The closing ceremony, which took place at the Limarí Campus in the city of Ovalle, was marked by emotion.

34 professionals from different areas received the certification provided by the Water Resources Management Diploma from the University of La Serena, which culminated in an emotional ceremony where academics and special guests also participated.

The closing ceremony, which took place at the Limarí Campus in the city of Ovalle, was marked by emotion, as the students stated that they were very eager to finish a stage that not only means continuing on the path of knowledge, but also knowing first-line the water reality of the Coquimbo Region.

A central axis that stood out in this diploma was that the innovation of transformation processes for good management was addressed. Likewise, he contemplated the evaluation of projects, and issues of legislation and quality.

The program was structured on the basis of 6 modules that accounted for a total of 11 courses, and among them is what is called water operations, where work is done on highly efficient irrigation systems, on water treatment techniques and on water planning, and that the professionals who took the role of students had the opportunity to learn in the field.

“The diploma course met the expectations of the professionals, which was very intense because it has a significant load of hours; however, it was very productive. Furthermore, taking advantage of the students' interest, we socialized our Master's Degree, which will begin in September, realizing that the continuity of studies and improvement is relevant, especially considering that the issue of water resources is so important in our area of ​​action," he noted. the Director of the program and academic of the Faculty of Sciences, Dr. Héctor Reyes Serrano.

The need for good water management has been established in the Regional Development Strategy, in the Strategic Plan to confront Water Scarcity 2015-2025, and the ULS, in its role as a public and regional university, decided to assume the commitment, through of the PROMMRA Laboratory of the Department of Agronomy, to prepare a postgraduate training proposal that was awarded by the Innovation Fund for Competitiveness of the Coquimbo Region, transforming it into what is today called Diploma in Water Resources Management.

Written by Patricia Castro, DirCom

The workshop, which includes 6 sessions, aims to co-design a teaching sequence between teachers in initial training, in-service biology teachers and university academics.

The “Learning community workshop on the Design of a Teaching and Learning Sequence (SEA) with the use of an augmented reality App of Meiosis” was held at the University of La Serena, organized by the Research Laboratory and Technological Innovation for Science Education LIITEC - ULS, and the Research Center (CIE) and the Department of Pedagogical Sciences of the Bernardo O'Higgins University of Santiago

This is the first session of the workshop that considers a total work of 6 sessions, and whose purpose is to co-design a didactic Sequence between teachers in initial training, biology teachers in service and university academics. On this occasion, Professor Eduardo Ravanal Moreno moderated the activity, generating a space for discussion, debate and consensus among the participants in order to propose a relevant design for learning Meiosis with augmented reality.

“Working in learning communities is an opportunity for professional development for all attendees, since the preparation and teaching of biology is problematized dialogically, with the aim of building contextual solutions,” explained Professor Francisco López, academic from the Department of Biology and Executive Director of LIITEC-ULS.

Teachers from the Gabriela Mistral High School, Jorge Alessandri High School and Gabriel Gonzáles Videla High School participated in the workshop, all dependent on the Gabriel González Videla Municipal Corporation of La Serena, along with members of the LIITEC-ULS team.

Dr. Ricardo Oyarzún, researcher at the University of La Serena, associated with the CEAZA Scientific Center and the CRHIAM Fondap Center, has developed studies on groundwater recharge in arid areas. He comments that knowledge of aquifers is important in terms of water resource reserves in semi-arid basins, such as those of the Coquimbo Region, where thousands of inhabitants depend on water and an ecosystem that also survives on that resource.

“It is the same as the bank account, if I have no idea how much is deposited month after month, and I withdraw money, there is the risk of leaving the account at “0.” In the case of groundwater, recharge is the entry, the deposit, in this case of water,” explains the researcher.

He adds that in our country groundwater for human consumption reaches 40% of the total volume consumed. Meanwhile, for rural drinking water it would increase to 76%.

For this work, the scientist uses the isotopic or atom analysis technique, which allows obtaining information on the water resource from different perspectives.

“Isotopes are atoms of the same element, which have different numbers of protons and, therefore, the mass varies, which means that their 'signal' changes in the hydrological cycle. As a tool they help identify the origin of the water. For example, if the recharge is local or the water comes from somewhere else. It also allows us to characterize the age of the water,” he details.

He warns that, like any tool, isotopes have advantages and limitations, and the results are better if they are integrated with other monitoring techniques (e.g. hydrogeochemistry).

Presentation at CONAPHI-Chile

Dr. Oyarzún presented the presentation “Isotopes: potentialities and limitations in the context of the study and characterization of groundwater recharge” in a workshop on the topic of “Aquifer Recharge”, organized by the Hydrological Engineering Program for Water Management. Irrigation and Drainage of CONAPHI-Chile (Chilean Chapter of the UNESCO National Hydrological Program) coordinated by the CNR (National Irrigation Commission).

Work with isotopes has been an important component in various projects carried out by the academic. Among the most recent is the characterization of aquifer recharge in dryland mid-mountain areas (FONDECYT 1150587). Another of his works disseminated isotopic techniques, as support for the management of water resources, financed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Source: CEAZA

During the ascent, the University of La Serena delivered certified glasses to view the solar eclipse to the Cumbres Literarias Mountain Club.

The “Literary Summits” project seeks to keep the legacy of Gabriela Mistral alive through the installation of 10 plaques on hills in the Province of Elqui, which contain excerpts from poems written by the Nobel Prize winner in Literature.

In a new ascent, the team participating in this project supported by Rectoria ULS, installed the third plaque, this time corresponding to Cerro Juan Soldado, 28.3 km away. from the city of La Serena. This plaque contains an excerpt from the poem “The Sea”, which is located at 1.198 meters high.

On the day, the University of La Serena delivered certified glasses to view the eclipse on July 2 to the members of the “Literary Summits” Mountain Club.

The next plate will be installed on July 6 on Cerro Gualliguaica, at 1.416 meters high, while the installation process of these 10 plates will end between the months of December and February 2020 on Cerro Las Tórtolas, 6.160 meters high. height, being the plaque located at the highest altitude in the Province of Elqui.

Written by Tomás Rodríguez, DirCom

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The initiative adds to the more than 50 thousand that has contributed through the program of dissemination and dissemination of scientific knowledge to enjoy the astronomical event of the year.

In order to deliver lenses to be distributed among the community of La Serena and maintain the role of scientific - educational partner of the solar eclipse in the Coquimbo Region, the Rector of the ULS, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, and the President of The Board of Directors of the university, Ernesto Velasco, met with Mayor Roberto Jacob.

These lenses, 55 thousand in total delivered throughout the Coquimbo Region, are certified and have the ISO requirement and have been distributed in the community, through educational actions, such as workshops and talks; In this way, the University of La Serena fulfills its mission and shares scientific knowledge with citizens, contributing to the visual protection of people who observe the eclipse on July 2.

At the meeting, the authorities engaged in a relaxed conversation, in which they agreed to positively value the collaborative alliance between the municipality and the main house of higher education in the region.

The councilor emphasized the idea of ​​being partners when it comes to bringing useful knowledge to citizens and was willing to strengthen the ties of cooperation forged during the process of preparing for the eclipse. “The University of La Serena is the only state university in the region and, therefore, we have many ideas to work on together. Today we are on the topic of the eclipse, the University teaches the Astronomy degree and we have worked together on some aspects; We have joint promotion with logos and today we have strengthened our ties of this alliance, through the delivery of these glasses, which, moreover, reinforce the idea of ​​prevention when looking directly at the sun."

Likewise, Rector Nibaldo Avilés pointed out that “the University and the municipality have promoted a series of activities aimed at the community, reaching more than 4 thousand schoolchildren, training 70 teachers and impacting more than 90 thousand people through educational material. of the eclipse. The alliance with the municipality opened doors for us in schools and public spaces, where girls, boys, young people and adults have been able to receive valuable scientific information, in an entertaining and friendly way. In this way, at ULS we bring science closer to the community.”

Written by Patricia Castro, DirCom

In a new day of functions, more than 150 students from the regional capital could learn about astronomy in an educational way.

The activities carried out by the mobile planetarium (ULS - CONICYT) in different communes of the Coquimbo Region have been evaluated as a complete success, and on this occasion it allowed students from different levels of schools in La Serena to learn a little more about astronomy, in a didactic way.

Fulfilling its role as the scientific - educational partner of the next solar eclipse, the University of La Serena has carried out different activities that seek to bring the knowledge of astronomy to the regional community; Among them is the visit of the mobile planetarium, which allows boys and girls to learn more about the universe.

On a new day of functions, the planetarium was located in the Pentagon Hall of the ULS, a place where more than 150 students from various establishments in the regional capital arrived, accompanied by their teachers.

Dr. Marcelo Jaque, academic from the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the ULS, referred to the importance of the work involved in bringing spaces of this type closer to the community. "It is very important to be able to bring knowledge to the entire city, it is a role that the University must fulfill and what better with tools like the planetarium where we bring and teach about astronomy in a very simple way to the community, especially when a phenomenon is approaching of global importance as is the next solar eclipse.”

Norma Valenzuela, professor at Colegio Japan, considered it very positive that the University creates spaces of this type for the boys and girls of the region. “I think it is good that the University generates these instances, it is good that children can learn from a young age about the work that the University does and that they generate expectations regarding their future.”

The University of La Serena continues to work on sharing knowledge with the community through talks and educational activities in public spaces, focused on the astronomical phenomenon that will soon occur.

Written by Tomás Rodríguez, DirCom