• The Apollo II, the photovoltaic car developed by the Solar Car Team (Esus) of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, showed an outstanding performance during the eco- rally across the desert, covering the route in a little more than 22 hours and being one of the four cars in its category that managed to reach the finish line.
• The Esus Team received recognition for its fourth place in the competence. The Japanese team of Tokai University won the first place; the team of Minera Los Pelambres mining company and Universidad de La Serena, won the second the place, and the team representing Universidad de Concepción, won the third place.
• The Esus Team students and collaborators valued the work done, and the knowledge applied, but above all, the experience they gained. Likewise, they expect to continue with this project, as “the performance and positioning of the team was clearly the best,” Gonzalo Pacheco, Executive Director of Esus, said.

 
The Universidad de Santiago’s Esus Solar Car Team members described the Apollo II’s performance during the Atacama Solar Challenge as absolutely positive. The prize awarding ceremony was held on November 18th, at Humberstone Saltpeter Works, in the Tarapacá Region.

The Challenge, one of the five solar car races held around the world, finished on November 17th, after the twenty teams coming from Japan, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile, completed five days travelling a route across the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile. The teams were mainly made up of university students and professors.

The Apollo II managed to cover the 1,082 kilometer route planned for the race- just like other three cars did, out of the eight that competed in the Evolution category- in 22 hours and 9 minutes, according to the official records. The Esus Team received recognition for being one of the finalists and achieving the fourth position, after the team of Universidad de Concepción (third position), the team of Minera Los Pelambres mining company and Universidad de La Serena (second position), and the team of Tokai University, from Japan, that won the first position with only a nine-minute gap over the second place.

In this category, the teams of Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Pontificia Universidad Católica, and the cars Sköll and Eolian, could not finish the Challenge.

Experience and growth

For the Esus Team members, this fourth place means an important progress in their evolution as a group, because many of them took part in the previous race (2012), in which the Apolo I had to be towed to complete the route, what led to penalizations that affected the final result.

This time, the Apollo II completed the required kilometers and route and followed the control protocols. Although it had some problems, they were solved, showing and optimal performance of the car, that in some stretches reached 100 km/h, the maximum speed allowed by the Challenge organization

“The solar car team had a significant progress in experience and knowledge. Overcoming difficulties and reaching the finish line were our challenge and we made it,” Pablo Fernández, head of management of Esus Team, said. “We were able to prove that the level of the competition was higher, because four of the cars that run on this occasion in the Evolution category finished the route, so all of the teams have progressed a lot,” he added.

For this reason, Pablo Fernández said that in terms of disseminating the advantages of solar energy- one of the goals of the Atacama Solar Challenge- “Universidad de Santiago is very well positioned, because all the students taking part in this project learn about renewable energies and how to use solar energy, regardless of the discipline or the program they study.”

Keeping talent at the university

Although they were satisfied with the performance of the car, Pablo Fernández explained that, according to his evaluation, they “did not have enough time to test the car and check some issues,” because importing some parts and getting some resources took too long and this affected the work management and the assembly of the Apolo II. “It gave us a test period of about a week, and during the race, we realized that with more test time we would have been able to prevent some problems. However, we were prepared and had spare parts for everything. Thanks to this and to our planning and inventiveness, we adapted to the situation and kept on going.”

According to Gonzalo Pacheco, Executive Director of Esus, “the performance and positioning of the team was clearly the best.” This was recognized by other teams, like the Japanese team, for example, that valued the Esus Team’s high level of organization. Particularly because it was “the only solar car team totally made up of students and unpaid collaborators that completed the challenge.” 

Pablo Fernández explained that teams from other universities hire graduates and professionals for direct expert advice.

“As a team, we would like to preserve the knowledge of the people with experience in this field in our university. We cannot let experienced people go; we should have strategies to keep talent here and include more professors in the team,” Fernández said.

This is why they expect the University to get involved in the project and in the innovative ideas of the Solar Car Team. “This experience left us well positioned as University. We will be remembered as a neat, disciplined and organized team. But the Solar Car Team should not continue being considered only an extra-curricular activity,” he finally said.


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

• Giorgio Di Giorgio and Alessandra de Cesaris, both architects from Sapienza University of Rome, were invited by the School of Architecture to share their experience in historical sites intervention in Rome. Adolfo Hidalgo, the head of the program, said the visit was like “a breath of fresh air in our students’ knowledge.”

On a regular basis, Universidad de Santiago’s School of Architecture organizes conferences with national and international professionals and experts, in order to promote the exchange of ideas and opinions between the students and representatives of other institutions.

Two distinguished visitors were the Roman architects Alessandra de Cesaris and Giorgio Di Giorgio, both from Sapienza University of Rome. On August 6th and 7th (respectively) they met with academics and students of the School of Architecture to explain how heritage and modernity coexist in the historical European city of Rome.

On that occasion, students were able to ask questions and, at the same time, learn about heritage protection mechanisms in other places. Particularly, they learned about the dissertation on architectural intervention in Baths of Caracalla, led by Professor Di Giorgio, and the soil and subsoil modification project, led by Professor Cesaris.

The head of the School of Architecture, Adolfo Hidalgo, said that this type of activity, involving relationship with society and international experts, is organized in order to enhance the teaching process and provide “a breath of fresh air in our students’ knowledge.”

“The School is proud of keeping international links like the ones reflected in these conferences (…) we intend our students to be able to understand the essence of the Italian architectural thinking that involves love for architecture, for the city, for history and art,” the academic said.

“This conference strengthens the work that we have to do for heritage and for what we have in Chile,” the head of the School added.

“The work that we have been presented involves harmonizing old and new in the same project,” he noted.

After talking to the University’s students, professor and architect Giorgio di Giorgio said he was very pleased to visit “a campus full of history.”

“I had the luck of visiting two universities, Universidad Central and Universidad de Santiago, so I had two different experiences. It is important for a society to have different components because this shows that it is alive; regarding the place, though, this one is more interesting due to its historical tradition,” said Di Giorgio.

Finally, the Italian expert said that an architect “should always be at the service of society.”

“You can work as an architectural designer for a big real estate company, like many architects do, or you can choose to work for public service and the community. What matters is that the architect should always be at the service of society. We cannot change reality, but we can make our environment a little more beautiful. That is a big achievement,” the Italian architect concluded at his visit to Universidad de Santiago.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Miguel Altieri, a Chilean expert at the University of California, highlighted the strategic role that peasant agriculture plays in food security in the modern world. His presentation generated interest in the audience during the II International Seminar on Agroecology: Facing Food and Ecological Challenges. The activity was held at Universidad de Santiago and it was organized by the Department of Agricultural Management, the University Social Responsibility program and the Chilean chapter of the Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology (SOCLA-Chile).

Before an audience that crowded the Salón de Honor, Dr Miguel Altieri, a Chilean professor at the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management of the University of California, gave the opening presentation at the II International Seminar on Agroecology: Facing Food and Ecological Challenges.

The activity was held on March 26^th and it was organized by the Department of Agricultural Management, the University Social Responsibility program and the Chilean chapter of the Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology (SOCLA-Chile).

In his lecture “Agroecology: the only path to feed a planet in crisis”, the researcher said that the world is facing several difficulties as a result of the economic model established in the past few decades that cannot be overcome using the mechanisms of the same model. This is why he suggests changing this paradigm, at least in relation to the area of food production.

“The presence of many young people here clearly evidences the interest in this issue. They are very worried about the condition of the planet and the future that awaits them. In this situation, agroecology gives room for hope, because it addresses the problem of producing healthy food and it also provides an agricultural model than can be adapted to the climate changing conditions, something that will become more and more frequent,” he said to UdeSantiago al Día.

Supported by data analysis, he said that the causes of world hunger lie in the complex food system controlled by multinationals that define what to produce, as well as the quality and the price of food.

Although the figures of agro-industrial production seem to be more effective, the expert encourages us to consider their efficiency by calculating the amount of water they need and the lack of diversity that single-crop farming offer. This is why Dr. Altieri suggests measuring the “overall” production: agroecological farmers do not produce only one thing, but many different products (beans, eggs, corn, among others) that add up to form a system.

“Agriculture needs a new philosophy according to new social movements to bridge the gap between consumers and producers. It is like a new way of organizing the society that considers peasants’ know-how and incorporates it as a source of knowledge, restoring traditions and the genetic diversity by growing native seeds,” he said.

Dr Altieri is currently working in the United States in matters related to agroecology in Latin America. But as a Chilean, he often studies the policies promoted in the country. “The agricultural model that we need should be debated at a country level,” he added.

“If Chile valued peasant agriculture for its strategic, cultural and ecological value and also for the food security it provides, then the country would be forced to protect this type of agriculture as heritage, by providing resources, markets and the required support to boost it, just like Brazil did. Brazil recognized the importance of family agriculture and created a special ministry of agriculture,” he said.

With regards to the importance that this issue has for the American society, he says that it has caught the attention mainly of the urban groups who feel marginalized, like Latinos and African Americans, in a movement called “Food Justice”. “Most of my work is based on Latin America and I feel like an agroecological ambassador, because what I have learned and what I teach is what it happens in the region,” he said.

When asked why Chile has not had a strong development in this issue like other Latin American countries, Dr Altieri says that he thinks it has to do with “the cultural blackout during the dictatorship that shockingly imposed a model by changing the economic model and the people’s way of thinking and instilling a vision of competitiveness and privatization. Going backwards has been difficult,” he said.

Nevertheless, he has confidence in new generations. “People are awakening: they realize that the food model is not equitable or democratic; that it destroys the environment and produces climate changes that are reflected in more frequent dramatic events; and that the quality of the foods we eat is bad, as they are contaminated. We have to move forward to a socially healthier and fairer agriculture that includes social and political dimensions,” he finally said.

Other participants in the activity were: Santiago Peredo, alternate director of the University Social Responsibility program, who gave the welcome speech; Dr Clara Nicholls, president of the Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology (SOCLA); Claudia Barrera, researcher at the Agroecology and Environment Research Group (GAMA, in Spanish) of Universidad de Santiago; Ximena Guzmán, director of the Unión Nacional de Agricultura Familiar (UNAF); Olga Gutiérrez, president of the Confederación Unidad Obrero Campesino (UOC); Fabiola Freire, Regional Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture (Metropolitan Region); and Carlos Pino, researcher at Universidad Católica del Maule and member SOCLA-Chile.

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.

​

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

• Dr. Kerryn McCluskey, from the University of Queensland, said that besides quickly connecting students to teaching practice, practicum since first year of program helps students to determine on their vocation.

During the International Seminar “Evaluation of Professional Practice in Early Teacher Training: An Overview form the Australian Model”, Dr. Kerryn McCluskey, the Director of the Secondary Program in the School of Education at the University of Queensland, Australia, explained the teacher professional training program design developed by that University. In this program, through implementing early practicums, education students get in contact with the class since first semester.

“Until pre-service teachers go to schools, they do not know if this is what they really want or the way of connecting what they do on campus with real life,” says Dr. McCluskey. She added that, in some cases, it takes years before students understand and connect the theoretical knowledge given by the university with teaching practice in the classroom.

For this purpose, the program that she directs organizes teaching practicums since first semester, for ten days, where students attend classes as observers. Then, as they move forward in their training, they have more practice periods and also more interaction with learners in terms of academic support, which can be measured according to the corresponding abilities and competences.

According to the expert, the difficulties posed by the model lie in the disposition shown by guiding teachers and supervisors who accompany the student during this process in schools and at the university, as the model demands personalized attention.

While visiting Universidad de Santiago, Dr. Kerryn McCluskey emphasized that there are not perfect models, but she trusts that after exchanging experiences, education students in Chile may have access to teaching practicums a little earlier.

This international seminar was organized by the Department of Education of the Faculty of Humanities and for his Director, Dr. Daniel Ríos, the experience shared by the Australian expert was very positive.

“It was a good opportunity to share information about this significant issue, not only for the Department or the University, but for all the country, as it concerns teacher training,” the director said. He added that practicums are still the big connection between theory and practice, so it is essential to think about ways of improving them and strengthening them. He said it is an essential issue as right now “there is a discussion in the University about early teacher training.”

Dr. Ríos emphasized the collaborative view provided by this type of activities to open a broad reflection regarding professional practices during early teacher training. For this reason, representatives from other universities and from schools that have admitted our teaching practicing students were invited to the seminar. “We are very pleased because this has helped us to reflect on this issue, exchange ideas and experiences and continue along the line of learning communities,” he concluded.
 

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• On Saturday 11th, more than 600 youngsters participated in the board game convention that opened the fifth version of the Book Route organized by the Library System of Universidad de Santiago. This year the activity is devoted to Fantastic Literature, which is related to popular role-playing games
• According to Ximena Sobarzo, Director of the Library System, SiB, “There is a direct relation among movies, literature and role-playing games, which are so widespread among youngsters. Therefore, focusing on this topic is a good way of promoting reading in our community, as this is our main challenge.” 
• The activity program includes conferences, film screenings, reading guidance and role-playing games and it will last until April 23rd, when the World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated.
• As part of its outreach activities, the SiB has also organized a tribute to the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, who died on April 13th.

​

Ximena Sobarzo, Director of the Library System of Universidad de Santiago (SiB U. de Santiago), described the TerraCon board game convention as “a complete success”. The TerraCon was held on April 11th to open the Book Route 2015 of our University.

This opening convention drew more than 600 attendees- youngsters mostly – who visited the Central Library of Universidad de Santiago to participate in role-playing game tournaments, trade collectible cards and see striking miniature figure exhibitions.

In its fifth version, the traditional Book Route organized by the SiB U. de Santiago has a varied schedule of activities focused on Fantastic Literature that includes film screenings, role-playing game tournaments, conferences and others related to this genre.

The Book Route cultural schedule will continue until April 23rd, when the World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated, and it offers other free-of charge events, like the lecture “La fantasía olvidada: clásicos olvidados de literatura infantil de fantasía”, given by Paula Rivera, BA in Hispanic Letters, on April 15th, at 16:00, at the Central Library auditorium.

Likewise, on April 17th, at 16:00, the translator Danilo Jarlaz will give the lecture “La construcción del mundo fantástico a partir de lo ordinario” at the same auditorium

The Book Route involves both scheduled visits to different places in the campus and the promotion of library circulation services. It is being held between April 13th and 23rd, from 10:30 to 14:00.

Classic films and fantastic film premieres are being screened at the Central Library multimedia room, since April 14th to April 22nd, from 10:00 to 16:00.

On April 23rd, from 12:00 to 17:00, at the plaza beside the Central Library, a closure activity called “Taberna Medieval” (Medieval Tavern) has been scheduled. The Chilean Tolkien Society, a group that has specially been invited for the occasion, will be in charge of this activity and will provide music, dance performances, food and medieval decorations. 

This closure activity will also include discussion boards on Fantastic Literature and will have the presence of fencing, archery, and dance and Viking music groups of Universidad de Santiago.

Besides, along with the activities scheduled, “Don Cándido”, the traditional character that symbolizes the Book Route, will ride his bike all over the campus, giving books to students and bringing the library closer to the University community.

Promoting reading in the community 

Ximena Sobarzo, Director of the Library System of Universidad de Santiago, showed herself very pleased for the beginning of the activity and she said that the main goal of the Book Route continued to be promoting the interest in reading in our University community and the community around us, through diverting and creative activities

“Every year, in our Book Route we try to approach new aspects related to how literature goes across different interests and different personalities. We want to show that literature is on the movies, TV, comics, music and others. That is our challenge,” she says.

Regarding Fantastic Literature, on which the activity is focused this year, Ximena Sobarzo says: “There is a direct relation among movies, literature and role-playing games, which are so widespread among youngsters. Therefore, focusing on this topic is a good way of promoting reading in our community, as this is our main challenge.” 

 

For more information, click on https://rutadellibro2015.wordpress.com/

• Universidad de Santiago will be part of the conference that will gather international renowned experts from NGOs, governments, academic institutions and business organizations. The main goal of the meeting is to promote the exchange of ideas and experiences that could become effective solutions to different issues which are relevant to Chile and the world.

More than a hundred participants- business owners, investors, researchers and different authorities- will meet on October 26^th, 27^th and 28^th at the Historical Building of Universitat de Barcelona, Spain, for the 10^th version of the Encuentros Conference. The annual meeting of this network gathers students, researchers and entrepreneurs from Chile or related to Chile, for scientific and professional collaboration.

During three days, the participants will meet with international renowned experts from NGOs, governments, academic institutions and business organizations to discuss different issues which are relevant to Chile. The core idea of this year is “Knowledge for social equity,” one of the main challenges in Chile and the world nowadays.

The main goal of the Encuentros Barcelona 2016 Conference is to promote the exchange of ideas and experiences that could become new projects and effective solutions to the social challenges shared by Chile, Catalonia, Spain and Europe in general. During the meeting, the participants will cover issues like education, sustainability, agriculture, economy, women and science, infrastructure and health.

The Encuentros network started in 2006, in Dresde, Germany. It was organized by a group of Chilean doctoral students. Up to now, the meeting has been held in Milan, Gottingen, Cambridge, Berkeley, Paris, Boston, Santiago and Rotterdam.

This is the first time that Universidad de Santiago will participate in the Encuentros Conference and it has organized a session called “The challenges of the new social market economy,” in which the participants will analyze and evaluate the economic policies implemented in Chile in the past 25 years, particularly those which have affected fundamental rights like education and health.

Dr Gabriel Palma, professor at the Faculty of Administration and Economics of Universidad de Santiago and professor at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Cambridge will be one of the speakers, and Jorge Friedman, the dean of the Faculty of Administration and Economics will be in charge of moderating the session.

Participants

The following experts will participate in the conference: Ei-ichi Negishi, chemist, recipient of the Chemistry Nobel Prize (2010); Gino Casassa, glaciologist, member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that was awarded the Peace Nobel Prize in 2007; Alain Touraine, sociologist. recipient of the Prince of Asturias Award (2010) and founder of the Centro de Análisis y de Intervención Sociológicos(CADIS); Cecilia Hidalgo, recipient of the Chilean National Science Award (2006), and Cristóbal Cobo, specialist in educational technologies and Director of the CEIBAL Foundation Study Center. Other lecturers will be Adriana Delpiano, Chilean Minister of Education; Claudia Serrano, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Chile at the OECD, and Christian Nicolai, Executive Director of CONICYT Chile.

Universidad de Santiago will provide scholarships to students who send their proposals. Those who are selected will have the possibility of presenting their works in Barcelona.

Links:

http://redencuentros.org/encuentros-barcelona-2016/

http://www.ub.edu/web/ub/es/menu_eines/noticies/2016/07/001.html

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• During the 3rd Latin-American Conference on Higher Education Withdrawal held in Mexico, a team of professionals from Universidad de Santiago led by Manuel Arrieta, Vice-President of Student Support Services, shared about the different support programs promoted by the University, with great interest from peer institutions of the continent.

On November 13th, 14th and 15th the 3rd Latin-American Conference on Higher Education Withdrawal (III Clabes) was held in Mexico City, where Manuel Arrieta, Vice-President of Student Support Services, together with other six professionals from Universidad de Santiago presented the different initiatives developed by Universidad de Santiago in order to support and promote students’ permanence.
 
The five topics presented by our University in this international meeting called the attention of the foreign universities represented on that occasion.
 
One of the topics presented was related to the experience and positive results of the Program for Inclusive Access, Equity and Permanence (Paiep, in Spanish) of Universidad de Santiago. This presentation was given by Rafael Miranda, Coordinator of the Subprogram “Developing Your Talents” (“Desarrollando Tus Talentos”).
 
Also, Beatriz Painepán, a professional of the University’s Health Promotion Department gave the presentation “Academic Integration of Engineering First-Year Students with the support of a course on study methods.”
 
The Vice-President of Student Support Services, Manuel Arrieta, expressed his satisfaction before the University’s presentations given at the Latin-American Conference and he stressed the significant role of Universidad de Santiago in promoting students’ permanence.
 
“Our representatives had an excellent participation in the meeting and they were able to catch the interest of other institutions’ representatives,” he said.
 
“In comparison with other higher education institutions, we were able to see that our University is very well positioned regarding matters like permanence promotion. Now, the challenge that we face is to put these initiatives together under a criterion of systematic team work,” he added.
 
According to Manuel Arrieta, it is also worth to mention the fact that Universidad de Santiago is the only institution that this year, in the context of the International Conference, conducted a survey of 375 former students who dropped out their studies for different reasons, in order to find what these reasons were and create then mechanisms to prevent this situation.
 
Teaching Actions to Promote Students’ Permanence
 
Alicia Pérez, Teaching Quality and Management Coordinator of the Teaching Innovation Unit (UNIE, in Spanish), participated in the meeting in Mexico and shared her reflection “on university teachers’ practices as mechanisms to reduce students’ dropout rates.”
 
She said that her presentation caught the audience’s attention “because none of the other presentations addressed the students’ dropout from the teaching- practice point of view.”
 
Most of the speakers approached students’ drop out from the point of view of leveling or tutorial courses; however, if we consider that students’ dropout has multiple causes, we see teaching practice as one of them,” she added.
 
“If teachers are not able to deal with a varied student audience using motivating strategies to achieve a participative learning, students’ dropout will continue,” Alicia Pérez concluded.
 
Alfa-GUIA Project
 
The 3rd Latin-American Conference on Higher Education Withdrawal is an international activity organized by the Alfa-GUIA (Integral University Management of Dropout) project, co-funded by the European Union, which gathers together higher education institutions from 16 countries (12 from Latin-America and 4 from Europe), among which Universidad de Talca and Universidad de Santiago are the Chilean representatives.
 
“Our University has promoted this initiative from the beginning (2011), and due to the fact that the project concludes next year and there is still much work to do, we would like to continue with it, although this time we will not be co-funded by the European Union,” Vice-President Arrieta said.
 
The 4th Conference has been scheduled for next year in Medellín, Colombia. Meanwhile, the work published on the program web page http://www.alfaguia.org will be continued.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• With a marathon reading of Don Quixote, a masterpiece in the canon of world literature, Universidad the Santiago will take part in the World Book and Copyright day celebration. On this date, the death of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of this brilliant creation, is commemorated every year.

• On April 23^rd at noon, and for the third consecutive year, a 24-hour collective reading of this notable piece will begin. Many renowned public figures, like writers Jorge Edwards and Antonio Skármeta, will participate in this cultural activity that will be broadcasted on U. de Santiago radio station (94.5 FM and 1240 AM and www.radiousach.cl).

• Gabriela Martínez, director of the Department of Communications of the University, invited all the University community to join this homage activity, because she thinks that nobody should be left out of this real “cultural crusade.”

Today, on the World Book and Copyright day, the marathon reading of Don Quixote will be started at the Centro Cultural de España-CCE (Spain Cultural Centre). For the third consecutive year, this cultural activity will pay homage to Cervantes’ masterpiece and promote reading in our country.

Starting at noon and for 24 hours, different cultural, artistic and social personalities, together with people of different ages, interests, professions, groups and activities, will meet at a real “cultural crusade” organized by the CCE and Universidad de Santiago.

To open the activity, the masterpiece will be read aloud by Jorge Edwards, writer and recipient of the Cervantes Award, 1999; Carlos Robles, the Ambassador of Spain in Chile; Luis Larraín, President of Fundación Iguales; Alejandra Wood, Director of GAM cultural centre, and Juan Manuel Zolezzi, President of Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

The actresses Carolina Paulsen, Javiera Acevedo and Carmen Barros and the national Deputy Director of Culture, Lilia Concha, were also invited to read during the activity that will be closed on Friday 24^th at noon (at completing 24 hours of this marathon reading) by Antonio Skármeta, recipient of the National Award for Literature and by Carla Guelfenbein, recipient of the Alfaguara Award, 2015.

All the details on this cultural crusade will be live broadcasted from the CCE by Radio U. de Santiago (94.5 FM and 1240 AM and www.radiousach.cl). During these two days, the radio station programming will be focused on the World Book Day and the reading of Don Quixote, the most important piece of Spanish literature and one of the masterpieces of world literature.

“Nobody should be left out”

The reading of this literature classic for a non-stop 24-hour period is not an easy challenge. Therefore, the organizing committee issued a call to everyone interested in taking part of this cultural event to come on the 23^rd and 24^th to the CCE. This Centre is located on Avenida Providencia #927, Salvador Metro Station.

On this point, Gabriela Martínez, director of the Department of Communications and the Radio Station of Universidad de Santiago, said that nobody should be left out of this activity.

With regards to the radio broadcasting, Director Martínez said: “The most difficult thing is to motivate night owls to come to the CCE to participate in this cultural celebration, so we will have attractive spaces available where well- known and less- known people will be moving around.” 

“The idea is that people and the audience feel as protagonists and think that Radio U. de Santiago is “their” radio station. This year, more Chileans abroad and people in different regions and places far from Santiago will be contacted,” she said.

For further information on the Don Quixote Marathon Reading, go to the web page http://www.quijote24h.cl.

Translated by Marcela Contreras