Assessment and prospective of a research incubator group in a Colombian University

Abstract

The “Semillero de Neurorrehabilitación e Inclusión Social” (Neurorehabilitation and Social Inclusion Research Incubator Group) of the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Physiotherapy Program of the Fundación Universitaria María Cano was created in 2020 with the aim of training in research on the movement of the human body, with special attention to neurorehabilitation and social inclusion. The research incubator group takes a critical perspective on the role of the physical therapist and his understanding of the health-disease-care process, and is oriented towards the development of course modalities, the management and participation in academic events, the promotion of project-based learning, academic mobility for the construction and social circulation of knowledge, with inter-institutional cooperation, and social outreach and projection as an important link between the university and society. Since its creation, the incubator group has had 25 research assistants who have graduated under the supervision of the group and 10 of whom have published the results of their research. Currently, twelve physiotherapy students who joined the group at the beginning of their studies are participating in its activities. The group is linked to national and international academic networks, has managed five academic events and has fifteen products: one patent, two dissemination articles, two scientific articles with research results, five book chapters with research results and five proceedings of academic events. The group is committed to interdisciplinarity in order to expand its scientific production and visibility in national and international scenarios, promote the development of project-based learning, increase student participation in activities, attract students and professors from other locations, and improve the management of academic spaces of interest.