materializes
the proposal to establish a network of universities of Latin
America with programs addressed to senior adults, which will
enable greater communication and closer coordination, in
addition to other joint activities.

- Inter-school Improvisation Contests

The Catholic University organized in 2006 the first ‘Inter-school

Improvisation Contest,’ with the participation of students
from the third and fourth secondary grades of twelve schools
of Lima, in a discipline that combines elements of the theater
with sports, that enables the development of a series of skills,
such as learning to listen and accept the ideas of others,
learning to trust the team and one’s own ideas, create and
interpret stories, value team mates and rivals and respect the
rules of the game.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 131

 In the game, two teams must interpret a story, based on a
title given by the judge. They have a determined time and a
specific number of players allowed for each improvisation. In
20 seconds each team must prepare an idea for its players to
begin playing the story with a character, a place and an action;
thereafter, they go out to the field to play against the other
team and see which does better in the opinion of the judges
and the public.
The success of this event was so resounding that a second
edition took place in 2007 and the university intends to keep
holding it on an annual basis, as it is an excellent way to
promote values among school students.
- Art Workshop for Children and Adolescents
A group of students and professionals of the Catholic
University promotes each year the development of artistic
potentialities of children and adolescents from different places
and cultural spaces, through integrating proposals, including
playing, plastic arts, theater and corporal expression.
The art workshop for children and adolescents is a space for
creation and for the children to get acquainted with different
fields. Participants include plastic artists, designers, educators,
psychologists, scenic artists and communicators, who also seek
to establish a communication channel between the university
and the society.
- Aula Magna
Every year, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru holds
the ‘Aula Magna,’ a great academic event with the purpose
of reflecting on different issues relevant to the development
of Peru, with the participation of members of the university
community, distinguished personalities, leaders and special
guests, according to the subject under discussion.
In its previous editions, ‘Aula Magna’ focused on contents
as complex and transcendental as poverty and human
development, governance, globalization and migrations. In
132 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
2007, during the celebration of our 90th anniversary, the
subject chosen was “The Peruvian university, its challenges and
responsibilities before the country and the society.”
During two days, ‘Aula Magna’ centered its attention on the
university as an organization capable of analyzing itself
from different perspectives: its relation with the regional
development, as part of a greater process such as globalization
and as an academic organization focused on the development
of knowledge and the search for the truth.
- Sacramental Acts
As part of its 90th anniversary celebrations the Pontifical
Catholic University of Peru staged in 2007 the sacramental act
‘La vida es sueño’ (Life is a Dream), a play by the Spanish writer
Pedro Calderón de la Barca, in a magnificent performance
staged in the atrium of the Church of San Francisco, one of the
most traditional churches in the Historic Center of Lima.
Sacramental acts are works written in verse, addressing
religious, moralist topics, of easy comprehension and allegoric,
since their characters represent the good, the evil, the virtues
and the vices, life and death. In this case, more than 400 artists
participated on stage, many of them university students or
graduates, who formed part of the choirs, the ballet sequences,
the bands and the traditional Peruvian groups that paraded
together in an unforgettable grand finale under the light of the
fireworks.
In 1997, during the commemoration of its 80th anniversary,
the university used the atrium of the Lima Cathedral to stage
‘El Gran Teatro del Mundo’ (The Great World Theater), another
great sacramental act written by Calderón de la Barca, which
was re-staged in 1999 and in 2004.
- Open House
Under the slogan ‘All are welcome,’ the Pontifical Catholic
University of Peru decided on March 31, 2007, to open the
doors of its campus to the entire university community, their
families and the general public, to inform about the activities
carried out in this house of learning, to relive the identification
ties with the Alma Mater, bring together different generations
and start the 90th anniversary celebrations in grand style.

Close to 30,000 persons responded to the invitation of the

university and enjoyed the different events organized, such
as musical concerts, dance and theater exhibitions, art
exhibitions, conferences, science and technology demos, sports
competitions, food fair and children playgrounds.

- Sports Training Schools

The Catholic University opened its doors of its first class

facilities so that children, adolescents and adults from all
around town may receive specialized training in our Sports
Training Schools, where they find reasonably priced karate,
kun fu, table tennis, tae kwon do, football, basketball and
volleyball classes.

Teachers and trainers have been rigorously selected to

guarantee the proper training of the sportsmen and
sportswomen, as to both the physical and technical and
tactical requirements, seeking to promote healthy life styles
and to offer well-equipped and safe venues to the people who
wish to put them in practice.

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 133

 Contacts
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
General Secretary’s Office
Phone: (511) 626-2000, Extension 2200
Fax: (511) 626-2000, Extension 2847
Graduate School
Phone: (511) 626-2000, Extension 5100
Fax: (511) 626-2000, Extension 2819
Academic Research Division
Phone: (511) 626-2000, Extension 2120
Fax: (511) 626-2000, Extension 2807
Academic Division for Social Responsibility
Phone: (511) 626-2000, Extension 2142
Fax: (511) 626-2000, Extension 2809
Admission Office
Phone: (511) 626-2000, Extension 2641
Fax: (511) 626-2000, Extension 2889
Division of International Affairs and Cooperation
Phone: (511) 626-2000, Extension 2160
Fax: (511) 626-2000, Extension 2170
Institutional Communications Division
Phone: (511) 626-2000, Extension 3910 / 3095
Fax: (511) 626-2000, Extension 2464
Web Site:
www.pucp.edu.pe
E-mail:
webmaster@pucp.edu.pe
134 | pontificia universidad católica del perú
main buildings
1 Mac Gregor Building
2 PUCP Bookstore, Publishing Fund and
International Relations and Cooperation Office
3 Central Library
4 Dintilhac Building (Rectorate, Administration)
5 Art Program
6 General Studies - Science
7 Administration and Accounting Program
8 Chemistry Laboratories
9 Science and Engineering Program
10 Theater Education Center of the Catholic
University
11 Architecture and Urban Development
Program
12 Center for Manufacturing Advanced
Technologies (CETAM)
13 Corrosion and Protection Institute
14 Environmental Studies Institute
15 Civil Engineering Antiseismic Structures
Laboratory
16 Social Sciences Program
17 Academic Information Technology Office
18 Law Program
19 Chapel, University Pastoral Counseling Center
20 Academic Theology Department
21 Graduate School
22 Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Program
23 Communication Sciences and Arts Program
24 Academic Psychology Department
25 Television Studio
26 Archaeology Laboratories
27 Liberal Arts Program
28 Sports Coliseum
29 Sports Area
30 Education Program
 12
PONTIFICAL CATHOLIC
CETAM UNIVERSITY OF PERU
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22 Ag
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Auditorium 10 Auditorium

21
17 18
Archaeological
Zone 9
20 25
16
26
23
3 24 Archaeological
8 19 Main Zone
6 Library Liberal Arts
CAPU Auditorium
CEPREPUC Sports Area
7
7 4 28
27
Dintilhac
Building 2
5

Mac Gregor 30

Tulipanes Street
New Building
1 29

Information
pucp in numbers Uni
ver
Office
sitar
Total Area: 413.902 m2 ia A Admission
v. Main Office
Green Area: 175.359,05 m2
Sports Area: 18.512,21m2
Built Area: 46.515,38 m2
Road, Sidewalk and Parking Area: 133.137,94 m2
Pre-Hispanic Road Area: 13.503,00 m2

Classrooms: 312 Libraries: 11

Laboratories: 62 Cafeterias: 8

pontificia universidad católica del perú | 135

136 | pontificia universidad católica del perú