right|thumb|250px|Laberinto Cromovegetal (1995) by [[Carlos Cruz-Diez]]

Simón Bolívar University (, USB) is a public university in Venezuela with a focus on science, technology, and engineering. Founded by presidential decree in 1967 and inaugurated in 1970, it operates two campuses: the main campus in the Sartenejas valley of Baruta municipality, Miranda state (south of Caracas), and a second campus in Camurí Grande, Vargas state, on the Caribbean coast.

The university offers undergraduate and graduate programmes across engineering, the sciences, architecture, urban planning, and the humanities. The institution was named after independence hero Simón Bolívar and carries the motto "The University of the Future" (La Universidad del Futuro).

History

Founding (1967–1970)

In May 1967, the Venezuelan government created a commission—composed of Luis Manuel Peñalver, Luis Carbonell, Mercedes Fermín, Miguel Ángel Pérez, and Héctor Isava—to study the feasibility of a new university oriented towards the country's scientific and technological development.

Growth and expansion

In 1977, a second campus was opened in the Camurí Grande valley on the Caribbean coast (now Vargas state) to serve the Litoral Central region, initially focused on technical and associate-degree programmes.

Campus

thumb|200px|Espejo Solar by [[Alejandro Otero, located at the Laguna de los Espejos]]

Sartenejas (main campus)

The main campus occupies approximately of land in the Sartenejas valley within the municipality of Baruta, Miranda state, south of Caracas. The campus is set in a suburban, forested environment with extensive green areas.

Library

The Simón Bolívar University Library serves the academic community with a focus on the sciences, engineering, mathematics, and humanities. Among its special collections is the archive of founding rector Ernesto Mayz Vallenilla, which includes his personal library and philosophical works. In September 2021, library director Alejandro Teruel resigned, stating that the annual library budget of approximately US$100 was insufficient to cover even one per cent of the institution's needs.

Academics

thumb|right|300px|Library of Simón Bolívar University

thumb|right|300px|Rectorate building

thumb|right|300px

USB offers ten undergraduate engineering programmes (including electrical, electronic, computer, mechanical, chemical, materials, telecommunications, geophysics, production/industrial, and maintenance engineering), undergraduate programmes in biology, mathematics, physics, chemistry, architecture, and urban planning, as well as ten associate-degree programmes at the Litoral campus in fields such as hotel administration, tourism, and aeronautic maintenance. In the QS World University Rankings 2026, the university was placed in the 1001–1200 band.

Autonomy and recent challenges

Government disputes

The 2009 Ley Orgánica de Educación (Organic Law of Education), passed by the National Assembly, imposed new conditions for the election of university authorities. USB and other autonomous universities challenged the law before the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, arguing that it violated university autonomy; the case remained unresolved for years.

Economic crisis and brain drain

Venezuela's economic crisis has had a severe impact on the university. Bloomberg News reported in 2019 that USB had become "a shadow of its former self", with government funding for education having grown scarce under the administration of Nicolás Maduro. Alumni living abroad were financing computer replacements and library books through private donations, and some classes were being taught remotely by graduates who had left the country. Science magazine reported that, as of 2024, Venezuela's scientific productivity had dropped sharply compared with other Latin American countries, and that former USB director Benjamín Scharifker warned of a generational gap among researchers.

Student life and extracurricular activities

thumb|right|USB team at the Formula SAE competition

USB supports over 50 student organisations.

Notable faculty

  • Marisol Aguilera, researcher and professor

Notable alumni

References

  • Asociación de Egresados USB