• After the success of Nutrisato- an innovative natural fertilizer that increases by 50% the size of fruits, vegetables and plants- in the international market, its creators opened an agricultural additives company.

In his search for environmentally friendly biotechnological solutions, Alejandro Muñoz, biochemist and student at the Biotechnology doctoral program of the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago, developed an interesting plant biostimulant based on organic molecules which is able to increase fruits, vegetables and flowers twice their size in the same period of time.

Later, Carla Céspedes, an agronomist from Universidad de Chile, and Rodrigo Ferreira, student at the Commercial Engineering program of the Faculty of Administration and Economics of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, joined the project team and took the responsibility of placing the product in the agricultural market.

After the positive outcomes of testing Nutrisato in peppers and tomatoes, the students participated in the Brain Chile program contest and won the first place. They used the funds that they were awarded to continue developing the product to a level that they never expected: today, they have their own company called Ingeniería y Biotecnología Limitada, Atama Biotech Ltda.

Nutrisato in the market

After the Brain Chile Contest, they continued testing Nutrisato. They found that it was harmless to people and the environment and it also “doubled the size of the products, increased the production of fruits by 50% and the production of biomass in vegetables by 30%,” Alejandro Muñoz explained.

Carla Céspedes, who is responsible for the agronomic development of Nutrisato, explained: “The first products in which we tested the biostimulant were harvested in April, but after the contest, they were left abandoned in an area with Andean climate. In that context, we realized that the fertilizer reduced the cold stress in plants and enhanced their hygroscopic properties.”

Supported by recent tests, the researchers confirmed that the fertilizer worked in every product in which they used it, like spinach, celery, parsley, coriander, tomatoes, peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes and ornamental plants like tulips, roses and daisies.

Now they are testing the product in hydroponic lettuces and tomatoes, and in berries and citrus fruits, in Valdivia.

With regard to the marketing of the product, Rodrigo Ferreira, who is in charge of the company’s management and sales, says that they created Nutrisato Hogar, a product which is targeted at people who grow their own vegetables in home gardens. The product will be in the market soon.

The researchers say that they have enjoyed their work with Nustrisato, because they are doing what they like to do. For this reason, they have continued developing innovative products, like Raizato. “Raizato is a super soil enhancer that adds organic matter to the soil and enhances the growth of roots and leaves,” Alejandro Muñoz said.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The Nueva Ingeniería 2030 Project organized a contest in which 21 academics were selected to visit foreign institutions focused on innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Faculty of Engineering of Universidad de Santiago and the International Partnerships Program of the Nueva Ingeniería 2030 Project organized a contest to select academics who will visit renowned foreign universities with the purpose of consolidating, broadening and building links between the faculty and those institutions.

Another goal of these academic missions will be to boost the development of exchange mechanisms and/or programs for academics and researchers who will contribute in turn to promote student exchange both at an undergraduate and graduate level.

According to Jack Brady, assistant director of the International Partnerships Program of the project, “these missions will result in agreements that will connect Universidad de Santiago with world-class universities. This will directly contribute to the goals of the project in terms of undergraduate and graduate students exchange and collaboration in different areas.”

Many academics of the faculty have already contacted different universities which focus is innovation. They will have the mission of “bringing Fab Lab models that we can adapt to our faculty and facilitate the development technology-based graduate programs,” Brady said.

The activity was led by the dean of the faculty, Juan Carlos Espinoza, and the co-director of the Nueva Ingeniería 2030 Project, Dr Mario López. On the occasion, the academics signed the missions’ commitments.

Some of the universities that the 21 academics will visit are: Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), Technische Universität Dresden (Germany), Ecole Polytechnique Palaiseau (France), Università di Bologna (Italy), Università di Torino (Italy), Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (Switzerland), Politécnico di Milano (Italy), Universidad de Navarra (Spain), University of Washington (USA), Stanford University (USA), University of British Columbia (Canada), Ecole Polytechnique (France), Université de Lorraine (France), Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña (Spain), Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (Spain) and others.

These missions will allow building a direct relationship with institutions that can generate networks to contribute to the development of the Observatory for University Internationalization and will help to identify strategies to become part of university international networks and innovation and entrepreneurship centers. 

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The five winners of the first version of the Despega USACH contest organized by the Department of Technology Management had an intense work period at the Stanford Research Institute International (SRI), in Menlo Park, California, USA. The purpose of this contest is to promote science- and-technology-based innovation among students at Universidad de Santiago.

The five winners of the first version of the Despega USACH contest organized by the Department of Technology Management, had an intense work period at the Stanford Research Institute International (SRI), in Menlo Park, California, USA. The purpose of this contest is to promote science-and-technology-based innovation among students at Universidad de Santiago

The group was made up of Sofía Michelson, a biochemist who is working on the development of an ointment to combat melanoma; Dr Daniela Toro Ascuy, who is in charge of the platform for the development of vaccines for the salmon farming industry; Pablo González Alarcón, leader of Class Track, a curriculum management software; Sebastián Sanhueza Tapia, representative of Crea en 3D, a company for 3D parts and design, and Álvaro Monserrat, representative of NurseEye, a clinical instrument to assess and measure wound surface areas.

All members of the group agreed that their experience at Silicon Valley, the world’s land of entrepreneurship, was “an incredible experience” where they learned to come up with ideas, create a company, look for investors and sell a product, allowing them to strengthen their ventures and market their products.

High level students

Phillip Whalen and Robert Schoettle, both with large experience in innovation programs to transform original ideas into successful solutions were in charge of the internship.

According to Robert Schoettle, the team of Universidad de Santiago had been well prepared for the program before arriving in Silicon Valley. “All the teams were able to discover important things to expand their understanding of the world market opportunities,” he said.

“This information significantly changes the business approach of many teams and, in all cases, they said that they would not have been able to get the information in Chile or it would have taken them longer,” he added.

He also highlights the importance of this experience at the world’s capital of entrepreneurship, a transforming opportunity for Chilean youngsters.

“Understanding how business owners think and act will allow innovation to flourish among new generations. World economy is becoming really global and Chilean people have the chance of thinking beyond their own country’s boundaries to produce a big and significant impact on global markets,” Schoettle explained.

After our students’ stay at the SRI, Robert Schoettle says that he thinks that Chilean business people and the ideas coming from our country are exceptional and provide examples of how early knowledge of  marketing activities can be useful. “All this knowledge can be used both immediately and in the future, in the flourishing Chilean business ecosystem,” he said.

Despega Usach 2016                                       

The winners of the first version of the contest call on their classmates to participate in the next Despega USACH 2016, for they can learn about innovation and entrepreneurship besides meeting students who are working similarly at the university.

Soon, the Department of Technology Management of the Vice Presidency of Research, Development and Innovation will be informing about the contest.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• After the success of Nutrisato- an innovative natural fertilizer that increases by 50% the size of fruits, vegetables and plants- in the international market, its creators opened an agricultural additives company.

In his search for environmentally friendly biotechnological solutions, Alejandro Muñoz, biochemist and student at the Biotechnology doctoral program of the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago, developed an interesting plant biostimulant based on organic molecules which is able to increase fruits, vegetables and flowers twice their size in the same period of time.

Later, Carla Céspedes, an agronomist from Universidad de Chile, and Rodrigo Ferreira, student at the Commercial Engineering program of the Faculty of Administration and Economics of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, joined the project team and took the responsibility of placing the product in the agricultural market.

After the positive outcomes of testing Nutrisato in peppers and tomatoes, the students participated in the Brain Chile program contest and won the first place. They used the funds that they were awarded to continue developing the product to a level that they never expected: today, they have their own company called Ingeniería y Biotecnología Limitada, Atama Biotech Ltda.

Nutrisato in the market

After the Brain Chile Contest, they continued testing Nutrisato. They found that it was harmless to people and the environment and it also “doubled the size of the products, increased the production of fruits by 50% and the production of biomass in vegetables by 30%,” Alejandro Muñoz explained.

Carla Céspedes, who is responsible for the agronomic development of Nutrisato, explained: “The first products in which we tested the biostimulant were harvested in April, but after the contest, they were left abandoned in an area with Andean climate. In that context, we realized that the fertilizer reduced the cold stress in plants and enhanced their hygroscopic properties.”

Supported by recent tests, the researchers confirmed that the fertilizer worked in every product in which they used it, like spinach, celery, parsley, coriander, tomatoes, peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes and ornamental plants like tulips, roses and daisies.

Now they are testing the product in hydroponic lettuces and tomatoes, and in berries and citrus fruits, in Valdivia.

With regard to the marketing of the product, Rodrigo Ferreira, who is in charge of the company’s management and sales, says that they created Nutrisato Hogar, a product which is targeted at people who grow their own vegetables in home gardens. The product will be in the market soon.

The researchers say that they have enjoyed their work with Nustrisato, because they are doing what they like to do. For this reason, they have continued developing innovative products, like Raizato. “Raizato is a super soil enhancer that adds organic matter to the soil and enhances the growth of roots and leaves,” Alejandro Muñoz said.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The Nueva Ingeniería 2030 Project organized a contest in which 21 academics were selected to visit foreign institutions focused on innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Faculty of Engineering of Universidad de Santiago and the International Partnerships Program of the Nueva Ingeniería 2030 Project organized a contest to select academics who will visit renowned foreign universities with the purpose of consolidating, broadening and building links between the faculty and those institutions.

Another goal of these academic missions will be to boost the development of exchange mechanisms and/or programs for academics and researchers who will contribute in turn to promote student exchange both at an undergraduate and graduate level.

According to Jack Brady, assistant director of the International Partnerships Program of the project, “these missions will result in agreements that will connect Universidad de Santiago with world-class universities. This will directly contribute to the goals of the project in terms of undergraduate and graduate students exchange and collaboration in different areas.”

Many academics of the faculty have already contacted different universities which focus is innovation. They will have the mission of “bringing Fab Lab models that we can adapt to our faculty and facilitate the development technology-based graduate programs,” Brady said.

The activity was led by the dean of the faculty, Juan Carlos Espinoza, and the co-director of the Nueva Ingeniería 2030 Project, Dr Mario López. On the occasion, the academics signed the missions’ commitments.

Some of the universities that the 21 academics will visit are: Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), Technische Universität Dresden (Germany), Ecole Polytechnique Palaiseau (France), Università di Bologna (Italy), Università di Torino (Italy), Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (Switzerland), Politécnico di Milano (Italy), Universidad de Navarra (Spain), University of Washington (USA), Stanford University (USA), University of British Columbia (Canada), Ecole Polytechnique (France), Université de Lorraine (France), Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña (Spain), Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (Spain) and others.

These missions will allow building a direct relationship with institutions that can generate networks to contribute to the development of the Observatory for University Internationalization and will help to identify strategies to become part of university international networks and innovation and entrepreneurship centers. 

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The five winners of the first version of the Despega USACH contest organized by the Department of Technology Management had an intense work period at the Stanford Research Institute International (SRI), in Menlo Park, California, USA. The purpose of this contest is to promote science- and-technology-based innovation among students at Universidad de Santiago.

The five winners of the first version of the Despega USACH contest organized by the Department of Technology Management, had an intense work period at the Stanford Research Institute International (SRI), in Menlo Park, California, USA. The purpose of this contest is to promote science-and-technology-based innovation among students at Universidad de Santiago

The group was made up of Sofía Michelson, a biochemist who is working on the development of an ointment to combat melanoma; Dr Daniela Toro Ascuy, who is in charge of the platform for the development of vaccines for the salmon farming industry; Pablo González Alarcón, leader of Class Track, a curriculum management software; Sebastián Sanhueza Tapia, representative of Crea en 3D, a company for 3D parts and design, and Álvaro Monserrat, representative of NurseEye, a clinical instrument to assess and measure wound surface areas.

All members of the group agreed that their experience at Silicon Valley, the world’s land of entrepreneurship, was “an incredible experience” where they learned to come up with ideas, create a company, look for investors and sell a product, allowing them to strengthen their ventures and market their products.

High level students

Phillip Whalen and Robert Schoettle, both with large experience in innovation programs to transform original ideas into successful solutions were in charge of the internship.

According to Robert Schoettle, the team of Universidad de Santiago had been well prepared for the program before arriving in Silicon Valley. “All the teams were able to discover important things to expand their understanding of the world market opportunities,” he said.

“This information significantly changes the business approach of many teams and, in all cases, they said that they would not have been able to get the information in Chile or it would have taken them longer,” he added.

He also highlights the importance of this experience at the world’s capital of entrepreneurship, a transforming opportunity for Chilean youngsters.

“Understanding how business owners think and act will allow innovation to flourish among new generations. World economy is becoming really global and Chilean people have the chance of thinking beyond their own country’s boundaries to produce a big and significant impact on global markets,” Schoettle explained.

After our students’ stay at the SRI, Robert Schoettle says that he thinks that Chilean business people and the ideas coming from our country are exceptional and provide examples of how early knowledge of  marketing activities can be useful. “All this knowledge can be used both immediately and in the future, in the flourishing Chilean business ecosystem,” he said.

Despega Usach 2016                                       

The winners of the first version of the contest call on their classmates to participate in the next Despega USACH 2016, for they can learn about innovation and entrepreneurship besides meeting students who are working similarly at the university.

Soon, the Department of Technology Management of the Vice Presidency of Research, Development and Innovation will be informing about the contest.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The five winners of the first version of the Despega USACH contest organized by the Department of Technology Management had an intense work period at the Stanford Research Institute International (SRI), in Menlo Park, California, USA. The purpose of this contest is to promote science- and-technology-based innovation among students at Universidad de Santiago.

The five winners of the first version of the Despega USACH contest organized by the Department of Technology Management, had an intense work period at the Stanford Research Institute International (SRI), in Menlo Park, California, USA. The purpose of this contest is to promote science-and-technology-based innovation among students at Universidad de Santiago

The group was made up of Sofía Michelson, a biochemist who is working on the development of an ointment to combat melanoma; Dr Daniela Toro Ascuy, who is in charge of the platform for the development of vaccines for the salmon farming industry; Pablo González Alarcón, leader of Class Track, a curriculum management software; Sebastián Sanhueza Tapia, representative of Crea en 3D, a company for 3D parts and design, and Álvaro Monserrat, representative of NurseEye, a clinical instrument to assess and measure wound surface areas.

All members of the group agreed that their experience at Silicon Valley, the world’s land of entrepreneurship, was “an incredible experience” where they learned to come up with ideas, create a company, look for investors and sell a product, allowing them to strengthen their ventures and market their products.

High level students

Phillip Whalen and Robert Schoettle, both with large experience in innovation programs to transform original ideas into successful solutions were in charge of the internship.

According to Robert Schoettle, the team of Universidad de Santiago had been well prepared for the program before arriving in Silicon Valley. “All the teams were able to discover important things to expand their understanding of the world market opportunities,” he said.

“This information significantly changes the business approach of many teams and, in all cases, they said that they would not have been able to get the information in Chile or it would have taken them longer,” he added.

He also highlights the importance of this experience at the world’s capital of entrepreneurship, a transforming opportunity for Chilean youngsters.

“Understanding how business owners think and act will allow innovation to flourish among new generations. World economy is becoming really global and Chilean people have the chance of thinking beyond their own country’s boundaries to produce a big and significant impact on global markets,” Schoettle explained.

After our students’ stay at the SRI, Robert Schoettle says that he thinks that Chilean business people and the ideas coming from our country are exceptional and provide examples of how early knowledge of  marketing activities can be useful. “All this knowledge can be used both immediately and in the future, in the flourishing Chilean business ecosystem,” he said.

Despega Usach 2016                                       

The winners of the first version of the contest call on their classmates to participate in the next Despega USACH 2016, for they can learn about innovation and entrepreneurship besides meeting students who are working similarly at the university.

Soon, the Department of Technology Management of the Vice Presidency of Research, Development and Innovation will be informing about the contest.

Translated by Marcela Contreras