• Universidad de Santiago has taken on a new academic challenge through the Institute for Advanced Studies: the creation of a center to deepen South Korean studies that is expected to become an example in Latin America.

The analysis of the relations between Latin America and Asia that Dr. César Ross has promoted in the Institute for Advanced Studies (IDEA, in Spanish) for several years, has borne new fruits, as the University has just been awarded funding from the South Korean government to develop a project for a Korean Study Center in Chile called Chilean-Korean Study Center Program (ChKSC-Program): For cross-country future integration based on deeper understanding in terms of Politics, Economics and Society.

The project led by Dr. Ross belongs to one of the nine institutions that were granted funds by the Ministry of Education of that country through the contest “Overseas Korean Studies Incubation 2014”, that will also fund initiatives of institutions like Universidad de Salamanca, University of Queensland, University of California-Riverside, the University of the South Pacific and the East China Normal University.

On this occasion, our University was the only institution in Latin America to receive this significant support that includes a resource allocation for the project of 50 million South Korean wons (27,276,000 Chilean pesos) a year. According to the current exchange rate, it means more than 81 million Chilean pesos over the three years to the project completion.

The project ChKSC-Program will allow the creation of a Korean Study Center in Chile, with the purpose of promoting academic exchange, addressing North-East Asia security issues, studying the process of reunification of the two Koreas and its effects; analyzing the, cooperation, competence and economic relation between the two countries since the FTA of 2004; analyzing their development of high technology and their export model, as well as their public policies and methods to reduce the breach between rich and poor, and offering at Universidad the Santiago Korean Studies oriented to the evaluation and analysis of the social and cultural exchange.

In response to the 21st century’s requirements, creating a Korean Study Center in Chile fosters in both countries the ability to analyze their similarities and differences in order to achieve a more thorough academic understanding that allows a deeper mutual integration.

“For us, it is a good opportunity and, at the same time, it is a combination of research and outreach activities as it involves academic and cultural exchange. It also offers a great deal of scope for researchers to present results and for undergraduate and graduate students to become interested in studying, reading and learning about Korea,” César Ross said.

The opportunity mentioned by Dr. Ross refers to the fact that, due to the great economic time that China currently has, the rest of the Asian countries seem to be in the shade. But for countries like Chile and for academic institutions like Universidad de Santiago, working with Korea is a more open possibility.

Besides, “it is one of the most important economies in the world, with significant scientific and technological advances and powerful higher-education institutions, with academics interested in coming to Latin America and interact with us. It is also a major trading partner of Chile,” IDEA’s researcher said.

Regarding the language barrier, Dr. Ross explained that he had already contacted the Latin American Studies Association of Korea, where there are at least 300 researchers, doctors and professors who speak Spanish.

The project that should be started next July, is also an opportunity for the South Korean country, in relation to Chile. “Together with Brasil, we are the most attractive countries in Latin America; Brasil, because it is a big country, and Chile, because its stability, security and reliability regarding economic, social and political matters,” he said.

Dr. Ross explained that, according to the ChKSC program, our University agreed to give courses or modules on Korean studies; to organize work and discussion panels; to encourage the students’ interest in Korean matters; to develop publications and promotion activities, like Korea’s week, and other actions to build links between the two countries and to make the University an example in the relations with South Korea, not only locally, but in all Latin America.

Together with the director, the project team consists of Rodrigo Álvarez, student at the American Studies Doctorate program and Master of Arts in International Political Economy from University of Tsukuba, Japan, as co-investigator, and Seonwook Choi, Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and American and British Culture from Sogang University, South Korea, as research assistant. On the other hand, the South Korean academics who will participate are Dr. Kim Seog Gun, Vicepresident of the Asan Academy and Director of the Center for the Humanities; Dr. Go Myong Hyun, a research fellowship holder at the Asan Institute for Policy Analysis, and Dr. Yun-Joo Park, Assistant Professor at the Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies of Keimyung University and Chief Editor of the Asian Journal of Latin American Studies.

For the official list of the projects selected, check the following link:
http://ksps-pms.aks.ac.kr/jsp/rschr/sl/SlLastSlcList_eng.jsp?bizCd=INC&bizYr=2014&bizNgr=1

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• At a seminar organized by the Faculty of Engineering, representatives of the state mining company talked about the implications of the new underground mining project for Chuquicamata, that will bring new challenges and will require operators and professionals to develop new competences.
• Juan Carlos Espinoza, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, said that just as the mining company is undergoing a transformation process, the Faculty is checking and updating the profile of the new engineers who will be trained at Universidad de Santiago according to world-class parameters and who will have to manage both soft and technical skills.
• “Universities should include abilities like positive leadership and development skills in their training programs from the very beginning and not at the last year, because in real world, problems are not only technical,” Marcelo Vásquez, the director of the Codelco-Chuquicamata’s People Service and Logistics unit, pointed out.

In the context of the seminar “Large-scale mining at Codelco-Chuquicamata and its relation with Universidad de Santiago de Chile” (La Gran Minería de Codelco-Chuquicamata y su relación con la Universidad de Santiago de Chile), two conferences were given at the University’s Salón de Honor by representatives of the state mining company. Their presentations referred to the challenges being faced by that company and by the mining industry in general that could require future engineers to develop new competences.

Edison Pizarro, the Director of Innovation and Technology at the Underground Mining Development Division of Codelco-Chuquicamata, gave the presentation “Chuquicamata underground mining project, a mine of the 21^st Century”, where he explained how the current open pit would be mined in an unprecedented way for the north of Chile, as of 2019.

Edison Pizarro explained that in the past few years, the primary open pit for copper mining at Antofagasta Region (that will be 100 years-old next year and that, due its dimensions, might be the largest open pit of the world) has had a decrease in the quality of the ore mined from a grade once higher than 1% to only 0.7% nowadays, and it seems that it will continue decreasing.

Also, the costs of moving the mining operations inside the pit, the resulting energy consumption and pollution of the area have shown that, if the mine does not change its production process, it will become unsustainable.

A 40-year solution

Therefore the company, using the knowledge that it has developed in other underground divisions, decided to change to this type of production, what will give Chuquicamata 40 years more, with an ore production that will average 0.71% copper and molybdenum and that will reach an extraction rate of 140 thousand tonnes per day.

The representative of the state mining company gave the details of how the mine will operate at this new stage, stressing the need for experts in the fields of telecommunications, electricity, informatics, robotics, and of course, mining operations.

However, this megaproject brings mega challenges, not only for the way of developing the process, but for the technology that will be necessary to implement and manage and the human resources that will be required.

The challenges posed by the project are related to sustainability, which is planned to be reached through the following actions: reducing the amount of particulate matter (PM10) by 97%; opening a Training Center, in partnership with social entities, to train workers and develop the work profiles required by the new underground pit work; highlighting the importance of maintenance systems, as all the production of new Chuquicamata will come out through a conveyor belt that covers several kilometers and cannot be stopped; and, particularly, managing the culture of change at the company, to promote the adaptation to changes, something that has been very resisted up to now due to the mining workers’ and unions’ way of thinking.

An adaptation challenge

Marcelo Velázquez, Director of the Codelco Chuquicamata’s People Service and Logistics unit, in his presentation “Maintenance Engineering in Mining Industry… A technical challenge?” referred to how equipment maintenance management and its processes are set aside due to the productive pressure. This aspect lies beneath the organizational culture and disregards the useful life of equipments and systems at not considering a long-term approach.

The expert explained that, in Chile, maintenance represents up to 40% of the mining industry costs. And despite this is an area where cutbacks are expected, there is not a strategic vision to incorporate a maintenance culture; there are only reactive actions that are usually fairly planned.

Marcelo Velázquez urged future engineers to watch the world trends in maintenance, based on the reliability of systems that intelligently organize the processes considering maintenance times to prevent emergencies and their associated costs.

“The new engineer’s role requires the expertise given by the University, particularly, in technical knowledge. And also, the new engineer has to understand that challenges are faced by people. In some cases, there is a lack of leadership to face adaptation challenges.”

For this reason, he added that “Universities should include abilities like positive leadership and development skills in their training programs from the very beginning and not at the last year, because in real world, problems are not only technical. They may be easily solved; but problems have to be solved by people, and that is difficult.”

Juan Carlos Espinoza, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, compared the transition process of Chuquicamata with the one that the Faculty is currently undergoing with the purpose of updating the profile of the new engineers for the 21^st Century.

Regarding this, he referred to the need of strengthening the relation with employers to have a permanent contact, receive feedback, and collect new information from the job market, like the aspects mentioned at the seminar. Also he said that similar activities will be organized more frequently to strengthen this work line.

Many students of the Department of Electrical Engineering and the Department of Mining Engineering, together with authorities and academics of those units and other units of the Faculty of Engineering, attended the activity.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• In a presentation given at Universidad de Santiago a few days ago, Iván Núñez Prieto, recipient of the National Award of Education 2015, emphasized that he still shares “the utopia” that education contributes to “build a fairer and more caring society, regardless of the fact that it may be a difficult task that requires many years, and maybe, there have been some mistakes in viewing the difficulties at its implementation.” The renowned researcher and state professor of History, Geography and Civic Education addressed these issues in his presentation “Two moments at teacher training in Chile: 1928 and 1974: Present echoes.”

On October 28^th, at the Armando Quezada Auditorium, the recipient of the National Award of Education 2015, Iván Núñez, gave the presentation “Two moments at teacher training in Chile: 1928 and 1974: Present echoes.” The activity was organized by the Faculty of Humanities and the Department of Education of Universidad de Santiago in the context of the Teachers’ Day celebration.

Professor Núñez was presented by Dr Jorge Rueda, Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs of the Faculty of Humanities. The director of the Department of Education, Dr Saúl Contreras also addressed the audience.

Dr Rueda emphasized the role of education as the driving force for human development and better communal living, in the midst of the individualistic and discriminatory society of current days, as well as the educational role that our university has played through the School of Arts and Crafts, the Pedagogical Institute and the State Technical University (UTE, in Spanish).

For his part, Dr Contreras highlighted the importance of the visit of professor Núñez at a critical time for Chilean education, as well as the contributions made by the university to teacher training, one of the core components of the university development. 

Inconsistent development

Professor Núñez started by mentioning that the development of Chilean education has not been progressive or linear: it has moved forward and backward through history. 

In his presentation, he deeply analyzed two significant moments in the history of teacher training: the closure of teacher training schools (escuelas normales, in Spanish), for different reasons, in 1928, under Carlos Ibáñez del Campo’s dictatorship (1927-1931), and in 1974, under General Augusto Pinochet’s regime.

He reminded the audience that teacher training schools started in 1842, when they were created by the Argentinean Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, under the conservative oligarchic government of Manuel Bulnes, who was able to recognize the importance of peoples’ training. Bulnes founded Universidad de Chile, among others. The first escuela normal was located in the vicinity of Matucana Street.

At that time, teachers did not only receive free training but they had free accommodation and free meals, though they were separated by sex. In return, the had to work for seven years at public schools, but many did not fulfill that commitment and engaged in other crafts and professions.

The first rebellion

He said that later, the saltpeter boom allowed bringing a group of German teachers at the beginning of the 20^th century. At the same time, a combative teachers association was created. They criticized teacher training as they considered it “authoritarian.” Núñez remembered that one of its weaknesses was pedagogical training.

In 1928, there were 15 escuelas normales. Under the pressure of teachers grouped together in the General Association of Teachers (AGP, in Spanish) for an “integral reform of Chilean education”- the escuelas normales included- Ibáñez decided to close them (he closed the Pedagogical Institute of Universidad de Chile too) and appointed its principal leaders to the Ministry of Education, “so that they could implement the reform” that they were demanding.

Although this situation did not last long, as the Government in the end decided to appoint a “commission of experts” to solve the problems, many of the association’s demands were subsequently taken up. For example, the minimum requirement to enter the school changed from four to six years of primary education.

The 60’s

During the following years, the escuelas normales increased their number, but they underwent some changes, especially in the 60’s, during the Education Reform of President Eduardo Frei (1964-1970), when the requirement to enter the school was completing secondary education. Although there was a co educational boarding school in Chillán, the boarding facilities were closed for financial reasons. On the other hand, an evening teacher training school was created at that time.

After the military coup, when there were more than twenty public and private (owned by the Catholic Church) escuelas normales, General Pinochet closed them for considering them “a focus of rebellion.”

The dictatorship imposed that, from then on, teacher training was to be part of university education. In spite of its controversial nature, professor Núñez considers that this action established “a common institutional framework, with the most similar bases possible.” In 1976, during the dictatorship, professor Núñez was detained and tortured.

He concluded by saying that, for his part, he still shares “ the utopia” that education contributes to “build a fairer and more caring society, regardless of the fact that it may be a difficult task that requires many years, and maybe, there have been some mistakes in viewing the difficulties at its implementation.”

“History has left us a few things and, in the midst of the battle of daily life, we should take a look at them,” he finally said.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The anniversary program provides a wide variety of activities organized to reflect on the present times and to plan the future of the University.
• The activities, scheduled for July and August, were started with a set of conferences devoted to the topic “Amores Indígenas” and the award ceremony for the University Social Responsibility certification.
• “In this program for the 165th Anniversary, we would like to highlight the contribution that our University has made to the country and to our culture. For this reason, we are focused on outreach activities, in which the community is invited to actively participate,” Sergio González, Vice President of Outreach and Engagement, said.

With more than twenty reflection, academic and artistic activities, our University readies itself to celebrate as of this week its 165 years of history contributing to our country.

The program for the anniversary, coordinated by the Vice Presidency of Outreach and Engagement, includes several activities starting on July the 1st until the end of August.

 “We want this occasion to be emblematic for all the community as it is a positive key moment for our University, not only because we celebrate 165 years of the foundation of the School of Arts and Crafts, but also because this anniversary coincides with the institutional accreditation process and the University President election process,” Vice President González said.

In the campus, it is possible to perceive a feeling of interest in the future of our University, what provides a favorable context to develop reflection and discussion activities about future plans.

“The activities are arranged in the context of our institutional reflection and are concentrated in a program that will be developed in July and August and maybe part of September; they are artistic and cultural activities of recollection and reflection,” Vice President González said. He added that idea is that these actions help to value our University’s historical heritage and its contribution since its foundation to the development of our country.

“This why the program is focused on outreach activities, in which we invite the community to actively participate,” the Vice President said.

For his part, Jorge Montealegre, Director of the Outreach Department and Coordinator of the Anniversary Program, explained that the schedule for the activities was built from the proposals submitted by the different academic units.

“We offer an outlook of the University’s activities that range from the debate on our hallmark in our research activities; to the traditional artistic expressions of musical groups, and to seminars like the set of conferences devoted to the analysis of indigenous people love expressions,” Director Montealegre said.

“It is not a nostalgic program- Director Montealegre explained- but a live one, that faces this 165 years looking at the present times and planning the future based on our reflections. The program is an invitation for people to get involved and participate.”

Director Montealegre added that, among the anniversary activities, there are two contests to which all the university community is invited to participate: The “Nuestra Historia en 165 Imágenes” Photography Contest and the “Tenemos Cuento” Micro-fiction Story Contest. In the latter, our University community’s children are also invited to participate.

We invite you to check the program and celebrate the 165 years of our University.

165th Anniversary Program.
http://www.usach.cl/aniversario

Photography Contest.
http://www.usach.cl/165imagenes

Micro-fiction Contest.
http://www.usach.cl/tenemoscuento


Translated by Marcela Contreras
 

• In order to analyze the Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs) that affect thousands of people as a result of long working days using unsuitable furniture, national and international experts gathered together at the “Pensamiento Complejo, Ergonomía de Concepción y Creatividad” conference that was held at Universidad de Santiago.

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National and international experts gathered together at the “Pensamiento Complejo, Ergonomía de Concepción y Creatividad” conference held at Universidad de Santiago. Its purpose was to analyze the Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs) that affect many people as a result of long working days using unsuitable furniture.

The activity was organized by the Industrial Design Technology program and the National Chair in Ergonomics of the Department of Industrial Engineering of Universidad de Santiago.

Ergonomics

Thousands of people work every day in poorly furnished physical spaces that are not always the best in relation to the number of working hours. Most of the time, they are using computers.

In the activity, the relation between furniture and physical postures was analyzed. Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs)- which involve muscle and bone problems- were the focus of the conference and the experts showed the contribution of ergonomics to designing suitable environments for people.

Poor postures while sitting on a chair, the constant contact with some tools, the effort to lift weight or repeated actions (like typing on the computer) can cause these disorders.

María José Araya, architect, ergonomist and professor at the Department of Management Technologies, explained that this is a very important matter, as “long working hours demand the use of ‘neuro-sensory motor’ energy and usually some tolerance thresholds are crossed for the lack of spaces for resting and for leisure and recuperation activities, causing CTDs, with different levels of severity.”

With this activity, “we would like to strengthen international networks with other higher education centers, like Elisava, to address disability and socio-labor inclusion issues from the “Design for all” concept in the National Chair in Ergonomics of the Department of Industrial Engineering of Universidad de Santiago.

Lecturers

In the activity, Giselle Golcovic, who is a graphic designer of Universidad de Chile and has a Master’s degree in Education from Universidad UCINF, gave the presentation “Pensamiento Complejo y Creatividad en Leonardo da Vinci”.

The architect Antonio Bustamante, ergonomist and professor at the Barcelona School of Design and Engineering (Elisava, in Spanish), the first school of design founded in Spain, presented “El hombre de Vitruvio, el de Leonardo y el de Castaño”. In his conclusions, he referred to the importance of understanding users in movement, a viewpoint that differs from conventional anthropometry, which approaches humans as static beings.

José Miguel Araya, industrial civil engineer, ergonomist and professor at Universidad de Santiago analyzed the works presented from an ergonomics point of view 

It is important to understand ergonomics as a key element at designing office and home furniture in order to help people to prevent posture-related diseases

Professor María José Araya said that this type of activity gives students at programs like Industrial Engineering, Design and Architecture the possibility of learning about these matters before they leave the university.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• To contribute with a cleaner and safer energy source and help our country to achieve energy independence, the “Hydrogen Economy and Sustainable Development” Seminar was held at our university. The activity was organized by the Faculty of Engineering, in the context of its 100^th anniversary and it gathered national experts from the public and the academic sectors. The key lecture was delivered by the international speaker Dr Walter Theodor Czarnetzki, Vice President of Research and Technological Transfer of the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, Germany.

To contribute with a cleaner and safer energy source and help Chile to achieve energy independence from other countries, the “Hydrogen Economy and Sustainable Development” Seminar was held at the Enrique Froemel Auditorium of Universidad de Santiago. The activity was organized by the Faculty of Engineering, in the context of its 100^th anniversary.

The activity was headed by Dr Juan Manuel Zolezzi, President of Universidad de Santiago, who said that universities, as dynamic centers for knowledge building, cannot keep out of the important sustainability processes that our countries are undergoing today, as they are the best tool to develop the foundations for a good future for our societies.

“Hydrogen produced in a clean and economical way could be used to compensate most of the energy insufficiency that we have,” he stressed.

“Our corporation, true to its public service tradition, has committed its best research and teaching resources and infrastructure to contribute with professionals, research and developments that help in policy making and at implementing a “Hydrogen Economy” in Chile,” he said. 

“A scientific work commitment made among universities, state-run bodies and the private sector will allow to find a sustainable energy alternative to reduce the current dependence on hydrocarbons and greenhouse gas emissions,” Dr Zolezzi said.

For his part, Juan Carlos Espinoza, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering said that the activity “is an example of the constant interest that this academic unit has in the field of energy, what facilitates the reflection on the need to progress in generating technological innovations that contribute to this area.”

The seminar

The seminar was introduced by Andrés Romero Celedón, Executive Secretary of the National Energy Commission, who said, “To address climate change, we shall change from a hydrocarbon-based civilization to a hydrogen-based one. Besides, this seminar is relevant, as in Chile we are trying to make a long-term energy policy for 2050, to overcome the energy problems that our country constantly faces.”

He added that all initiatives aimed to this goal should be supported by universities and professionals of all over the country, to have more security, sustainability and independence in this matter.

Presentations and speakers

During the activity, Dr Walter Theodor Czarnetzki, Vice President of Research and Technological Transfer of the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, Germany, gave the key lecture “Hydrogen Economy for a Sustainable Future.” Patricio Rousseau, Electrical Engineer of Universidad Católica de Chile, and Dr José Zagal Moya, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of our university gave presentations too.

The participants in the “Hydrogen Economy in Chile” panel discussion were Dr Walter Theodor Czarnetzki; Anselmo Peiñan, representative of the Chilean Economic Development Agency (Corfo, in Spanish); José Miguel Arriaza, Regional Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, and Professors Dr Fernando Corvalán and Patricio Rousseau. The discussion was moderated by the lawyer Gonzalo Salgado, an expert in energy regulations.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

Universidad de Santiago was awarded 900 million Chilean pesos in the V version of the Contest Anillos Research Projects in Science and Technology. The contest was announced by the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research.

Universidad de Santiago was awarded 900 million Chilean pesos for the execution of two projects in the context of the V version of the Contest Anillos Research project in Science and Technology 2014.

Thanks to the Associative Research Program (PIA, in Spanish), 17 projects will be funded nationwide, all of them top-class studies with international scope.

Dr Óscar Bustos Castillo, Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation, said that he was very pleased with the results, adding that “this type of project allows developing cutting-edge research that goes beyond our borders, and this is highly significant to contribute to our university’s internationalization.”

Dr Bustos highlighted that two of the projects that were awarded funding belong to consolidated research groups that, in the short term, could become research centers.

“These study projects will be executed over three years and will allow us to face issues of national interest and global challenges, restating the role we play as a state and public university,” he said.

The projects

One of the projects is led by Dr Maritza Páez and Dr María Victoria Encinas, researchers at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, and Dr Jenny Blamey, researcher at Fundación Biociencia, who will address the problems generated by the spontaneous and undesirable damage of materials, known as corrosion or biocorrosion. The name of the study is “Functionalized surfaces: protection against corrosion and biocorrosion.”

They have the goal of replacing the anti corrosion procedures that involve chemical compounds of high toxicity, like chromates, and provide effective and eco-friendly solutions.

Dr Francisco Melo (surface mechanics), Dr José Zagal (electrochemistry) and Dr Manuel Azocar (bioinorganic chemistry) will participate in the project.

Dr Marcela Urzúa (polymers) and Dr Marco Flores (surface physics), both researchers at Universidad de Chile, will take part in the project too, as well as Dr Jenny Blamey and Dr Freddy Boehmwald (microbiology), of Fundación Biociencia, and Dr Mamie Sancy (corrosion-electrochemistry), of the Chilean Air Force.

The second project is led by Dr Raúl Cordero, researcher at the Department of Physics. This is the second time that he leads an Anillo Project (the first time was in 2010). This time, he seeks to better understand the effects of black carbon at the Andean cryosphere. 

Black carbon or soot is a pollutant generated by the use of fossil fuels in the cities that is carried by the wind over the Andean snow, changing its reflectivity and its melting speed. 

According to Dr Cordero, the study “is mainly focused on measuring the content of black carbon in the snow on the west side of the Andes.” For this purpose, they will conduct campaigns to collect samples and analyze their carbon content across the country, from Putre to the Patagonia.

With this data, “we expect to generate a map that shows the black-carbon content in the Andean cryosphere, highlighting the areas of impact. This information will be useful to evaluate the effect of black carbon on glaciers melting,” the researcher explained.

The project is really important, because the country’s long-term sustainability depends on the availability of water resources coming from the Andean snows. However, just like many cold regions of the planet, the Andean cryosphere has doubled the global warming rate. “Although green-house gas emissions seem to be the main cause of this problem, black carbon may be playing a role too,” he added.

“Universidad de Santiago is a leader in interdisciplinary studies that address different aspects of sustainability, what largely explains the successful results of our applications. This project involves an interdisciplinary team of physicists, chemists, glaciologists and engineers of six renowned Chilean universities. Besides, ten international institutions will collaborate with the project, like the German Aerospace Center (DLR, in German) and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC),” Dr Cordero concluded.

Nationwide results

The other 15 projects that were awarded funds belong to the following universities: five to Universidad Católica de Chile; four to Universidad de Chile; two to Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María and one to Universidad de La Frontera, one to Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, one to Universidad Andrés Bello and one to Universidad Autónoma de Chile.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

•  Universidad de Santiago de Chile made a significant contribution to Expo Food Process 2015, a technical and business platform that brought together different productive sectors related to food industry, facilitating the access to new technologies and solutions in different production processes. 

Universidad de Santiago de Chile had an outstanding participation in Expo Food Process 2015, a technical and business platform that brought together different productive sectors related to food industry, facilitating the access to new technologies and solutions in different production processes.

The activity was held at Espacio Riesco, Santiago, between November 04^th and 06^th. Researchers at the Food Science and Technology Research Center (Cecta), the Department of Food Science and Technology, and the Department of Chemical Engineering of our university participated at the exhibition and led two specialized seminars. One of them was focused on biotechnological research and development for the food and beverages sector, and the other, on food packaging.

The university delegation was led by Dr Oscar Bustos Castillo, Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation. He told the attendees that Universidad de Santiago has strongly been related to the development of the country since its beginnings, what has led it to incorporate new lines of work.

“Today, our society is more aware of improving its quality of life by means of healthy food; therefore, the university considers the food sector a priority area,” he explained.

The scientific productivity in this field of research concentrates 10% of the total number of publications of the university and the 17% of the projects awarded funds from different sources.

Research with impact

Many researchers at Universidad de Santiago participated in the two seminars.

During the first day, Dr Laura Almendares gave the presentation “Generación de Productos Innovativos para la Empresa Alimentaria” (Generating innovative products for Food Industry) and Dr Julio Romero presented his work “Tecnología de membranas y solventes alternativos: ejemplos de transferencia y adaptación tecnológica” (Technology of membranes and alternative solvents: examples of technological adaptation and transfer).

Dr Claudio Martínez, Cecta’s director, presented his work “Mejoramiento del vino a través de la microbiología, una tecnología aplicable a otras bebidas fermentadas” (Improving wine production through microbiology: a technology that can be applied to other fermented drinks), and Raúl Ciudad, member of the I+D Committee of the Social- Business Development Council of Universidad de Santiago, gave the presentation “Desafíos I+D+i Universidad-Empresa” (University-Business I+D+i Challenges).

Gonzalo Jordán, Executive Chairman of CORFO’s Food Strategic Program gave the presentation “La Especialización Inteligente de la Industria Alimentaria: Nuevos Espacios de Competitividad” (Smart specialization in Food Industry: new spaces for competitiveness).

On Friday 06^th, Dr Abel Guarda Moraga gave his presentation “Envases de Alimentos. Requerimientos y Necesidad de desarrollo” (Food packaging. Requirements and need for development, and Dr María José Galotto, “Innovación en el área de envases de alimentos. La nanotecnología como herramienta para el desarrollo” (Innovation in food packaging. nanotechnology as a development tool).

For his part, Dr Francisco Rodríguez talked about “Envases para productos hortofrutícolas” (Packaging for fruit and vegetables) and Dr Julio Bruna, about “Envases y Biodegradabilidad: Realidades y Mitos” (Packaging and biodegradability: myths and facts). Finally, Dr Alejandra Torres closed the presentations with “Requerimientos de Innocuidad en envases plásticos para alimentos” (Innocuousness requirements for plastic food packaging).

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• In a presentation given at Universidad de Santiago a few days ago, Iván Núñez Prieto, recipient of the National Award of Education 2015, emphasized that he still shares “the utopia” that education contributes to “build a fairer and more caring society, regardless of the fact that it may be a difficult task that requires many years, and maybe, there have been some mistakes in viewing the difficulties at its implementation.” The renowned researcher and state professor of History, Geography and Civic Education addressed these issues in his presentation “Two moments at teacher training in Chile: 1928 and 1974: Present echoes.”

On October 28^th, at the Armando Quezada Auditorium, the recipient of the National Award of Education 2015, Iván Núñez, gave the presentation “Two moments at teacher training in Chile: 1928 and 1974: Present echoes.” The activity was organized by the Faculty of Humanities and the Department of Education of Universidad de Santiago in the context of the Teachers’ Day celebration.

Professor Núñez was presented by Dr Jorge Rueda, Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs of the Faculty of Humanities. The director of the Department of Education, Dr Saúl Contreras also addressed the audience.

Dr Rueda emphasized the role of education as the driving force for human development and better communal living, in the midst of the individualistic and discriminatory society of current days, as well as the educational role that our university has played through the School of Arts and Crafts, the Pedagogical Institute and the State Technical University (UTE, in Spanish).

For his part, Dr Contreras highlighted the importance of the visit of professor Núñez at a critical time for Chilean education, as well as the contributions made by the university to teacher training, one of the core components of the university development. 

Inconsistent development

Professor Núñez started by mentioning that the development of Chilean education has not been progressive or linear: it has moved forward and backward through history. 

In his presentation, he deeply analyzed two significant moments in the history of teacher training: the closure of teacher training schools (escuelas normales, in Spanish), for different reasons, in 1928, under Carlos Ibáñez del Campo’s dictatorship (1927-1931), and in 1974, under General Augusto Pinochet’s regime.

He reminded the audience that teacher training schools started in 1842, when they were created by the Argentinean Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, under the conservative oligarchic government of Manuel Bulnes, who was able to recognize the importance of peoples’ training. Bulnes founded Universidad de Chile, among others. The first escuela normal was located in the vicinity of Matucana Street.

At that time, teachers did not only receive free training but they had free accommodation and free meals, though they were separated by sex. In return, the had to work for seven years at public schools, but many did not fulfill that commitment and engaged in other crafts and professions.

The first rebellion

He said that later, the saltpeter boom allowed bringing a group of German teachers at the beginning of the 20^th century. At the same time, a combative teachers association was created. They criticized teacher training as they considered it “authoritarian.” Núñez remembered that one of its weaknesses was pedagogical training.

In 1928, there were 15 escuelas normales. Under the pressure of teachers grouped together in the General Association of Teachers (AGP, in Spanish) for an “integral reform of Chilean education”- the escuelas normales included- Ibáñez decided to close them (he closed the Pedagogical Institute of Universidad de Chile too) and appointed its principal leaders to the Ministry of Education, “so that they could implement the reform” that they were demanding.

Although this situation did not last long, as the Government in the end decided to appoint a “commission of experts” to solve the problems, many of the association’s demands were subsequently taken up. For example, the minimum requirement to enter the school changed from four to six years of primary education.

The 60’s

During the following years, the escuelas normales increased their number, but they underwent some changes, especially in the 60’s, during the Education Reform of President Eduardo Frei (1964-1970), when the requirement to enter the school was completing secondary education. Although there was a co educational boarding school in Chillán, the boarding facilities were closed for financial reasons. On the other hand, an evening teacher training school was created at that time.

After the military coup, when there were more than twenty public and private (owned by the Catholic Church) escuelas normales, General Pinochet closed them for considering them “a focus of rebellion.”

The dictatorship imposed that, from then on, teacher training was to be part of university education. In spite of its controversial nature, professor Núñez considers that this action established “a common institutional framework, with the most similar bases possible.” In 1976, during the dictatorship, professor Núñez was detained and tortured.

He concluded by saying that, for his part, he still shares “ the utopia” that education contributes to “build a fairer and more caring society, regardless of the fact that it may be a difficult task that requires many years, and maybe, there have been some mistakes in viewing the difficulties at its implementation.”

“History has left us a few things and, in the midst of the battle of daily life, we should take a look at them,” he finally said.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Engineers, architects and civil constructors of the Service of Housing and Urban Development of all the country will be trained by the Department of Chemical Engineering of Universidad de Santiago in order that they may incorporate the installation of thermal solar panels into all the houses that they supervise or deliver.

• The training program has been jointly developed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning and the university, with the support of the Ministry of Energy. It started on October 13^th with a first group of 25 civil servants in charge of the construction works to meet the housing needs of the victims of the last disasters in the regions of Antofagasta, Atacama, Coquimbo and Los Lagos (earthquakes, mudslides and the Calbuco volcano’s eruption). 

• According to Francisco Cubillos, Director of the Department of Chemical Engineering, “It is extremely useful that these catastrophic events are considered as opportunities to implement non-conventional renewable energies that will help all beneficiaries.”

• For his part, Christian Santana, Chief of the Renewable Energy Division of the Ministry of Energy and one of the directors of the Centre for Innovation and Promotion of Sustainable Energy, said that this agreement will allow contributing to energy efficiency in the context of the comprehensive public policies of the country. This will also strengthen the links between the Ministry and our university.

   

  The first training course jointly developed by the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning and with the support of the Ministry of Energy was recently started to train professionals at the Service of Housing and Urban Development (Serviu, in Spanish) in order that they may incorporate solar energy into all the new houses built in the different zones affected by the last natural disasters in the country.

  Engineers, architects and civil constructors of that state agency will be able to provide houses in their corresponding regions with thermal solar panels, what will also contribute to the country’s energy efficiency.

  In this way, our corporation, in its commitment to the country, contributes to the fifth item of the Government’s energy agenda, which proposes to strengthen the use of non conventional renewable energy (NCRE) through this type of training course. 

  According to Francisco Cubillos, Director of the Department of Chemical Engineering, “It is extremely useful that these catastrophic events are considered as opportunities to implement non-conventional renewable energies (NCRE) that will help all beneficiaries. The houses to be built will include solar panels.”

   

  “The university is contributing to include this technology in the government policies, which are oriented to the poorest sectors of the population,” director Cubillos said.

   

  For his part, Christian Santana, Chief of the Renewable Energy Division of the Ministry of Energy and who is also one of the directors of the Centre for Innovation and Promotion of Sustainable Energy (CIFES, in Spanish), highlighted that this agreement will allow to contribute to energy efficiency in the context of the comprehensive public policies of the country. This will also strengthen the links between the Ministry and our university.

   

  Theory and practice

  Mario Céspedes Córdova, professor of energy efficiency at the Faculty of Engineering of Universidad de Santiago said that in this type of course, “We provide knowledge to civil servants in order that they may control the variables involved in a solar technological system, learn about the corresponding regulations and norms and learn how to inspect a system and its pattern of use. In this way, they may supervise the entire national reconstruction plan.”

  “Besides, we have a solar energy laboratory, where we can show how to install this type of system and how it works. Those who complete the course will be able to correctly certify the houses with this system,” he explained.

  The program started on October 13^th with a first group of 25 participants. It includes theoretical and practical sessions, with a total of 10 hours, for two days. The objective is to train these civil servants so that they can help to improve the houses built after the last disasters in the country (earthquakes, mudslides and the Calbuco volcano’s eruption) and to face future disasters in a better way.

   

  Translated by Marcela Contreras