Colombia Will Have the Only University School of Coffee, in the Department of Huila
The department of Huila, in central Colombia, is not only the country’s leading coffee producer, contributing nearly 19% of the national harvest. It is now also the first to take the historic step of offering specialized formal education centered on the bean that is its main economic sector, through the creation of the University School of Coffee.
This new academic unit, attached to the Faculty of Engineering of the Surcolombiana University (USCO), will begin educational activities next semester with the first 120 in-person openings in two municipalities of Huila: 80 students in Pitalito and 40 in Gigante. All of them will be part of the six academic programs approved by the Ministry of National Education under a propaedeutic cycle model.
Programs revolve around Coffee Engineering
Propaedeutic cycles are a higher education model based on sequential and complementary stages that allow students to obtain multiple academic degrees (technical, technological, and professional university qualifications) as they advance, facilitating early entry into the workforce and reducing tuition costs.
The six programs were approved through resolutions issued on April 30, 2026, by the Vice Ministry of Higher Education. The most notable is Coffee Engineering, which becomes the only program of its kind in Colombia and around which the other five are structured:
• Coffee Engineering
• Technology in Sustainable Coffee Management
• Technology in Coffee-Based Product Innovation
• Professional Technical Program in Coffee Production
• Professional Technical Program in Coffee Commercialization
• Professional Technical Program in Administrative Processes for Coffee Farms
With this initiative, which seeks to address one of the greatest challenges facing the coffee sector—the generational transition—young people from Huila will be able to receive professional training centered on coffee cultivation, learning about innovation, product transformation, sustainability, coffee farm management, new technologies, and value-added processes, preventing the countryside from continuing to lose young human talent.
The University School of Coffee will also make it possible to connect secondary education with higher education. Initially, it will work in coordination with the José Eustasio Rivera Educational Institution in Pitalito and the Alto del Obispo Educational Institution in San Agustín, with plans to gradually expand to other coffee-producing municipalities in the department.
Investments that will impact coffee growers
The launch of the University School of Coffee is backed by significant institutional investments. The building where it will operate, at the USCO campus in Pitalito, received an initial investment of nearly 6 billion pesos (US$1.6 million), financed by the National Government. Additional investments include:
• 2 billion pesos (US$545,000) contributed by the Government of Huila for the completion of classrooms and infrastructure.
• 1.976 billion pesos (US$538,000) projected by the Government of Huila for the strengthening of specialized laboratories.
• More than 406 million pesos (US$110,000) executed through Agreement 023 of 2024 between the Government of Huila and USCO.
• Additional contributions from USCO for the academic and operational consolidation of the project.
The School will feature specialized laboratories, innovation spaces, practical training environments, and technological facilities focused on coffee research and transformation. In addition, the project arrives at a historic moment for coffee growing in Huila.
Huila has completed 15 consecutive years as Colombia’s leading coffee-producing department, with an output of 2,523,904 60-kilogram bags, equivalent to 19.65% of national production. The department also has:
• 88,011 coffee-growing families.
• More than 103,717 coffee farms.
• 150,135 hectares planted with coffee.
• More than 100,000 jobs generated each year.
• Coffee exports exceeding US$547 million between January and May 2025.
“It sounded like a utopia just to hear about it. Today we have made it a reality. There was shared leadership. Industry associations, academia, and the departmental government. The contribution to the coffee production sector is enormous,” said Huila Governor Rodrigo Villalba Mosquera.
For his part, USCO Rector Rubén Darío Valbuena highlighted that this joint alliance strengthens the competitiveness agenda in the coffee sector. “The idea is to begin with 120 students in 2027 as the pioneers of this training program with major departmental and national impact,” he said.