Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas

What Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas does

Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas is a public research university located in Bogotá, Colombia, founded in 1948 by Acuerdo No. 10 of the Bogotá Council and owned by the Distrito Capital de Bogotá. It operates across seven faculties — Engineering, Sciences and Education, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Arts ASAB, Environment and Natural Resources, Technology, and Health Sciences — delivering undergraduate, graduate (specialization, master's), and doctoral programs, supplemented by language training through ILUD, continuing education, and K-12 community engagement via IPAZUD.

The institution's technology stack comprises an academic management system (SGA / Cóndor), an integrated management system (SIGUD), virtual learning environments (Aulas Virtuales, Campus Virtual) built on Moodle, library and research repositories (BDIGITAL, Repositorio Institucional, Repositorio de Datos de Investigación), institutional intelligence tooling (BIS/SpagoBi), and a UDNET virtualization layer (Citrix-based virtual desktops, video conferencing, streaming, virtual servers, containerized applications). Eight wholly-owned operating units extend the academic core into publishing (Editorial UD), radio broadcasting (LAUD 90.4 FM), arts training (Academia Luis A. Calvo), and applied research (I3+, IEIE, Herbario Forestal).

Revenue is generated primarily through government funding from the Distrito Capital de Bogotá and the Ministerio de Educación Nacional (subsidizing undergraduate tuition), with ancillary income from graduate program fees, language course tuition at ILUD, and transactional sales of academic publications by Editorial UD at $10,000–$110,000 COP per title. The university holds Acreditación Institucional en Alta Calidad (Resolución No. 023653, December 10, 2021) and is ranked 15th nationally in ART-Sapiens 2025-2026 for scientific article production.

Name

Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas

Legal name

Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas

Website

https://udistrital.edu.co

Company type

Public

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas is a public research university in Bogotá, Colombia, founded in 1948 and owned by the city government, offering undergraduate through doctoral programs across seven faculties plus publishing, radio, and language training subsidiaries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Research Universities with Multi-Campus Systems (EDAHAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Polytechnic & Applied Sciences Universities (EDAHAEAB)

Keywords

• Public higher education
• Undergraduate degree programs
• Graduate academic programs
• University research services
• Language training institute

Headquarters

HQ city

Bogotá

HQ country

Colombia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Education Funding: As a public university, the institution receives funding from the Colombian government through the Ministry of Education for operations, research, and infrastructure.
2. Editorial Publications Sales: Sale of books and publications through the Editorial UD unit, including academic texts, research publications, and artistic works. Books range from $10,000 to $110,000 COP.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas is a Colombian public university offering accredited undergraduate, graduate (specialization, master's, doctoral), and continuing education programs across seven faculties including Engineering, Sciences and Education, Arts (ASAB), Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Environment and Natural Resources, Technology, and Health Sciences. The institution supplements teaching with a publishing house (Editorial UD), a language institute (ILUD), a radio station (LAUD 90.4 FM), and research infrastructure including institutional repositories and scientific journals.

Product overview

Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas operates as a public higher education institution offering a comprehensive portfolio of academic and administrative services. The university provides face-to-face and virtual education through multiple faculties (Artes ASAB, Ciencias y Educación, Ciencias Matemáticas y Naturales, Ingeniería, Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Tecnológica, and Ciencias de la Salud) with programs from undergraduate to doctoral levels. Technology services include the academic management systems (SGA and Cóndor), integrated management system (SIGUD), virtual learning environments (Aulas Virtuales and Campus Virtual), library system with digital repositories, publishing services (Editorial UD), language learning (ILUD), institutional intelligence (BIS/SpagoBi), and virtualization services through UDNET. The university also maintains research infrastructure including scientific journals, an institutional repository, and research data repository.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LAUD 90.4 FM: Radio station broadcasting at 90.4 FM
• Campus Virtual
• Editorial UD

Products and services

• Undergraduate Degree Programs Accredited bachelor's degree and professional license programs across seven faculties (Arts ASAB, Sciences and Education, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Engineering, Environment and Natural Resources, Technology, Health Sciences) for prospective students in Bogotá.
• Graduate and Postgraduate Programs (Specializations, Master's, Doctoral) Advanced academic programs including specializations (e.g., Gerencia de Recursos Naturales, Avalúos), master's degrees, and doctoral programs delivered across the university's faculties for professionals and researchers.
• ILUD Language Courses Regular bimonthly language courses in multiple languages offered by the Instituto de Lenguas de la Universidad Distrital (ILUD) to the university community and external students.
• Editorial UD Publications Academic books, scientific journals, and artistic works published by Editorial UD across eight collections, sold through the university's bookstore and international book fairs (including the Feria Internacional del Libro de Bogotá and Guadalajara Book Fair).
• LAUD 90.4 FM Radio Broadcasting Educational and cultural programming broadcast on the university's community radio station at 90.4 FM, with live streaming via laud.udistrital.edu.co and podcast distribution.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked 15th nationally in scientific article production (ART-Sapiens 2025-2026)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Feria Internacional del Libro de BogotáminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe university participates in the Bogotá International Book Fair through its Editorial UD publishing house, promoting academic publications and university research to the public.
• Asociación de Editoriales Universitarias de ColombiaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEditorial UD participates in international book fairs including the Guadalajara Book Fair in Mexico through this association of Colombian university publishers, expanding distribution of academic publications.
• Red de Datos UDNETcoreTechnology or IntegrationUDNET provides the university's technology infrastructure including network services, virtualization, video conferencing, and streaming services supporting educational operations.
• ACACIA Project / NEES / PlanesticUDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint accessibility project implementing accessibility features (sign language, underlined links) on the institutional website through collaboration with ACACIA Project, NEES, and PlanesticUD.
• Red Distrital de Bibliotecas Públicas de BogotáminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity library system collaborates with Bogotá's district public library network for resource sharing and community access to information.
• Instituto para la Pedagogía, la Paz y el Conflicto Urbano (IPAZUD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity institute conducting research on pedagogy, peace, and urban conflict, collaborating with external organizations including Corporación Escenarios para la Paz (E-Paz) on peace education initiatives.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Universidad EAFIT: Medellín-based university with strong engineering, sciences, and innovation focus. Comparable for engineering and technology program competition, innovation research output, and graduate-employer brand value in Colombia.
• Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD): Colombia's primary public distance-learning university with national reach. Comparable as a public institution using digital platforms (Campus Virtual / Aulas Virtuales equivalents) for at-scale credential delivery to non-traditional learners.
• Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia (UPTC): Colombian public university with strong applied-engineering and teacher-education emphasis. Direct peer in the public-university category with similar mandate of subsidized access, multi-campus structure, and engineering/education faculty mix.

Broad incumbents

• Universidad Nacional de Colombia: Colombia's flagship public research university, also multi-campus and federally funded. Directly comparable as a large public research institution offering subsidized undergraduate/graduate programs across engineering, sciences, arts, and health; the dominant scale benchmark in the Colombian public-university peer group.
• Universidad Externado de Colombia: Bogotá-based private university with comparable scale across social sciences, law, and administration; comparable as a Colombian-capital higher-ed competitor with similar faculty and student scope.
• Universidad de los Andes (Colombia): Top-ranked private research university in Bogotá with comparable faculty structure and research output. Competes for the same student pool, faculty talent, and research grants in Colombia's capital region.
• Universidad del Rosario: Bogotá-based private university known for health sciences and law, with a strong research and publishing arm. Comparable as a Colombia-capital institution competing for graduate research output and faculty.
• Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Bogotá): Major private Catholic research university in Bogotá with parallel multi-faculty structure including engineering, sciences, arts, and health sciences. Comparable in scope and in competing for the same Bogotá student demographic.

Regional players

• Universidad del Valle: Major public research university in Cali with comparable engineering, health, and sciences faculties. Comparable as a Colombian public research university competing for SGR-funded research and regional talent.
• Universidad de Antioquia: Colombia's second-largest public university, headquartered in Medellín. Comparable as a multi-faculty public research institution offering undergraduate-to-doctoral programs; competes for the same national ranking placement and research grants.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@editorialud9681
• Facebookfacebook.com/UniversidadDistrital
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ilud-lenguas
• Instagraminstagram.com/editorial_ud
• Xx.com/udistrital

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas