GERMAN VARGAS MESA

+33 (1) 45037736
Development of methodologies and tools, geospatial analysis, education indicators, data analysis

Germán Vargas Mesa is part of the Development Unit within the R&D Team. He works in the production of methodologies, tools, and norms to improve educational planning and management, with an emphasis on the use of geospatial data. He supports both Technical Cooperation and Training projects with data analysis, map production, and statistical work.

In recent years, he has developed tools on spatialized population estimates for educational indicators, multi-criteria decision analyses for school construction and resilience to hazards, spatial econometrics for better decision making, and the use of isochrone-based catchment areas around schools.

Having joined IIEP in 2016, he has also served in the Director’s Office, where he supported the construction and calculation of institutional KPIs from 2018 to 2020. He has worked on several training programmes, including on the use of geospatial data and education indicators, as well as technical cooperation projects in countries such as Somalia, Madagascar, and Viet Nam. He has also coordinated the two EdPlanning Hackathons conducted in 2021 and 2022.

Prior to joining IIEP, he worked as a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Universidad de los Andes’ School of Government and Department of Economics, and as an independent consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank.

Education

Master’s in International Development (cum laude) – Sciences Po (Paris, France)

Master’s in Economics – Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia)

Bachelor’s in Economics – Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia).

Publications

Gagnon, A. A., Vargas Mesa, G., Pyykkönen, S., Tjukanov, T. (Forthcoming) Isochrone-based catchment areas for educational planning. Technical Notes. Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning – UNESCO.

Gagnon, A. A., Vargas Mesa, G., Sheldon, A. (Forthcoming) Assessing natural hazard risks for planning location of educational facilities. Technical Notes. Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning – UNESCO.

Gagnon, A. A., Vargas Mesa, G. (2021) Geographically Weighted Regressions for prioritizing educational planning, policies, and interventions. Technical Notes. Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning – UNESCO. Retrieved from: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380202

Gagnon, A. A., Vargas Mesa, G. (2021) Estimating school-age populations by applying Sprague multipliers to raster data. Technical Notes. Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning – UNESCO. Retrieved from: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379198

Figueroa, M., García, S., Maldonado, D., Rodríguez, C., Saavedra, A. M., & Vargas, G. (2018). La profesión docente en Colombia: normatividad, formación, selección y evaluación. Documentos de Trabajo EGOB (54), 1-96. Retrieved from https://egob.uniandes.edu.co/images/books/DT/DT-54.pdf

Vargas, G. (2016). In-class practices and student achievement: the Colombian case. Bogotá: Universidad de los Andes. Retrieved from https://repositorio.uniandes.edu.co/handle/1992/13875