Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral


The Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral is a public university located in Guayaquil, Guayas Province in Ecuador. ESPOL has five faculties or schools, fifteen research centers, and several associated centers providing twenty-six undergraduate and ten master's degrees.

History

Founding

The school was created on October 24, 1958, through Executive Decree 1664 by President Camilo Ponce Enriquez, as a higher education institution.
ESPOL was inaugurated on Tuesday, May 19, 1959, and classes began the following Monday, May 25. Its first location was the Casona building of the Universidad de Guayaquil. The area around the historical Peñas area provided a central location in the city, and the buildings in that area were bought by ESPOL with an initial payment of 12 million sucres.
In 1969, the Quinto Guayas Battalion gave ESPOL the area between the Simón Bolívar embankment and Loja Street, where the four engineering departments were located.
In 1973, the Ecuadorian marines moved from their base in Guayaquil, and in their place, new installations for the Facultad de Ingenieria Maritima y Ciencias del Mar were constructed.

Campuses

In 1995, ESPOL moved from its historic campus to the new campus on the outskirts of the city. The new campus was more than in size and included a protected forest that the university took over.

Twenty-first century

ln 2009, ESPOL began construction of the Parque del Conocimiento, where the research centers of ESPOL will be located. Also in 2009, ESPOL built buildings to host the prepolitenico. In 2010, ESPOL started the construction of the new EDCON building.

Campuses

Campus de Peñas

2.5 ha in size and located near the historical center of Guayaquil, Las Peñas campus was the center of academic life. Almost everything was moved into the Gustavo Galindo campus for the 2011-2012 academic year.

Campus Gustavo Galindo

724 ha in size, the Gustavo Galindo Campus is the main and largest campus. Its location on the Via Perimetral highway eases access to commuting students. The central administration of the university and research centers are located there. Its infrastructure is the result of a development plan, the Plan de Desarrollo as well as the creation of the new PARCON.

Campus Via de la Costa

The Campus Via de la Costa, located on the coast of the Santa Elena province, hosts the CENAIM-ESPOL Foundation and maritime-related research and degree programs.

Academics

Schools and colleges

COPOL

The Polytechnic High School is a secondary educational institution linked and colocated with the university. Created in 1995, it is located in the Campus Gustavo Galindo.

ESPAE

Escuela de Postgrado de Administracion de Empresas.

EDCOM

Undergraduate academics includes the School of Design and Visual Communication of ESPOL, which is associated with the broad field of Arts and Humanities of the International Standard Classification of Education.

FCSH

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities.

FIMCP

The Faculty of mechanical Engineering and Production Sciences.

FICT

The School of Engineering in Earth Sciences.

FIEC

The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. It consists of six departments and offers multiple degrees.

Research

Research centers

ESPOL research centers include the Center for Systems Research, Development and Innovation ; the Information Technology Center, focused onresearch into information and communication technologies; and the Knowledge Park.

Notable faculty