• The conference organized by the Chilean Senate’s commission Desafíos del Futuro is the most important instance for science promotion in the southern hemisphere. During its opening ceremony, President Michelle Bachelet announced a bill to create the Ministry of Science and Technology

Between January 09^th and 14^th, the 6^th version of the Congress of the Future was held in Santiago. The activity is organized by the Chilean Senate’s commission Desafíos del Futuro (Challenges of the Future) and every year it gathers renowned scientists, researchers and humanists from different countries to study and discuss on the problems and challenges that society will have to face in the future.

The conference was held in partnership with the Chilean Academy of Sciences, the Chilean Government, universities and scientific and academic institutions of the country, in a context of collaboration in which sciences get closer to people and connected to daily life. The opening ceremony was held at the Salón de Honor in the National Congress building, in Santiago.

New Ministry of Science and Technology

In the opening ceremony, President Michelle Bachelet announced that the Government would send to the Congress the bill to create the Ministry of Science and Technology.

President Bachelet referred to the need of creating partnerships to strengthen the dialogues that seek to open up to people’s interests and concerns. “The future is a space of possibilities for the life of all of us. The future will be built by common will and action,” she said.

In his presentation during the ceremony, Dr. Juan Manuel Zolezzi, President of Universidad de Santiago de Chile highlighted the University’s interest in science and technology. “The joint efforts of the State and its universities are essential to have these renowned researchers here, who can contribute with their ideas of what the future will bring us in the field of science and technology,” he said.

He added that the Congress of the future has consolidated its position,” as it has become more important every day, with more people involved and more people interested to participate; therefore, we expect to have soon a conference at a Latin American level.”

For his part, Juan Carlos Espinoza Ramírez, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering of Universidad de Santiago, besides saying that this conference is the most important scientific event in Chile, said that it is very important for our university to be a protagonist in activities of this type.

The Congress of the Future concluded on January 14th and it included activities both in Santiago and in ten different regions of the country.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The newly remodeled 700-square-meter facilities located in Estación Central, Santiago, was opened with the presence of the President of Universidad de Santiago, Dr Juan Manuel Zolezzi, and the authorities of the Faculty of Medical Sciences.

Six years ago, the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Universidad de Santiago de Chile opened a Center of Diagnostic and Physical Therapy in the commune of Estación Central, Santiago, to contribute to the training of the students at its different programs.

In order to meet the needs in the field of health, the building has been renovated and transformed in the Simulation and Clinical Procedures Teaching Center, which was opened last week.

The center will directly benefit students at the programs of Medicine, Nursing, Obstetrics, Occupational Therapy and Kinesiology and also students at the Bachelor’s Program in Physical Activity Sciences, as it includes a therapeutic gym for rehabilitation practices.

The 700-square-meter building includes two clinical simulation rooms, where students can work with computerized fantoms, and procedure rooms, where students (also using fantoms) can practice venous punctures, intramuscular injections, minor surgeries and wound care.

New health care model

“This innovative technology will be available for students who will put in practice our educational model while they train to be health care professionals,” President Zolezzi says.

He explains that clinical simulation is part of the current educational models, as it considers the student as the center of the teaching-learning process. Training students to solve clinical cases is a problem- based learning pedagogy, a widespread approach nowadays.

“For the Faculty of Medical Sciences- he says- it is a priority to make students face pathologies, health problems, unusual situations, and complex patients difficult to manage, as well as to change from a hospital-based health care model to a family-based model with a community approach.”

For his part, Dr Humberto Guajardo Sainz, the dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, said that opening this center is a dream come true. “A few years ago we allowed ourselves to dream that we could have the best faculty of the country. We took up the challenge and we have been progressing since then. Today our schools are renowned and highly demanded by students, what is essential to continue growing,” he says. 

Dr Ricardo Peña González, director of this Simulation and Clinical Procedures Teaching Center, highlighted the opportunity that future health care professionals leave the university with the best training possible. “Updating this center and transforming it into a simulation-based center is a big contribution, considering the current lack of clinical campus for students,” he says. 

The center is located on General Amengual #185, Estación Central, and it will start operating in September this year.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The contest organized by the Ministry of Energy seeks to generate efficient solutions for households and neighborhoods and improve the access and use of renewable energies in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Dr Juan Manuel Zolezzi, President of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, will be part of the contest jury.

The “Impacta Energía” contest, organized by the Chilean Ministry of Energy and supported by the Laboratorio de Gobierno, seeks to generate innovations in the field of energy by attracting and encouraging talented entrepreneurs and innovators, and inviting them to get involved in the public challenges of the country with ideas, technologies, products or services.

“Impacta Energía” is an open contest for public innovation that seeks to find efficient energy solutions for households and neighborhoods and improve the access and use of renewable energies in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to enhance their productivity.

The call includes a Bootcamp stage or accelerated incubation process, where the selected teams will have the possibility of co-creating, improving and modifying their projects with the mentoring of representatives of the Government and the support of real users.

The four winners- who will be announced in November this year- will receive 75 million pesos each for piloting their ideas. They will have six months to implement their projects and will have the support of the Ministry of Energy in order that their ideas can become public policies.

Applications can be submitted in the link www.impactaenergia.cl, until August 23^rd. Both Chilean and foreign applicants can participate, as well as small, medium and large-sized companies from Chile or abroad.

Partnership between universities and companies

As one of the 16 members of the jury that will select the winning projects, Dr Juan Manuel Zolezzi, President of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, highlighted that innovation is an essential matter in this public and state university. 

He invited “students and young people in general to face these problems and propose ideas to progress in this challenge.”

For his part, Máximo Pacheco, Minister of Energy, said that he was proud to have President Zolezzi in the jury and also of the relation with Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

Asimismo, destacó la relación entre la academia, el Estado, la sociedad civil y el mundo empresarial para trabajar en conjunto y enfrentar los desafíos en el ámbito de la energía. “Tenemos la convicción de que la energía no es solamente algo estratégico, sino que es a partir de ella que se construyen las civilizaciones”, expresó el ministro.

He also stressed the importance of the relation among the State, universities, civil society and business world as partners to face energy challenges. “We are certain that energy is not only a strategic issue: it is the base on which civilizations are built,” the Minister said.

“Companies need to work in partnership with universities like Universidad de Santiago de Chile,” he concluded, insisting on the importance of committing to innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• During the ceremony, President Dr Juan Manuel Zolezzi invited the university community to be part of the debate over the Higher Education Reform Bill.

On July 06^th, Universidad de Santiago de Chile celebrated its 167^th anniversary in a ceremony held at the Aula Magna. The ceremony was attended by authorities, academics, administrative staff and students.

In his speech during the ceremony, President Juan Manuel Zolezzi invited the university community to be part of the debate over the Higher Education Reform Bill.

“This is a historic time. We have achieved major progress, but we still have big challenges to face. One of them is, undoubtedly, the Higher Education Reform Bill that has just been introduced in the Congress,” he said.

Dr Zolezzi expressed his concerns about the future of this reform. “Now that we have examined the Educational Reform Draft, we cannot feel satisfied with or committed to it. I am concerned about this,” he said.

According to President Zolezzi, the bill, as it is now, “confirms a market model funded by the State. It does not strengthen public education. It does not take care of State universities. On the contrary, more resources are allocated to private universities, professional institutes and technical training centers.”

Awards

After President’s Zolezzi speech, members of the university community were awarded President Manuel Bulnes medals for their 10, 20, 30 or 40 years of service at this institution. It is important to mention that Professor Fernando Henríquez Barrientos, at the Department of Mining Engineering, was awarded the gold medal for his 50 years of service.

Besides, the best student of each faculty and school of the university received an award in recognition of his/her high academic achievements, and eight academics were made full professors.

To close he ceremony, the Orchestra of the University performed for the audience, under the direction of master Nicolas Rauss.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The highest authority of Universidad de Santiago de Chile will lead for the following term the Montevideo Group Association of Universities, a network formed by 31 public institutions in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Dr Juan Manuel Zolezzi Cid, President of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, is the unanimously elected new president of the Montevideo Group Association of Universities for the May 2016-May 2017 term.

The handover ceremony was held at Universidad de Santiago, with the attendance of diplomatic guests, higher education authorities and representatives of the Council of Rectors of this entity.

Dr Eduardo Rivero, President of Universidad San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca of Bolivia, was unanimously elected vice-president.

This year, this association of state, public, autonomous and self-governing institutions will celebrate 25 years of its foundation. 

New challenges

“We need to strengthen higher education with regard to teaching, scientific research, technological innovation, and outreach and engagement, involving universities, research centers, productive sectors, governments and society all together,” Dr Zolezzi said. He also referred to the need for “establishing a policy for relations with other networks.”

Regarding the national context, Dr Zolezzi said: “As state and public universities, we have made efforts so that the country can declare again education as a social right and not as a consumer good. Higher education cannot be determined by the supply and demand criteria that govern the market’s logic.” 

A new state and public development hub

Having in mind the challenges faced by the state and public universities of the region and reaffirming their commitment, with a special emphasis upon strengthening the Latin American and Caribbean Higher Education Space, the university presidents of AUGM confirmed a new step to favor inclusion, equity, social cohesion and cultural diversity: the new Escuela Internacional de Postgrados (International School for Graduate Studies).

The Escuela Internacional de Postgrados will be located in Valparaíso, Chile, in a heritage building recently acquired by the AUGM. In its first stage, the school will be focused on promoting education and culture.

Strengthening student and teacher exchange

According to Dr Eduardo Rivero, president of Universidad San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca of Bolivia and current AUGM’s Vicepresident, “it is important to strengthen student and teacher exchange, but not only at an undergraduate level. The Escuela Internacional de Postgrados will allow us to include more teachers and in turn, respond to the needs of our countries.”

“Being part of the Montevideo Group is something important. It is one of the most recognized networks worldwide and it could include other universities. It is important that institutions grow, buy it is even more significant the impact they may have on society,” he said.

It will be a center to promote development, research and innovation that will allow increasing student and teacher exchange among the 30 state universities that are part of this network.

In the past 13 years, the AUGM has enabled the exchange of 5,000 students. Besides its 26 research groups distributed in Academic Committees and Think Tanks that involve different areas of scientific knowledge, the AUGM organizes the Jornadas de Jóvenes Investigadores (Young Researchers Conference) that have gathered 500 students in the past 5 years.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Richard Yelland, Head of the Policy Advice and Implementation Division in the Directorate for Education and Skills at the OECD, met with different members of Universidad de Santiago’s community, authorities and President Juan Manuel Zolezzi Cid.

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Richard Yelland, Head of the Policy Advice and Implementation Division in the Directorate for Education and Skills at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), met with different members of Universidad de Santiago’s community, authorities and President Juan Manuel Zolezzi Cid.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss different matters in the context of the study “Reviews of National Policies for Education” that seeks to identify changes in the Chilean education system since 2004. The study was requested by the Chilean Ministry of Education (Mineduc, in Spanish).

“I am glad that he came to Universidad de Santiago de Chile, so that he was able to learn about the reality in the past few years, about what is happening now and what we expect to happen in the future,” President Zolezzi said.

For his part, Richard Yelland said that Universidad de Santiago “is a university with a historical commitment to the country, something that you can see in its students, professors, the President and his team. And it is good to see that. What I have seen here (at the university) has contributed to complement the information gathered at the Ministry of Education, the Congress and other institutions.”

Changes in public policies

After the meeting, President Zolezzi said that, on several occasions, university authorities are ignored and he regretted that every time the government or the ministers change, public policies change too.

“Priorities are defined depending on each government. We have tried to define them, but there are not guidelines at a national level. As this is a State university, the State should be the one to define the problems that we need to solve, but we have never received such information,” President Zolezzi said.

The country requires a vision

Richard Yelland expressed his agreement on these ideas and he said: “Before strengthening the State higher education system, the country needs to have a vision, a strategy for higher education and innovation and determine how this will contribute to the development of the Chilean society and economy.”

He insisted on the need to develop country guidelines first, and then to determine the role of private and State universities. “This means to make long-term decisions, what is difficult for there are ideological divisions; but there are people who are willing to do it. So it is important to try to get out of such a politicized education,” he said.

He finally said that education changes slowly and that it involves different parties, and that legislating is only a part of the process.

Richard Yelland gathered together with professors and students at Universidad de Santiago in order to learn their points of view. He also met with professor Saúl Contreras, Head of the Department of Education of the university.

The study “Reviews of National Policies for Education” seeks to identify the main changes in the Chilean education system between 2004 and 2014 and to describe its current state. 

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Dr Juan Manuel Zolezzi, in his traditional statement to the University Community, asked everyone to give support to the new 3,900 students that entered Universidad de Santiago this year. Our institution has a 166-year history in training professionals and contributing to the development of the country and the world.

Dr Zolezzi stressed that the beginning of this academic year has a very special meaning, because a large number of our new students have benefited from tuition-free higher education.

He said that this goal had been yearned for years and has been achieved after “a long and hard road travelled”. 

He also mentioned the importance of the Chilean education reform as a milestone for the country.

The statement

Besides greeting the university community at the beginning of this academic year, he invited the authorities, academics, professionals and administrative staff “to make the new 3,900 students feel welcomed in these classrooms for they entrusted their professional and personal development to us. With big efforts, they have entered higher education and they have chosen our university for its tradition, quality and prestige. Our mission is to show them that they made the right decision.”

“This academic year has a special meaning to me and to everyone in this institution, as a significant number of these students have benefited from tuition-free education. It is the beginning of a goal that had been yearned for years and has been achieved after a long and hard hard road travelled,” he said. 

He asked senior students to support new students by helping them and answering to their questions, so that this experience turns a happy chapter of their life.

“Undoubtedly, this will be a fundamental year for the education reform. We expect it to be ready and implemented this year and we hope it becomes a real tool that contributes to people’s dignity. It should provide free and quality education for all talented youngsters as a right guaranteed by the Chilean State,” he concluded.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• resident Juan Manuel Zolezzi, the highest authority of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, made official the agreements with two of the most renowned higher education centers in Europe and Latin America. This will allow the exchange of experiences, joint research and student and academic exchange. 
• These cultural, academic and scientific collaboration agreements add up to previous agreements that President Zolezzi has signed with other universities in different continents. This confirms the important position of Universidad de Santiago in the international context, showing the strength of its work as a state and public university.
• On this occasion, President Zolezzi was accompanied by academic authorities from different faculties, like Administration and Economics, Engineering, Chemistry and Biology and the Technological Faculty.

On July 27^th, Dr. Juan Manuel Zolezzi, President of Universidad de Santiago- accompanied by authorities from the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology- and Dr Carlos Alvarado Cerezo, President of Universidad de San carlos de Guatemala (USAC), signed a cultural, academic and scientific collaboration agreement, which main goal is to strengthen the relation between the two institutions, in accordance with the project of state, inclusive and pluralistic education that they both share.

A week before, on July 20^th, Dr Zolezzi signed a cooperation agreement with the University of London, confirming the strong conviction of President Zolezzi that building links with worldwide renowned institutions is a must.

Several university authorities attended the meeting, like Jorge Friedmann, Dean of the Faculty of Administration and Economics (FAE); Orlando Balboa, Head of the Department of Economics; Aurelio Butelmann, Head of the Department of Administration, and Arturo Cerda, Head of the Department of Accounting and Auditing, among others.

The agreement

Universidad de Santiago and Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala signed a joint cooperation framework agreement in order to share experiences, methodologies and initiatives in the areas of teaching, research and cultural development. In this context, joint activities in these areas are expected to significantly contribute to both institutions.

Local authorities recognized the importance of the agreement. According to the Guatemalan government, this initiative “Will further strengthen the already stable friendship and cooperation links between Guatemala and Chile. It marks a new starting point, with different plans and programs for academic cooperation that will be very useful to students and, particularly, to teachers who seek to improve the development of their cognitive skills to better respond to the new demands of the Guatemalan society.”

Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala

Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala is the oldest and the most traditional university in that country. It is a unique public institution at the forefront of the development of education and cultural policies.

Its guidelines are common to the ones of Universidad de Santiago, as “It includes a ‘democratic culture’ with a multicultural and intercultural view, related and committed to the environmental, humanist, social and scientific development, with an effective, dynamic and updated management system and with optimally used resources to reach its goals and objectives. It trains professionals with ethical values and academic excellence.”

In search of excellence

The agreement signed by President Zolezzi in Guatemala City is part of the goal set by the university authorities in order to consolidate the institutional growth at a national and international level. The idea is to search for academic initiatives that enrich students’ training and promote additional values which are important in the labor world, such as innovation, adaptability and team work.

This initiative is only one of the significant steps taken in this regard by our Corporation lately. In June, Dr Juan Manuel Zolezzi visited several community colleges in California, USA; he signed a memorandum of agreement with Luis Lorvão, Portugal Ambassador to Chile, for the creation of the Portuguese Language Center in the Faculty of Humanities of Universidad de Santiago, and he signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement with Universidad Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, among other activities.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The delegation, led by the Head of the Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education, Francisco Martínez Concha, sought to learn from experiences in situ to implement and operate the 15 state Technical Training Centres that the Government is promoting in the context of the Education Reform.
• The agenda included visits to Santa Monica College, Los Angeles Trade- Technical College and Berkeley City College, among others, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, USA.
• According to President Zolezzi, learning about the experiences of these centres has been very interesting, especially because Universidad de Santiago will have the responsibility of implementing one of these state centres.

In order to collect information and experiences regarding the operation of some of the most renowned technical education institutions in USA, a delegation led by the Head of the Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education, Francisco Martínez Concha, and formed by the President of Universidad de Santiago, Juan Manuel Zolezzi Cid, among others, visited a series of community colleges in California, USA, last week.

The program was directly managed by the Department of State of USA to support the Government of Chile in its initiative of implementing 15 technical training centres (CFT, in Spanish) associated to state universities- Universidad de Santiago de Chile will be responsible for one of them- in each region of our country. The program offered a wide and balanced variety of approaches to how this matter is included as a public policy in USA.

The Chilean delegation was also formed by Juan Oyarzo, President of Universidad de Magallanes; Álvaro Rojas, President of Universidad de Talca; and Marcela Arellano, Executive Secretary of the Vocational-Technical Division of the Ministry of Education. Last week, they visited Los Angeles Trade-Technical College; Santa Monica College; West Los Angeles College; Skyline College; Berkeley City College and the College of San Mateo, among other institutions in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California.

According to President Zolezzi, the experience was very valuable. “They invited us both to contribute from the situation in Chile and to learn about these “two-year colleges”, as they say, that area very similar to the idea of CFTs that the Chilean State will create. From this point of view, this is very relevant to what we are doing as University,” he said in a telephone interview from San Francisco, California.

The value of vocational-technical education

President Zolezzi said that, from his point of view, it was very interesting to learn of the experiences in areas like inclusion, teacher recruiting and the level of free education they have there.

He also found interesting the fact that “they serve a wide age range, including elderly people who want to pursue a specialization in two years and change their activity, or learn a trade.” “Here (in USA), I see that technical professions are more respected and more valued,” he added.

He highlighted that during the first part of the busy schedule that included the visit to almost 10 centres in 5 days, he saw community colleges that specialize in the transition of students to university programs, where they study two more years and get a first degree. Other centres are more focused on the working world

The Chilean delegation examined professional standards and qualifications, including skills certification and approaches that link education to the requirements of the country; best practices; curriculum flexibility; methodologies, and the linkage between the educational sector and the private sector, among other matters.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The President of Universidad de Santiago, Dr. Juan Manuel Zolezzi, together with the South Korean ambassador, Ji-eun Yu, launched the first Korean studies program in Chile, with the purpose of promoting academic reflection and foster research related to that country, which is the third world power, with a population of 50.2 million people and a GDP of 1.305 billion dollars. 
• President Zolezzi said that this initiative “will have an extraordinary impact on the policies of cooperation and development of our universities,” particularly because it aims to strengthen our links with the Republic of Korea, “a country that, for the world and for Universidad de Santiago, embodies a paradigmatic example of productive change, scientific creation, development-based innovation and a real miracle of educational progress.”
• For his part, ambassador Ji-eun Yu described the program as “a very important milestone”, because although “trade relationships between the two countries are very good, we need to make more efforts in cultural and academic fields, to promote understanding between the two nations.”

 
In a solemn ceremony held on December 10th at the Salón de Honor of our University, the first Chilean-Korean Study Program in our country was launched. 

The activity was headed by the President of Universidad de Santiago, Dr. Juan Manuel Zolezzi, who welcomed the ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Ji-eun Yu, the University authorities, and representatives of the Korean community in our country.

The funding for the Chilean-Korean Study Center Program: for cross-country future integration based on deeper understanding in terms of Politics, Economics and Society was awarded to Universidad de Santiago thanks to the participation of César Ross, researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IDEA, in Spanish), in the international contest “Overseas Korean Studies Incubation 2014” that was organized by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea. 

The project was sponsored by the Vice Presidency of Research, Development and Innovation and is led by Dr. Ross, whose research work has been oriented to different development areas of the Asian countries and their contributions. 

During his speech, President Juan Manuel Zolezzi referred to the importance of strengthening links with the South Korean nation, highlighting that it was “as a poor country that was able to become rich” and gain international recognition thanks to its ability to promote scientific and technological development. For this reason, this initiative “will have and an extraordinary impact on the policies of cooperation and development of our universities,” he said.

“With this Korean Studies Program- that will be part of IDEA- we are reinforcing our links with Korea, a country that for the world and for Universidad de Santiago, embodies a paradigmatic example of productive change, scientific creation, development-based innovation and a real miracle of educational progress, with a strong education system that has been key to that development,” President Zolezzi said.

Regarding the goals set by the University, he said he was pleased to “celebrate this partnership that will strengthen the cultural links between both republics”, a tangible step forward to the internationalization of our University, that seeks to go further in the international academic work.

Ji-eun Yu said that “as ambassador, I feel deeply gratified for witnessing the progress of the Korean studies in Chile.” He valued the initiative and described it as a “very important milestone”. Although “trade relationships between the two countries are very good, we need to make more efforts in cultural and academic fields, to promote understanding between the two nations,” he said.

For the diplomat, the cooperation between the two nations offers big opportunities due to their location on the Pacific Rim. The fact of being close “allows many people to have a broader view with regards to my country. Establishing a program like this, a program about Korea in Chile, will contribute to promote a better academic understanding that will bring our countries closer together.”

For his part, Dr. César Ross, director of the Program, said that “the Chilean-Korean Study Center Program will promote mutual understanding between academics, students and politicians of both countries, to think, reflect and study.”

Also, the initiative focus on promoting the academic interest in Korean studies by introducing a historical perspective to the new generation of Chilean students and professors. It has the purpose of studying the North-east Asian security issues from a Korean point of view, too. The idea is to study the effects of a reunification process of the Korean peninsula and the relation between Asia and Latin America, and to promote a better understanding of the successful role played by the Korean government in developing high technology and exports system,” which are key areas for universities focused on Engineering, like ours,” Dr. Ross said.

Translated by Marcela Contreras