global school - eafit · matching, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity designs as well...

Global School 3-14 DECEMBER 2018-MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA

Global School in Empirical Research Methods (GSERM) at Universidad EAFIT, 2018

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Medellín is a dynamic metropolis that has undergone a cultural, social, and economic transformation in recent years.

Colombia’s second city both economically and in terms of number of inhabitants, it is located 1,538 meters (5,046 feet) above sea level, boasts a temperate climate with year-round temperatures ranging from between 18 and 28 degrees Celsius (64 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit), and has a history dating back nearly 340 years. The Medellín metropolitan area, which comprises 10 municipalities located in the Aburrá Valley, currently is home to roughly 3,800,000 people.

This urban conglomerate in northwestern Colombia (nestled amid the Andes’ Cordillera Central range) hosts world-class events such as the Flower Festival, the International Poetry Festival, the Medellín Book and Culture Festival, Colombiamoda, and Colombiatex.

MEDELLÍN

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EAFITEAFIT is a university with 57 years of history that inspires the current generations to embark on a life project that maximizes their potential. An institution that both conveys and generates knowledge, thus fulfilling its role as a teaching and research university. A place that transforms society.

EAFIT currently offers 22 undergraduate degree programs, nearly 50 graduate certificate programs, 34 master’s degree programs, and 6 doctorate programs in the schools of Management, Engineering, Humanities, Law, Economics and Finance, and Sciences, and It has been recognized in three times with the Institutional Accreditation conferred by the National Education Ministry MEN. (2003, 2010 and 2018).

Research-backed teaching is a focal point of the institution’s road map, in so far as the goal is to not only convey but also generate knowledge. In that regard, the budget allocated to this area has been maintained and enabled EAFIT to achieve a range of objectives, including recognition by Colciencias of 41 research groups, the registration of 37 patents, and the participation of more than 1,170 students in research incubators.

The institution’s reach also extends to other publics and in other parts of Colombia like EAFIT Bogotá, EAFIT Pereira, and EAFIT Llanogrande. All of these processes take place on a campus where the built infrastructure coexists with different species of flora and fauna to make a university-park equipped with cutting-edge technology.

Music, literature, dance, theater, film cycles, exhibitions, and other artistic manifestations make up a cultural agenda that permeates all parts of campus, enables the formation of groups with shared interests, and fosters the organization’s reach and impact both externally and internally.

And it is in this context, in which the university strives to give back all it has received from society, that its social responsibility efforts are infused with a greater sense of purpose. With these strategic commitments in mind, EAFIT is firm in its promise to inspire, create and transform.

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COURSES1ST SESSION: 3-7 DECEMBER 2018

2ND SESSION: 10-14 DECEMBER 2018

Instructor Course Date Level ECTS

Michael Lechner Causal Inference 3 - 7 December 2018 R 4

Brett Lantz Machine Learning with R – Introduction 3 - 7 December 2018 B 4

Andrew Bennett Case Study Methods 3 - 7 December 2018 B 4

Instructor Course Date Level ECTS

Carsten Q. Schneider

Qualitative Comparative Analysis 10 - 14 December 2018 M 4

Sarah K. JacobsonSera Linardi

Experimental Methods for Behavioral Science 10 - 14 December 2018 B 4

Christian B. Hansen

Econometrics of Big Data 10 - 14 December 2018 R 4

B = Basic | M = Intermediate | A = Advanced | R = Research

Courses start at CHF 1000 (approx. USD 1050) | Deadline for application is 15 November 2018.

PRICINGCOSTS PROGRAMME FEE1 course (1 week) CHF 1000 (approx. USD 1’050)2 courses (2 weeks) CHF 1900 (approx. USD 1’995)

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT UNTIL 3O SEPTEMBER 2018Discount for 1 course CHF 200 (USD 210)Discount for 2 courses CHF 300 (USD 315)

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DESCRIPTIONCAUSAL INFERENCE

Modern microeconometrics has the goal of empirically establishing and quantifying causal relations between interesting variables, such as participating in some government intervention and individual labour market outcomes.

In this course we discuss the most relevant methods (also called research designs in microeconometrics) that are used

in empirical practice, such as matching, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity designs as well as difference-in-difference estimation based on cross-sectional and panel data. The methods will be explained together with their potential virtues and limitations in different disciplines. For each of the different research designs we start with a general discussion of its key assumptions and how they relate to empirical settings. Next,

we discuss estimation principles as well as particular estimators suitable for the context of the particular design. Finally, some time will be devoted to look in more detail in an empirical paper that uses the particular methods. These empirical papers will come from the fields of labour, health and sports economics. Usually, in the morning we discuss the theory while the afternoon is devoted to empirical applications.

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MACHINE LEARNING WITH R-INTRODUCTION

most common machine learning techniques, but no advanced math or programming skills are required. The target audience may include social scientists or practitioners who are interested in understanding more about these methods and their applications. Students with extensive programming or statistics experience may be better served by a more theoretical course on these methods.

Machine learning, put simply, involves teaching computers to learn from experience, typically for the purpose of identifying or responding to patterns or making predictions about what may happen in the future. This course is intended to be an introduction to machine learning methods through the exploration of real-world examples. We will cover the basic math and statistical theory needed to understand and apply many of the

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CASE STUDY METHODS

The course is designed for Master, PhD students and practitioners in the social and policy sciences, including political science, sociology, public policy, public administration, business, and economics. Previous courses in research methods and philosophy of science are helpful

but not required. Materials not in the books assigned for purchase and not easily available through online library databases will be made available electronically. Bringing a laptop to class will be helpful but is not essential.

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QUALITATIVE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

This course introduces participants to set-theoretic methods and their application in the social sciences with a focus on Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The course starts out by familiarizing students with the basic concepts of the underlying methodological perspective, among them the central notions of necessity and sufficiency, formal logic and Boolean algebra. From there, we move to the logic and analysis of truth tables

and discuss the most important problems that emerge when this analytical tool is used for exploring social science data. Right from the beginning, students will be exposed to performing set-theoretic analyses with the relevant R software packages. When discussing set-theoretic methods, in-class debates will engage on broad, general comparative social research issues, such as case selection principles, concept formation, questions of

data aggregation and the treatment of causally relevant notions of time. Examples are drawn from published applications in the social sciences. Participants are encouraged to bring their own raw data for in-class exercises and assignments, if available. By the end of the course, participants will be able to perform set-theoretic analyses of their own and to critically evaluate published QCA.

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EXPERIMENTAL METHODS FOR BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE

This course provides an introduction to the use of experiments in the social sciences. Well-designed experiments, in both the lab and the field, provide the control necessary to identify causal relationships and to cleanly test theoretical constructs. Experiments are an important part of the social science toolkit, and are becoming increasingly indispensable parts of the methodological toolkit in economics, political science, and other disciplines.

Students in this course will develop an understanding of the elements of good experimental design and implementation and examine the interaction between theory and experimental design. Students will further advance their knowledge through experience: they will work individually or in teams throughout the course to develop and pilot their own experiment design, and they will receive feedback from instructors and fellow students.

Topics covered during this course include: design and implementation of experiments, field and internet experiments, classic games, and individual preference experiments (risk, time, social). We will use studies in specific topic areas (environmental and natural resource applications, and social policy, especially in interventions targeted to the poor) to demonstrate central concepts in social science experimentation.

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ECONOMETRICS OF BIG DATA

As in many other fields, economists are increasingly making use of high-dimensional models – models with many unknown parameters that need to be inferred from the data. Such models arise naturally in modern data sets that include rich information for each unit of observation (a type of “big data”) and in nonparametric applications where researchers wish to learn, rather than impose, functional forms. High-dimensional models

provide a vehicle for modeling and analyzing complex phenomena and for incorporating rich sources of confounding information into economic models.

Our goal in this course is two-fold. First, we wish to provide an overview and introduction to several modern methods, largely coming from statistics and machine learning, which are useful for exploring high-dimensional data and for

building prediction models in high-dimensional settings. Second, we will present recent proposals that adapt high-dimensional methods to the problem of doing valid inference about model parameters and illustrate applications of these proposals for doing inference about economically interesting parameters.

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INSTRUCTORSMICHAEL LECHNER

Michael Lechner works as professor of Econometrics at the University of St. Gallen since 1998. In 1994, he received his PhD in Economics and Econometrics at the University of Mannheim. He co-heads the Swiss Institute for Empirical Economic Research (SEW). He is interested in the evaluation of labor market programmes, sports economics, and the development of microeconometric methods for causal inference and their link to machine learning. He has published in the Journal of Econometrics, Journal of the American Statistical Association, Journal of the European Economic Association, the European Economic Review, and the Journals of Labor Economics, of Health Economics and of Human Resources among many others. He is a Fellow of the German Academy of Science Leopoldina (Halle), and the Center for Economic Policy Reseach (CEPR, London).

BRETT LANTZ

Brett Lantz is a data scientist at the University of Michigan and the author of Machine Learning with R, a best-selling textbook praised for its beginner-friendly practical approach to the topic. After studying sociology and machine learning at the University of Michigan (B.S.) and University of Notre Dame (M.A.), Brett has spent more than 10 years using innovative data methods to understand human behavior. First captivated by machine learning while studying a large database of teenagers’ social network profiles, Brett has since worked on interdisciplinary studies of cellular telephone calls, medical billing data, and philanthropic activity, among others.

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ANDREW BENNETT

Andrew Bennett is Professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University. He has worked in the U.S. Defense Department and the U.S. Senate, and he has written on the U.S. foreign policy process, case study research methods, alliance burden‐sharing, and regional conflicts and peacekeeping. He is, with Alexander George, the co‐author of Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences (MIT Press, 2005). Together with Colin Elman and David Collier, he is a founder of the Institute for Qualitative and Multimethod Research, now at Syracuse University, and he has taught case study research methods in Argentina, Chile, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.

CHRISTIAN B. HANSEN

Christian B. Hansen studies applied and theoretical econometrics, the uses of high-dimensional statistical methods in economic applications, estimation of panel data models, quantile regression, and weak instruments. In 2008, Hansen was named a Neubauer Family Faculty Fellow, and he was named to the Wallace W. Booth professorship in 2014. Hansen graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 2000. In 2004, he received a PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a graduate research fellow of the National Science Foundation. He joined the Chicago Booth faculty in 2004.

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SARAH K. JACOBSON

Sarah Jacobson is an Associate Professor of Economics at Williams College, where she has been since 2010. She completed her PhD in Economics at Georgia State University in 2010 and her Bachelor of Science in Engineering at Harvey Mudd College in 1998. She is an environmental and behavioral economist who studies interactions between preferences and institutions, mostly using laboratory experiments. Her work has been published in top field journals such as Journal of Environmental Economics and Management and Experimental Economics. Specific themes in her work include reciprocity, cases in which social preferences yield inefficient outcomes, and punishment and deterrence. She has current projects on security institutions, proxy decision-making, the enforcement of water pollution regulations, racial bias, and charity donations.

SERA LINARDI

Sera Linardi is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) at the University of Pittsburgh. She received her PhD in Social Science at the California Institute of Technology after working as a computer scientist at Adobe Systems. She bridges academic research and practical challenges in public/social services provision, specifically around prosocial behavior, information aggregation, and behavior economics of the poor. Her research has been published in both economics and political science journals (Journal of Public Economics, Management Science, Games and Economic Behavior, British Journal of Political Science) and won the 2016 MPSA Best Paper in Comparative Politics Award. Her work is currently supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Heinz Endowment.

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CARSTEN Q. SCHNEIDER

Carsten Q. Schneider is Professor of the Political Science Department at Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, Hungary. Prior to joining CEU in 2004, he obtained his PhD from the European University Institute in Florence. His research focuses on regime transitions, the consolidation and quality of democracies. He is also working in the field of comparative methodology, especially on set-theoretic methods, in particular Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and its fuzzy set extension. His book “Set-Theoretic Methods for the Social Sciences”, co-authored with Claudius Wagemann, appeared with Cambridge University Press in 2012.

From 2009 – 2014, Schneider was an elected member of the Young Academy of Science in Germany (http://www.diejungeakademie.de/) and he spent the Academic Year 2009-2010 as a John F. Kennedy Memorial Fellow at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University (http://www.ces.fas.harvard.edu/). As its Founding Director, Schneider led the Center for the Study of Imperfections in Democracies (DISC) at CEU from 2008 to 2014.

COURSE STRUCTUREGSERM is structured in different modules. Participants select one course per week as these courses are taught concurrently.

GSERM courses are awarded 4 ECTS credits if exams/homework are successfully passed.

GSERM courses are divided into different levels: basic, intermediate, advanced and research. Please pay careful attention to indicated levels in the course directory. Courses on research level (PEF-courses) are especially designed for PhD students in Economics with substantial background in quantitative methods.If you successfully pass the exam you will receive an official University of St. Gallen transcript about 10 weeks after the exam. If you do not take the exam you may send us a request for a participation certificate.

WORKSHOP LECTURES

BASIC

INTERMEDIATE

ADVANCED

RESEARCH

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SCHEDULECALENDAR

Lunes, 3 de diciembre de 2018

08:00 Welcoming session and Registration.

09:15 GSERM Morning Classes.

12:15 Lunch / Break.

13:30 SERM Afternoon Classes.

15:15Welcome tour through the facilities of the Universidad EAFIT.

16:30Hydro Aerobic course offered at the EAFIT`s swimming pool.

17:30 Free Time.

18:00 GSERM Welcome Dinner in a city restaurant.

Miércoles, 5 de diciembre de 2018

08:00 Welcome coffee and cookies at building 19, Floor 7 th, lunch room.



13:30 GSERM Afternoon Classes.

15:00EAFIT`s Fitness Center / Jogging at the EAFIT`s Athletic Track (free time to sport activities).



18:00 Free Time.

Martes, 4 de diciembre de 2018





15:00 City Tour.

19:00 Free Time.

Jueves, 6 de diciembre de 2018






18:00Share some drinks and know about the culture of Medellin.

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Lunes, 10 de diciembre de 2018

08:00 Welcoming session and Registration.




15:15Welcome tour through the facilities of the Universidad EAFIT.


17:30 Free Time.

18:00 GSERM Welcome Dinner in a city restaurant.

Martes, 4 de diciembre de 2018





15:00 City Tour.

19:00 Free Time.

Viernes, 7 de diciembre de 2018





15:00 Closing Ceremony.

14:00 Voleyball Tournament.

18:00 Picnic.

Sábado, 8 de diciembre de 2018

08:00 Pick up at EAFIT`s Building 18 to visit Arvi Ecotourism park.

09:15 Visit to the Arvi ecotourism park.

15:00 Free Afternoon.

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Miércoles, 12 de diciembre de 2018








18:00 Free Time.

Viernes, 14 de diciembre de 2018





15:00 Closing Ceremony.


17:00 Voleyball Tournament.

18:00 Picnic.

Jueves, 13 de diciembre de 2018






19:00Share some drinks and know about the culture of Medellin.

Sábado, 15 de diciembre de 2018

08:00 Pick up at EAFIT`s Building 18 to visit Arvi Ecotourism park.

09:00 Visit to the Arvi ecotourism park

15:00 Free Afternoon.

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FAQIS IT POSSIBLE TO SIGN UP FOR TWO CLASSES DURING THE SAME SESSION?

No. For each main session, students must choose one class only as they are taught concurrently. However, the workshop lectures (only at GSERM St. Gallen) can be visited simultaneously as they are held at different times of the day.

WHAT ARE THE CLASS HOURS?

Monday through Friday08.00 am – 09.00 am Breakfast in the Restaurant at building 19, Floor 709.15 am – 12.15 pmMorning class12.15 pm – 01:30 pmLunch break01.30pm – 03.00 pmAfternoon class

HOW MANY STUDENTS CAN PARTICIPATE IN GSERM COURSES?

We book maximum 25 – 30 participants per class.

IS THERE ANY PROOF OF LANGUAGE NEEDED?

GSERM will be held in English. In order to follow the lecturers you should have good knowledge of English. We do not require any written proof of language level, but furthermore count on the personal responsibility of our participants.

WILL I RECEIVE ACADEMIC CREDITS AND A TRANSCRIPT AFTER GSERM?

If you complete the programme and the exam successfully, you will be credited 4 ECTS credits and will get a transcript of University of St. Gallen. The transcript will be sent to your registration address about 10 weeks after the exam.

Your transcripts will contain the following:

Course nameHSG gradeECTS gradeECTS creditsGrading scale

Each completed examination is graded according to a grading scale from 6.0 (excellent) to 1.0 (useless). Satisfactory results are awarded grades from 6.0 to 4.0 inclusive, while results graded 3.5 to 1.0 are insufficient. The grading scale in detail:

HSG – ECTS Notenskala

HSG Grade ECTS Grade6.0 excellent A5.5 very good B5.0 good C4.5 satisfactory D4.0 marginal E3.5 unsatisfactory F3.0 poor 2.5 poor to very poor 2.0 very poor 1.5 very poor to useless 1.0 useless

DO I HAVE TO SIT FOR THE END-OF-COURSE EXAMS?

No, the final exams are not compulsory. However, please note that you will not receive a grade if you do not sit for the exams. In most cases this will mean that you are ineligible for credits from your home university.

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If you do not sit for the exam and wish to receive a University of St. Gallen participation certificate, please send a request to [email protected].

WHERE CAN I FIND THE BANK DETAILS FOR PAYMENT?

Universität St. GallenPostFinance, St. GallenBIC: POFICHBEIBAN: CH21 0900 0000 9000 0747 8Reason for payment: Last Name_First Name_1019410Payments are only accepted in Swiss Francs. All bank fees are your own expenses.

DO I NEED A VISA?

Your nationality determines whether or not you need to apply for an entry visa.

Please check any needs way in advance for the visa process. The visa process might take between 4 to 6 weeks. Be sure to apply as soon as you receive our acceptance email. We will assist you with any documents needed in order to apply for the visa.

ARE THERE ANY SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE?

University of St. Gallen does not provide any scholarships for the GSERM programme. Information about individual funding / scholarships can be found at this link: funding.unisg.ch.

We also encourage prospective students to check with their local embassies and home universities to see if any supplemental funding might be available to them.

SHOULD I BRING MY LAPTOP WITH ME?

It is highly recommended to bring your personal laptop or any other mobile device along for any work during the lessons, homework and / or self-study purposes. Please be sure to carefully read the information on our courses in case of any software prerequisites are required.

¿DO I HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET?

You will have Wifi access at the university and also in your accommodation (if booked at GSERM). Login data will be provided upon arrival.

WILL I HAVE TIME FOR TRAVELLING AND SIGHTSEEING?

During GSERM you will have limited time to travel at weekends. Lectures and/or exams on Fridays will be finished at 5 pm latest. We offer social events and short trips during the week and at weekends.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Cancellation by the participant.

Costs will be owed in the event of cancellation and / or if the participant interrupts the course or ends it prematurely.

These costs are as follows:

Up to 60 days before course start We will retain 100 CHF to cover administrative expenses

Between 31 to 59 days before course start We will retain 50 % of the costs (both for course and accommodation)

30 or fewer days before course start No refunds will be made (both for course and accommodation)

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOWACCOMMODATION

HOTEL LOS VERDES

Located in the exclusive El Poblado neighborhood and three blocks from Parque Lleras, our privileged location allows our visitors to stay less than 15 minutes by taxi, from such important places in Medellin as: “Olaya Herrera” Airport, the Convention Center Plaza Mayor, the Palace of Exhibitions and the Administrative Center La Alpujarra. In addition, the La Milla de Oro Road Corridor and the San Diego, Oviedo, El Tesoro and Santa Fe Shopping Centers are also very close from our installations. We are surrounded by charming restaurants where they serve all kinds of international and typical Medellin food.

Get to the Universidad EAFIT is very easy and feel free to choose how to arrive to the university. The transportation options are by metro (Station: Poblado) or by car service (taxi). The Eafit University is only one stop away, you should get off at the next stop called Aguacatala station.

The other option would be to ask for a taxi at the hotel reception. All car services (taxis) in Medellin are yellow and this service is pretty safe. All car services have a taximeter in the upper interior of each car, which marks in pesos the fare of the service.

FOR RESERVATIONS:Acqua Express`s Hotel: www.hotelacqua.comNatura`s Hotel: www.hotelnaturamedellin.comPoblado Boutique`s Hotel: www.hotelpobladoboutique.comE-mail for reservations: all the reservations must be send to [email protected] contact person is Mrs. Carolina Cardona, the hotel account executive.

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FOUR POINTS SHERATON

Our hotel has a perfect location in the Poblado, in the middle of the shopping and business area of the city. We have a direct connection to the Oviedo mall, one of the most important in the city, where you will find rooms of cinema, hairdresser, area of meals, and exchange houses.

Getting to EAFIT University is very easy, you can walk or take a car service (taxi). Walking from the hotel to the university will take you approximately 10 minutes.The other option is to come to the University by car service (taxi), which can be requested at the hotel reception. It will take between 10 or 15 minutes to get to the university depending on traffic.

FOR RESERVATIONS:Hotel Website: www.ghlhoteles.com/hoteles/colombia/medellin/four-points-sheraton-medellin/E-mail for reservations: [email protected] contact person is Mrs. Marcela Serna, the hotel account executive.

POBLADO PLAZA HOTEL

The hotel is located next to the Oviedo Shopping Center, one block from the Santafé Shopping Center, close to Medellin and Las Vegas medical Clinics, 7 minutes by car from the Lleras Park, and 10 minutes walking from the Universidad EAFIT.Please note the following:• The maximum accommodation we manage is triple (two beds + additional bed 1.00

meter x 1.90 centimeters).• We only have 26 rooms with twin beds (of the 26 only 10 rooms can have triple

accommodation).• The hotel insurance (seguro hotel) is optional and is approximately 4 USD per night, per

person. This value is not included in the rates.• The hotel exempts the payment of 19% IVA (value added tax) if the guest has the PIP6

stamp stamped on the passport and the invoice must be issued under the guest’s name.

For reservations:Hotel Website: www.pobladohoteles.comE-mail for reservations: [email protected] contact person is Mrs. Luisa Uribe, the hotel account executive

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PRICES

Hotel Single room

Double room

Triple Room

Quadruple Room Hotel insurance

Acqua USD 47 USD 56 (USD 28 / person

USD 77 (USD 26 / person)

USD 95 (USD 24 / person) Included

Natura USD 43 USD 52 (USD 26 / person)

USD 73 (USD 25 / person)


Poblado Boutique USD 39 USD 47 (USD 24 / person)

B USD 69 (USD 23 / person)


Four Points by Sheraton USD 84 USD 120 (USD

60 / person) - - Optional payment

Poblado Plaza USD 90 USD 121 (USD 61 / person) on request - Optional

payment

All rates are per room and night.All rates include breakfast and WLAN.All rates are included VAT*.*with a PIP 6 stamp in your passport and the invoice issued on your name can be xempted by 19% on the hotel rate.

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INTERESTING PLACES AND ACTIVITIES IN MEDELLÍN AND AROUNDA very inspiring website with tons of information, faq’s, tipps and tricks about Medellin can be found at MEDELLIN.TRAVEL

EVENTS IN DECEMBER 2018

Parade of Myths and Legends: The night of December 7 of each year, the night of the lights, the center of the city is adorned with the parade that with costumes, chants and comparsas, evokes the most famous myths and legends of the region: The mother mount, The priest without a head, The green lady, The hat, La llorona and many more.

SPORTSUniversidad EAFIT is an university that inside the campus has many places where students can practice many sports such as soccer, volleyball, basketball, work out, run on the athletic track, or swim in the semi olympic pool in the University.

Universidad EAFIT has many small forest places where students can see

animals, trees and in general be in contact with many green áreas. For this occasion we have chosen these sports activities that students can enjoy while participating in the Global School Medellin 2018 course. Those sport activities are volleyball, swimming classes, jogging and work out.

CULTURAL ADVICE

Medellín is a Colombian city, capital of the department of Antioquia. It is the most populated city in the department and the second in the country. It is located in the widest part of the natural region known as Valle de Aburrá. Medellin extends to both shores of the Medellín River, also called the Aburrá River, which crosses the city from south to north. The city has a population of 2 508 452 people (2017), while including the metropolitan area, the amounts increase to 3 821 797 people (2016).

The main destinations in Medellin are the Museum of Antioquia, the Plaza Botero, the Pueblito Paisa, the Plaza Mayor International

Convention and Exhibition Center, the Carabobo Passage, the Pies Descalzos Park, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, the Pablo Tobón Uribe Theater, the Metropolitan Theater, the Oviedo Shopping Center, the Explora Park, and the Botanical Garden.

About the natural places, the most visited places are the flying hill (Cerro Volador) and the Nutibara hill (Cerro Nutibara). A new natural place just inaugurated a few years ago is the Arví Regional Park, which has an area close to 20,000 hectares, which covers practically the entire territory of the village of Santa Elena and it extends between the towns of Bello, Copacabana, Guarne and Envigado.

On December, the city is covered with thousands of colored light bulbs, creating the famous Christmas lighting, considered by National Geographic as one of the ten most beautiful Christmas lighting in the world.

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WHAT CAN I DO IN MEDELLÍN?CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

Medellín has various cultural activities: theater, concerts, cinema, conferences, art exhibitions, museums, libraries, among others.

THEATERS Metropolitan Theater, Pablo Tobón Uribe Theater, Porfirio Barba Jacob Theater, Carlos Vieco Outdoor Theater, Founders Theater of the EAFIT University, University Theater of Medellin, among others.

MUSEUMS Museum of Antioquia, where you can appreciate the art collection of Fernando Botero; Pedro Nel Gómez Museum House, Medellín Museum of Modern Art, El Castillo Museum, Miguel Angel Builes Ethnographic Museum, Anthropological Museum of the University of Antioquia, Ethnographic Museum of Mother Laura, Philatelic Museum of the Bank of the Republic, among others.

MALLSThe most visited are Oviedo, El Tesoro, Santa Fe, Los Molinos, Plaza Premium, Mayorca, San Diego, Unicentro, Aves Marías and Villanueva. Theaters are usually found in shopping centers.

LIBRARIESSpain Library, Pilot Public Library, Luis Echavarría Villegas Library of EAFIT University, among others.

TOURISTIC PLACES ARVÍ PARK Ecotourism Arví Regional Park (Arví Park), is located 30 km from the center of Medellín (Colombia) in the village of Santa Elena and the municipality of Guarne (Antioquia – Colombia). It is an open park developed on land for public use, created for the enjoyment of the local, national and international community, through the construction of organized tourism, consolidates a conservation strategy and promotion of the potentials and strengths of its cultural and environmental wealth and archaeological heritage, silletero tradition and entrepreneurship of its people, through a proposal for sustainable nature tourism. (www.parquearvi.org)

BAREFOOT PARK It is located in the center of Medellin where it is usual to walk on the sand and submerge your feet in the water in order to evoke and generate a sense of tranquility in your visitors.

The park of bare feet in the city of Medellín coast of a journey that begins with a search for guaduas where you can admire from the shadows of these large trees to their sound. Then the tour continues through the area called the grass where the main purpose is to free visitors from all the stress with which they entered the park, then there is a space where feet are exfoliated when walking on sand and finally visitors can enjoy a whirlpool in the water Wells. (www.guiatodo.com)

LLERAS PARK Restaurants, clubs, bars and cafés are concentrated in Parque Lleras, a place in the El Poblado neighborhood where Medellin residents and tourists find a wide variety of places where nightlife is important. There they get good dishes of typical Antioquia food, as well as national and international cuisine. In this park, the party usually lasts until dawn. (www.coolombia.travel)

EXPLORA PARK It is a science and technology park, an aquarium, a planetarium. It has versatile spaces, memorable scenarios located underwater, at the edge of the universe and

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in rooms awarded nationally and internationally for their unconventional experiences, which allow to live the deepest and most true meaning of innovation. But more than a physical work, it is an idea in expansion with vigorous life outside the Park, since for some time the domains have been extended to other neighborhoods of the city, and even to other municipalities of Antioquia. (www.parqueexplora.org)

BOTANIC GARDEN The Botanical Garden of Medellín receives the name of Joaquín Antonio Uribe in commemoration of the great wise naturist of Sonsón.Formerly the land worked as the typical house of recreation Antioquia which previously received the name of “Forest of independence.” When the society of improvements of Medellín acquires the land the garden was constructed under the plans and designs of the architect Enrique Olarte in 1913.

It is a research center and a shelter of hundreds of species of fauna and vegetables of Colombia which mainly has an exhibition and events room, an auditorium, a library, the desert garden, the pass, the orquideorama, the ecological train, the small village, the patio of the azaleas, the nursery, the herbarium and a large green area.(www.guiatodo.com)

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PAISA TOWNEl Pueblito Paisa is the representation of a typical Antioqueno village from the beginning of the 20th century. It was built on the top of Cerro Nutibara.

The church stands out to the mud roofs of the houses of colonial architecture of one and two floors. As every typical town has a fountain and a monument to an important character, in this case, the writer of antioquia, Tomas Carrasquilla.

The buildings that make up the Pueblito Paisa are: The chapel, the school, the mayor’s office, the cural house, the tobacconist, the barber shop, the pharmacy, a two-story house and a craft house. (www.colombia.com)

COMUNA 13 Commune 13 is a sector of the city of Medellín, located in the west, where you can see the change from a violent city to a calm city full of culture.

The progress and commitment of citizens are key elements in this sector of the city, which day by day wake up to beautify their habitat with art.

In this commune is born the cultural movement that opens the doors to the world, called the Graffitour, which

seeks to show the national and international community the capacity for change and citizen evolution that the city of Medellin has.

GUATAPÉ Guatapé is an Andean resort in northwestern Colombia, east of Medellín. It is known for its houses decorated with colorful bas-reliefs. It is located in the great Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir, a busy artificial water sports center.

Piedra del Peñol, a giant granite rock southwest of the city, has hundreds of steps to the top, where there are panoramic views. Nearby is the Marial Stone, a giant rock with a ledge.

SANTA ELENASanta Elena is characterized by its great diversity in flora and fauna, the cultural heritages of its ancestors and its internationally famous silletera culture.

You can get to know the silleteras farms, where the silleteros of Santa Elena live and enjoy assembling a saddle, walk through flower crops and typical food. These farms are open all year round.

All the silleteras farms offer different experiences that include typical food of the region, guided tour and talk presented by the host silletero

about the customs and history of the Silleteros Parade. Some farms have silletero museum, others with flower crops, organic vegetable garden, fruits of the region and medicinal plants; In addition, in some you can make ecological walks through the forests. (www.medellin.travel)

SAN ANTONIO DE PEREIRA It is a small township of the municipality of Rionegro, where its main attraction is the typical food of Antioquia such as chicharrón, chorizo, chunchullo, arepas, empanadas and succulent beef, pork or chicken.

The most typical food of the town is empanada, which is celebrated during the month of August, are three days in which the empanada is the only protagonist.

No visitor can go without tasting the famous San Antonio desserts, renowned for their smoothness and unequaled flavor.

CONTACT (SWITZERLAND)GSERM Global School in Empirical Research Methods University of St.Gallen Tellstrasse 2 CH-9000 St. Gallen Phone +41 71 224 34 17 Email: [email protected]/medellin/

CONTACT (COLOMBIA)Universidad EAFIT, MedellínEscuela de VeranoTeléfono: (57 4) 261 9500, extensión 9093/9583Celular: (57) 310 410 9901.Correo electrónico: [email protected]

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