At the Gabriela Mistral Regional Library, the educational institution, through its inclusion project, held the seminar “Mental Health in Young People: Preventing Depression,” which included the participation of two experts in the area.

Providing information on the mental health of young people within the university context, from a preventive and health promotion perspective, was the main objective of the seminar “Mental Health in Young People: Preventing Depression”, organized by the Inclusion and Disability Project from the University of La Serena (ULS 1799), held on August 21.

The activity took place at the Gabriela Mistral Regional Library and had a large audience, made up of students, teachers, health professionals and professionals from different support and health programs of the University.

The presentations were given by the researcher from the University of Chile, Dr. Álvaro Jiménez and the head of the Mental Health Department of the Coquimbo Health Service, Dr. Sebastián Prieto, who spoke about the care that a young university student should have in the face of prevention in mental health.

“It is important that the audience that is present is made up mainly of young people, since during the activity we deal with a topic that today has been very popular among university students, such as mental health and depression, and it is very positive institutions "like the University of La Serena generates instances of this type," said Dr. Jiménez regarding the importance of being able to generate these spaces for dialogue with young people on topics of great relevance.

The activity ended with a round of questions, where both experts were able to generate a space for reflection around the protective and risk factors that currently influence the mental health of young people.

Written by Tomás Rodríguez, DirCom

The organization's objective is to be an advisory team for everything related to planning, organizing, controlling and evaluating the teaching activity of the University.

In order to strengthen quality assurance and management mechanisms for undergraduate teaching, the first Expanded Teaching Committee was held in the offices of the Teaching Improvement Unit of the University of La Serena.

The event was headed by the Director of Teaching (s), Dr. Pamela Labra and was attended by the Academic Vice-Rector, Dr. Alejandra Torrejón, and the School and Career Directors of the faculties of Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences and Economical.

The collegiate body aims to be an advisory team for everything related to planning, organizing, controlling and evaluating the teaching activity of the University, and will ensure compliance with the teaching function at the University, through a normalizing and coordinating action. of this type of institutional efforts, in addition to providing the procedures and methods required for its administration (Decree 137/1987, Article 13).

The Expanded Teaching Committee will meet monthly to address issues related to the multiple national challenges regarding the new requirements in Higher Education, which merit articulating efforts to satisfy these demands.

Through computer vision techniques applied to video images in real time, scientists from the University of La Serena showed the progress of this innovative initiative in Antofagasta and Valparaíso.  

During the Workshop “Survey of Competencies for the Development of Smart and Sustainable Cities” of the CAP4CITY project of the European Community, the project called “DeepLearning applied to public smart mobility” was presented, developed by Campus Digital together with the Data Science group of the University of La Serena, who presented the main guidelines of this initiative whose one of its final purposes is to reduce vehicle congestion in the Coquimbo Region.

This through the quantification of vehicle flow using advanced computer vision techniques (Deep Learning). The objective is to measure in real time the number of vehicles that travel in the region, their travel time, waiting at traffic lights, among other aspects that will allow the design of new strategies to reduce vehicle congestion and optimize travel times in the Region. from Coquimbo.

During the workshop, which is part of the CAP4CITY project of the Erasmus+ program, which is co-financed by the European Union and worked with different Latin American universities, participants presented different initiatives related to the implementation of smart cities in the country.

The Head of Digital Campus and part of the Data Science ULS group, Humberto Farías, points out that it has been a positive experience since “we were able to present the progress we have made in this project. Here we could see that our initiative is innovative not only at the regional level but also at the national and international level.” Likewise, he adds that "the Congress allowed us to visualize that as a University we can contribute a lot in this area, both in training aspects and in projects, in search of turning the Coquimbo Region into a benchmark in smart city projects in the country."

Dr. Marcelo Jaque, astronomer and part of the Data Science group, explains that this project has an innovative element: “we have been able to bring the experience acquired in tools applied to Astronomy to problems that involve citizens every day. "We will use the same methods that we use for the classification and detection of galaxies for the analysis of vehicular traffic in the Balmaceda axis of the city of La Serena."

This workshop had two versions in Chile, one at the Universidad Católica del Norte in Antofagasta and at the Federico Santa María Technical University in the city of Valparaíso. It has also been carried out in Colombia and soon in Argentina.

The CIMNE is a European research and simulation center that has a network of 31 classrooms internationally, and that allows the channeling of applied research and development needs that arise from academic units and regional industry.

With the aim of developing collaborative work in teaching, research and knowledge transfer in numerical methods in engineering, the ULS Faculty of Engineering was awarded the creation of a CIMNE Classroom. The initiative is carried out through the FIULS 2030 Project, with the aim of creating a Classroom to be part of the International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering (Centre Internacional de Mètodes Numèrics a l'Enginyeria), CIMNE.

The Center is a research organization created in 1987 at the heart of Spain's prestigious Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), as a partnership between the Government of Catalonia and the UPC, in cooperation with UNESCO.

Within the framework of international projection, the CIMNE has established a network of 31 classrooms in association with universities in Spain and Latin American countries, with the University of La Serena being the third university at the national level to make a strategic alliance with the Center . The CIMNE Classroom Network is the means to promote the grouping, integration, development and dissemination of new knowledge and applications of numerical analysis tools from the CIMNE Classrooms.

The Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Ing. Mauricio Godoy, indicated that “on this occasion we are working together, that is, integrating the university, inviting the different faculties and all the departments to participate in the CIMNE Classroom. our Faculty of Engineering. We are sure that this initiative will allow us to achieve great achievements not only for our students and academics, but also to solve needs, supporting the regional industry.”

The Mg. Eng. Paulina González, director of the Applied R&D and Industry Linkage Axis of the FIULS 2030 Project, chaired a meeting with academics and researchers from the Faculty of Engineering to present the FIULS CIMNE Classroom, where they were informed about the main guidelines for the execution of projects and research.

In this sense, Dr. Nelson Moraga, Director of the Doctorate in Energy, Water and Environment, pointed out that “it seems very good and positive to me that the Faculty is participating and collaborating with the best centers in the world with numerical methods, and I think this opportunity to be able to integrate all the departments of the Faculty of Engineering is excellent.”

The Director of the Department of Civil Works Engineering, Dr. Ing. Jaime Campbell, regarding the initiative, stressed that “the main challenge is to position the Faculty Classroom at a national level and also become a reference in the Southern Cone. This is an excellent opportunity for the Faculty, especially because this is one of the most prestigious centers in Europe, and covers different areas of engineering and other disciplines."

The activity was attended by academics from the departments of Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering and Civil Works Engineering, who make up the initial work team of the FIULS CIMNE Classroom, with the aim of supporting and collaborating from different areas in the context of the Classroom.

Written by María José Barraza, FIULS 2030 Project

Among the novelties of the project in the axis of commercialization of Technology and Technology-based Entrepreneurship, is building a Fablab, creating an open innovation platform and strengthening the network of mentors and investors.

Within the framework of the execution of the FIULS 2030 Project, project professionals met with the Productive Development, Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of the Regional Council. At the event, the challenges and advances of the program that seeks to transform engineering were announced, according to the needs of the regional and national industry.

The mission of FIULS 2030 is to transform the Faculty of Engineering of the University of La Serena into a national and international reference in R&D&i&e, with emphasis on mining, energy and sustainability, involving the different actors of society, to contribute to the formation of global human capital.

In relation to FIULS 2030, the president of the Regional Council of Coquimbo, Adriana Peñafiel, pointed out that “for us as a Regional Council, the completion of this project is very important, with the aim that the Faculty of Engineering can become prestige of a national and internationally and that, through them, they can create important networks in the field of entrepreneurship, innovation and technology. Our congratulations to the University of La Serena.”

The Dean of the ULS Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Ing. Mauricio Godoy, indicated that “this project brings with it important changes in engineering, and we have news, among them, is that we are working to have a FabLab available, which is a physical space with adequate tools to enhance and develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem. I greatly appreciate the Regional Council for its commitment and for the great support they are giving us in the development of the project.”

Among the axes of the FIULS 2030 Project, international alliances and mobility stand out, the objective of which is to strengthen relationships with universities, research centers and other foreign organizations.

Written by María José Barraza, FIULS 2030 Project

In celebration of these 3 decades of the terrestrial experiment, the longest in Chile, the award of a collaborative research fund from the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) was announced, whose objective is to study the patterns of growth, flowering and fruiting of the vegetation of the Fray Jorge scrub.

30 years mark the long-term ecological research carried out in the Fray Jorge Forest National Park, a study that began in 1989 thanks to the collaborative work of Dr. Julio Gutiérrez and Dr. Luis Contreras, from the University of La Serena, and Dr. Fabián Jaksic and Dr. Peter Meserve, and which in these 3 decades has allowed us to understand the climatic and ecological factors of the semi-arid scrubland, a diverse ecosystem characterized by a high endemism of species.

During the commemoration ceremony that took place at the Park's Environmental Interpretation Center and brought together researchers, academics, postgraduate students, residents of the sector and representatives of the ULS, CONAF, Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB), CEAZA, among other institutions, highlighted the important scientific work that has been carried out in the last green lung in northern Chile.

The researcher at the University of Idaho and principal investigator of the long-term ecological study of Fray Jorge, Dr. Peter Merserve, along with thanking the trust placed in him and in the researchers from the University of La Serena who accompanied him on this adventure, He expressed: “I never thought that they would spend 30 years studying this place. In 1978, together with a work team, we made a proposal to the National Science Foundation and they approved it, and now that we have completed 30 years of study, I never imagined that we could get there, and if I learned anything, it was the value of collaboration.”

For his part, the Rector of the University of La Serena, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, highlighted the origin of this research that “dates back to the 1980s and the leading role of those who developed it. I am specifically referring to two academics, Dr. Julio Gutiérrez and Dr. Luis Contreras, who took a bet and partnered with other national and world-class academics to execute the project in the long term. Today we can celebrate that this idea has triumphed and that it has more than materialized at the Fray Jorge experimental site.”

Regarding the contributions of the study, the president of the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Dr. Ricardo Rozzi, was emphatic in declaring that there are three dimensions that are of great relevance, since they establish a relationship of different areas, among them: temporal, through the study of natural phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña; the variation of the natural space, with the presence of trees that grow only in the southern part of Chile, as is the case of the cinnamon tree; and the interaction between different actors that this study brings together, since institutions that are aware of the importance of these investigations participate.

In relation to the plant ecology study area, Dr. Julio Gutiérrez (ULS, CEAZA and IEB), pointed out that the main variables that have been studied refer to the "monthly monitoring of the abundance of rodents, herbaceous, shrubby vegetation , seed bank, presence of foxes, raptors, birds and microorganisms, along with climatic variables, such as precipitation and temperature. During these 30 years there has been greater fragmentation of the forest."

future studies 

As indicated by the researchers involved, it is expected to continue developing research around the endless possibilities offered by the Parque Bosque Fray Jorge.

In this sense, the ULS researcher and academic, Dr. Alejandra Troncoso, from the Multidisciplinary Institute of Science and Technology, commented that in June of this year they were awarded a collaboration fund from the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, which is part of a cooperation agreement between Harvard University (Dr. Charles Davis) and Adolfo Ibáñez University (Dr. Karin Maldonado).

“We were invited to participate due to the interest that institutions have about climate change. This collaborative fund seeks to extend our knowledge and document how extreme climates can shape the phenology of plants, that is, from growth to death in a given period of a year,” he explained.

This fund will allow the development of new lines of research, which will undoubtedly strengthen the existing ones, which will address one of the greatest environmental concerns of today, the effect of climate change on biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides, such as pollination. .

ULS and CONAF collaboration agreement

During the ceremony commemorating the 30 years of the long-standing study, a cooperation agreement was signed between the University of La Serena and CONAF, which aims to achieve coordinated management between both entities, implementing actions aimed at developing in joint projects of an academic, scientific and cultural nature for the benefit of both institutions.

 Written by Patricia Castro, DirCom 

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