BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:IEEE vTools.Events//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Bogota BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20380118T221407 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=3MO;BYMONTH=1 TZNAME:-05 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:19930206T230000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=1SA;BYMONTH=2 TZNAME:-05 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260314T214459Z UID:A2AACF9B-BB3D-4048-AF02-D167BA1DCACB DTSTART;TZID=America/Bogota:20250903T083000 DTEND;TZID=America/Bogota:20250903T123000 DESCRIPTION:On September 3\, 2025\, the IEEE Power & Energy Society Student Branch Chapter at Universidad del Norte organized a technical and strateg ic visit to the administrative headquarters of Gecelca\, one of Colombia's leading power generation companies. The activity took place from 8:30 a.m . to 12:30 p.m. at the ninth floor of the Centro Ejecutivo II building\, l ocated at Carrera 55 # 72-109 in Barranquilla. A total of 18 students atte nded\, engaging directly with senior executives of the organization in an exchange designed to complement their technical education with a strategic and institutional perspective on the energy sector.\n\nObjectives and Con text\n\nThe visit was conceived as an opportunity to expose students to th e organizational and managerial dimensions of large-scale energy operation s — aspects that are rarely covered in depth within traditional engineer ing curricula. Gecelca\, as a major player in Colombia's power generation landscape\, provided an ideal setting to understand how technical decision s are embedded within broader corporate\, regulatory\, and commercial fram eworks. The chapter coordinated the activity with the goal of offering par ticipants a holistic view of the industry beyond the engineering fundament als.\n\nDevelopment and Technical Content\n\nThe session was guided by thr ee senior professionals from Gecelca's executive team. Ronald James Howard Munévar\, Vice President of Generation\, addressed the operational and p lanning dimensions of power plant management\, covering optimization progr ams\, operational scheduling\, and the standards required to guarantee rel iability and quality in energy generation. Karen Henríquez Leal\, Vice Pr esident of Commercialization\, presented the processes behind energy comme rcialization\, commercial and energy planning\, and billing operations — offering students a window into the market-facing side of the power secto r. Irma Valdéz\, Director of Human Resources\, complemented the technical content by addressing talent development\, organizational structure\, and the professional pathways available within the energy industry for young engineers.\n\nOutcomes and Impact\n\nThe visit allowed 18 participants to engage in direct dialogue with decision-makers at one of Colombia's most r elevant energy companies. Students gained firsthand insight into how engin eering expertise translates into strategic and operational leadership\, an d how regulatory compliance\, market dynamics\, and corporate governance s hape the day-to-day functioning of the national power system. The interact ion with professionals across generation\, commercialization\, and human r esources gave participants a multidimensional understanding of the sector that goes well beyond what laboratory or classroom settings can offer.\n\n The technical visit to Gecelca's administrative headquarters reflects the IEEE PES Student Branch Chapter's ongoing commitment to connecting its mem bers with the realities of the professional world. By facilitating direct access to senior industry leaders\, the chapter reinforced its role as a b ridge between academic formation and the strategic demands of the modern e nergy sector in Colombia.\n\nSpeaker(s): Ronald\, Karen \, Irma\n\nAgenda: \n-\n08:30 AM – 09:00 AM: Arrival and Security Briefing.\n\n-\n09:00 AM – 09:30 AM: Corporate Overview: Gecelca’s Role in the National Interc onnected System (SIN).\n\n-\n09:30 AM – 11:00 AM: Guided Tour of Adminis trative Departments (Energy Trading\, Project Management\, and Environment al Strategy).\n\n-\n11:00 AM – 11:45 AM: Interactive Panel: "Challenges in Modern Energy Management" with Gecelca Executives.\n\n-\n11:45 AM – 1 2:00 PM: Closing Remarks and Networking Session.\n\nBarranquilla\, Atlanti co\, Colombia LOCATION:Barranquilla\, Atlantico\, Colombia ORGANIZER:gamell@ieee.org SEQUENCE:45 SUMMARY:Technical and Strategic Visit to Gecelca Administrative Headquarter s: Energy Management and Operations URL;VALUE=URI:https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/498201 X-ALT-DESC:Description: <br /><p class="font-claude-response-body break-wor ds whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">On September 3\, 2025\, the IEEE Power &amp\; Energy Society Student Branch Chapter at Universidad del Norte org anized a technical and strategic visit to the administrative headquarters of Gecelca\, one of Colombia's leading power generation companies. The act ivity took place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the ninth floor of the Ce ntro Ejecutivo II building\, located at Carrera 55 # 72-109 in Barranquill a. A total of 18 students attended\, engaging directly with senior executi ves of the organization in an exchange designed to complement their techni cal education with a strategic and institutional perspective on the energy sector.</p>\n<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-n ormal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Objectives and Context</strong></p>\n<p class ="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">T he visit was conceived as an opportunity to expose students to the organiz ational and managerial dimensions of large-scale energy operations &mdash\ ; aspects that are rarely covered in depth within traditional engineering curricula. Gecelca\, as a major player in Colombia's power generation land scape\, provided an ideal setting to understand how technical decisions ar e embedded within broader corporate\, regulatory\, and commercial framewor ks. The chapter coordinated the activity with the goal of offering partici pants a holistic view of the industry beyond the engineering fundamentals. </p>\n<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal le ading-[1.7]"><strong>Development and Technical Content</strong></p>\n<p cl ass="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7] ">The session was guided by three senior professionals from Gecelca's exec utive team. Ronald James Howard Mun&eacute\;var\, Vice President of Genera tion\, addressed the operational and planning dimensions of power plant ma nagement\, covering optimization programs\, operational scheduling\, and t he standards required to guarantee reliability and quality in energy gener ation. Karen Henr&iacute\;quez Leal\, Vice President of Commercialization\ , presented the processes behind energy commercialization\, commercial and energy planning\, and billing operations &mdash\; offering students a win dow into the market-facing side of the power sector. Irma Vald&eacute\;z\, Director of Human Resources\, complemented the technical content by addre ssing talent development\, organizational structure\, and the professional pathways available within the energy industry for young engineers.</p>\n< p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[ 1.7]"><strong>Outcomes and Impact</strong></p>\n<p class="font-claude-resp onse-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">The visit allowed 1 8 participants to engage in direct dialogue with decision-makers at one of Colombia's most relevant energy companies. Students gained firsthand insi ght into how engineering expertise translates into strategic and operation al leadership\, and how regulatory compliance\, market dynamics\, and corp orate governance shape the day-to-day functioning of the national power sy stem. The interaction with professionals across generation\, commercializa tion\, and human resources gave participants a multidimensional understand ing of the sector that goes well beyond what laboratory or classroom setti ngs can offer.</p>\n<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whites pace-normal leading-[1.7]">The technical visit to Gecelca's administrative headquarters reflects the IEEE PES Student Branch Chapter's ongoing commi tment to connecting its members with the realities of the professional wor ld. By facilitating direct access to senior industry leaders\, the chapter reinforced its role as a bridge between academic formation and the strate gic demands of the modern energy sector in Colombia.</p><br /><br />Agenda : <br /><ul>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node="11\,0\,0"><strong data-path-to-n ode="11\,0\,0" data-index-in-node="0">08:30 AM &ndash\; 09:00 AM:</strong> Arrival and Security Briefing.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node="11 \,1\,0"><strong data-path-to-node="11\,1\,0" data-index-in-node="0">09:00 AM &ndash\; 09:30 AM:</strong> Corporate Overview: Gecelca&rsquo\;s Role i n the National Interconnected System (SIN).</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p data-path -to-node="11\,2\,0"><strong data-path-to-node="11\,2\,0" data-index-in-nod e="0">09:30 AM &ndash\; 11:00 AM:</strong> Guided Tour of Administrative D epartments (Energy Trading\, Project Management\, and Environmental Strate gy).</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node="11\,3\,0"><strong data-path-t o-node="11\,3\,0" data-index-in-node="0">11:00 AM &ndash\; 11:45 AM:</stro ng> Interactive Panel: "Challenges in Modern Energy Management" with Gecel ca Executives.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node="11\,4\,0"><strong d ata-path-to-node="11\,4\,0" data-index-in-node="0">11:45 AM &ndash\; 12:00 PM:</strong> Closing Remarks and Networking Session.</p>\n</li>\n</ul> END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR