Laureate International Universities, through the Latin American University of Costa Rica, will invest more than US$40 million in infrastructure this year in the construction of a new campus in Heredia, and THINK, an innovative higher education center focused on online education and with a center at Terrazas Lindora.

“In a globalized world, it is vitally important that universities seek to strengthen education. We aim to offer the best quality higher education, and that is why we bring to the country the most modern tendencies of teaching and integral learning, which seek to maximize the technical   and professional profile of the Costa Rican labor market,” said Alex Fernández, president of Universidad Latina (ULatina) Costa Rica.

An estimated US$40 million will be allocated to the construction of a new ULatina campus in Heredia, which will give students first-class infrastructure to make the most of their academic and professional training.

The new Heredia campus will be built on a 37,000 m2 lot located on the southern side of the current facilities in that province, so current students won’t experience any changes when the new building is ready. The 15,000 m2 facility will house 100 teaching spaces and 57 laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including mobile laboratories, engineering laboratories, architectural laboratories, television laboratories, and workshops for design, radio and drawing.

The campus will consist of five buildings and will be handicap accessible, said Fernández. It will also include 700 parking spaces, plus recreation and sports areas, a demo room for hospitality courses, an amphitheater, cafeterias, a library, a food court, a small plaza, and large green areas.

The new campus, expected to be ready for the 2018 school year, was designed by international architect Gensler, who also designed the Shanghai Tower, and the Westin International Airport in Denver, Colorado.

The new campus is in addition to a recent investment of US$1 million to develop a new concept of training and innovation in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM). The THINK innovation center housed in a 500 m2 space in Terrazas, Lindora is inspired by Australia’s Think Education and will offer a cloud computing and data center program, free courses, more than 10 technical programs, senior management seminars, online masters programs, and, in the future, online baccalaureate degrees.