Admission Criteria

The City of Knowledge Foundation has admission criteria applicable in general to all institutions, projects or programs applying for participation in the City of Knowledge project. Additionally, there are specific criteria for International Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations.

General criteria

1. Consistency with the City of Knowledge mission

   The City of Knowledge mission reads: "To be an International Center of Excellence for the generation, dissemination and application of knowledge, at the service of human development, leveraging Panama's competitive advantages."

   All companies, academic programs or international organizations applying for affiliation to City of Knowledge must have activities that are in line with these goals, and in no case can they be contrary to them.

2. Consistency with some of the City of Knowledge focal areas

   Companies, academic programs or international organisms applying for affiliation must express their agreement to perform activities related to the City of Knowledge priority work areas, and indicate which they would like to participate in:

   1. Communication and Information Technologies
   2. Biosciences
   3. Environmental Management
   4. Human Development
   5. Business Management and Entrepreneurial Culture

   Programs or activities outside these areas may be considered if they respond to regional or global priorities and are appropriately backed up.

3. A flexible and innovating characte

   To be considered innovating by the City of Knowledge, a program or activity must meet at least two of three essential requirements:

   1. The program or activity must not have an equivalent in the country.
   2. It must be a methodology or technology transfer without an equivalent in the country, applied to developing a field of activity already existing in Panama.
   3. It must require the conditions offered by City of Knowledge in order to be implemented in Panama.

   In addition, the proposition must be flexible enough to allow both relevant adjustments in time and the formation of links between disciplines and institutions, so as to effectively contribute to building a dynamic knowledge industry.

4. International quality

   Affiliation proposals should indicate the international outlook of the programs and activities they wish to set up at City of Knowledge, as well as their ability to attract foreign students, academics, researchers and business people.

5. Willingness to synergize with the other components of the City of Knowledge project

   Companies, academic programs or international organizations applying for affiliation should express their willingness to establish collaboration activities or links with other academic, research and technological development programs related to the local and external networks that are interrelated by City of Knowledge.

6. Administrative and financial viability

   Companies, academic programs or international organisms applying for affiliation should prove the administrative and financial viability of the project they wish to set up at City of Knowledge, by declaring that they have the necessary financial resources to do it or, failing that, describing how they expect to obtain them.

7. Respect for the environmental laws and regulations in force in Panama, and for the City of Knowledge urban development regulations.

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Specific Criteria for International Organizations

1. They must be recognized as International or Non-Governmental Organizations by the relevant institutions of the Nation.
2. Non-profit activities related to human development.
3. A recognized track record as a regional or international organization.
4. Development of forums, seminars and conferences related to the content of their activities, against the background of City of Knowledge.