This will be the central theme of the Congress of the Future 2019, the largest scientific dissemination event in Chile, which this year returns to our region on January 18 and where three academics from the University of La Serena will have a leading role.

Within the framework of the Bicentennial of Chile's independence, in 2010 the Chilean Congress proposed to promote a greater connection between our society and the challenges that the XNUMXst century poses, and thus contribute to the democratization of the scope and challenges that this century brings. with him. This is how the Congress of the Future was born - whose organization is chaired by the Commission on Future Challenges, Science, Technology and Innovation of the Senate of the Republic - today the most important scientific dissemination event in the country and one of the most relevant in America. .

This 2019, the event celebrates its eighth version between January 14 and 20, with activities in 10 regional capitals of the country and every day in Santiago. It should be noted that all activities are free, only prior online registration is required, and all talks will be broadcast by streaming.

In the Coquimbo Region, the Congress is organized by the Regional Government of Coquimbo, together with the University of La Serena, the Center for Advanced Studies of Arid Zones (CEAZA) and the Catholic University of the North, in collaboration with the Communal Planning Secretariat. , the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy AURA and the Regional Productive Development Corporation of Coquimbo. This event will take place at the Gabriela Mistral Regional Library and Casa de las Palmeras de La Serena on Friday, January 18, from 08:30 a.m.

This year the event in the Coquimbo Region will have the presence of 4 international and 7 regional guests, and will be divided into three thematic panels: Astronomy, Quality of Life and Health, Conservation and Sustainability of Natural Resources. After the inauguration of the Congress, the Astronomy panel led by the ULS will begin. This will begin with the presentation of Dr. Danielle Wood, from the Media Lab of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who leads a research group called Space Enabled, whose mission is to progress justice and the development of complex systems on our planet through of the use of designs developed thanks to the study of space. The talks below will be given by two astronomers and ULS academics: Dr. José Luis Nilo, with “Take her to the stars for me”, and Dr. Guillermo Damke, with “Astroinformatics: Challenging the Data Deluge”. After the talks, the public will have the opportunity to interact directly with the exhibitors and ask questions and comments.

During the afternoon, the ULS academic, Dr. Pablo Álvarez, Director of the Laboratory for Prospecting, Monitoring and Modeling of Agricultural and Environmental Resources, PROMMRA, will have a leading participation in the Conservation and Sustainability of Natural Resources panel through his talk “ Water resources and quantitative hydrology of the Coquimbo Region.

At a general level, this year the Congress of the Future stands out for an activity that is being carried out for the first time in America, The Nobel Price Dialogue, which will take place on Saturday, January 19 in Santiago and will be broadcast by streaming. This conference, which has already been successfully held in Asia and Europe, will present the 2011, 2012 and 2016 Nobel Prize winners in Physics: Brian Schmidt, Serge Haroche and Michael Kosterlitz, respectively, and the 2011 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine & Physiology, Bruce Beutler. ; along with 15 world thought leaders speaking on “The Future of Learning”.

The Congress of the Future is a mega event of unique character due to the great opportunity it represents to be able to interact directly with scientists of world and national renown and discuss topics of interest to our daily lives in the Coquimbo Region and the rest of the planet.

The ULS community is invited to attend the event en masse or follow it via streaming and support the three academics who represent the University this year. It is also encouraged to have active participation on social networks by tagging the ULS channels (Twitter: @userena, Instagram: u_de_laserena) and actively using the hashtag #CienciaULS. This year the Congress of the Future will have the hashtag @congresofuturo and in the region the hashtag #CFCoquimbo.

The program in the Coquimbo Region is as follows: https://www.congresofuturo.cl/proximos-eventos/cf-regiones-coquimbo-2019

The initiative is aimed at academics who take classes in Pedagogy careers at their different levels and areas of training.

The Integrated Management of Pedagogies Unit (UGIP) invites you to participate in the “Good ICT Innovation Practices at the FIP” contest, which is framed within the Implementation Plan to strengthen teacher training at the University of La Serena, according to the strategic diagnosis and the new policies for Chilean education.

In this way, the objectives of the contest are to promote and systematize the integration of ICT in the initial training of teachers at the school, and to socialize innovative experiences of ICT use among academics from different pedagogical training careers and respective areas.

The dates to apply are until March 15, 2019 and the results will be delivered on the 20th of the same month.

Those interested must apply through the Registration Form available on the website http://pedagogias.userena.cl

Download Contest Rules

Source: Integrated Pedagogy Management Unit (UGIP) – PMI FIP ULS1501 | CM ULS1755

The festival organized by Commercial Engineering students of the university, seeks to resume the work carried out at the Congress of Entrepreneurs and the Business Ideas Fair

The first version of the “Fénix Fest” Innovation and Creativity Festival was held at the Enrique Molina Garmendia Campus of the University of La Serena, an activity that brought together the entire public and where students were able to present their innovation projects to the attendees. In addition, this festival featured the participation of different exhibitors, who gave talks and held workshops open to the community.

This festival was organized by students of the Commercial Engineering major, who, with the support of the University, managed to carry out this event that seeks to show the community various projects prepared by the young people themselves.

The opening ceremony of this activity was attended by the Rector of the University of La Serena, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, the Dean of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Dr. Luperfina Rojas, the General Director of Student Affairs, Mg. Miguel Zuleta, as well as local authorities, academics and students from the courses participating in the event.

The Dean of the FACSE indicated that this is a very important activity and that it has allowed us to resume what was done previously. “The realization of this festival of creativity and innovation is the sum of two emblematic activities of the Commercial Engineering career, the Congress of Entrepreneurs and the Business Ideas Fair, but it is different in that this activity involves the Auditing, Engineering and Commercial and Architecture, generating a positive synergy. With these types of events we seek to effectively link our students and our careers with their environment,” he stated.

For Leonardo Meyer, co-founder of Innovarock and guest speaker at this activity, the commitment shown by the University and its students stands out above other activities of the same line. “I have participated in different activities like this and from what I have been able to observe, organization and commitment to work are very important in this activity. Students present their projects, which they have developed for a year, when in other places they are projects for a semester. Furthermore, the University has almost the entire campus, giving indications of the work they want to do,” he said.

For her part, Vanessa Larenas, general coordinator of the event and student of the Audit degree, referred to the work that went into carrying out this activity and the objectives they seek to achieve. “Being able to coordinate this activity was complicated, due to the mobilization this year, we only had 3 months to organize this event, being a joint work of academics with students and the idea is to be able to maintain the realization of this event over time and transform it in the most important innovation event in La Serena,” he explained.

The activity also included the presentation of regional bands, who closed this first version of the “Fénix Fest”.

The main objective of the External Advisory Council will be to provide feedback to the internal management process of the career, under a consulting role, within the framework of the Institutional Improvement Plan for Initial Teacher Training (PMI FIP ULS1501) and the new Study Plan that is will be implemented starting in 2019.

On the premises of the University of La Serena, the first meeting was held between authorities and directors of the university with the actors of the school system, an occasion on which the External Advisory Council for the ULS Pedagogy courses was officially established.

The Dean of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Dr. Luperfina Rojas, participated on the occasion; the academic coordinator of the PMI, Dr. Sandra Álvarez; the alternate executive director of the PMI, Dr. Fabián Araya; the rector of the Gregorio Cordovez High School, Mario Rojas; the regional coordinator of the “Learning Communities of the Territory of Coquimbo” project, José Miguel Valenzuela; the director of the La Misión school, Tamara Torres; and the counselor of the San Lorenzo school, Helen Alfaro. In addition, the Secretary General, M.Sc. Sergio Zepeda, who acted in the role of Minister of Faith.

“Within the framework of the Institutional Improvement Plan, we wish to form this External Advisory Council, which will fulfill an elementary function of providing feedback and consulting the internal management process. One of the great commitments we have with the accreditation process is that we must be in permanent contact with the actors of the school system and that is the logic of this Council,” explained Dr. Álvarez.

In this way, the members of the Council must provide opinions and suggestions regarding the strengths or weaknesses they detect in the study plans, with the purpose of improving academic programs.

“Our professionals are the ones who later return to the schools to take classes, so for us it is important that feedback and knowing how the improvements that we have made to the study plans are being received, because that will contribute to delivering to the professional greater skills in the face of a globalized world that demands improvement every day. Furthermore, as strategic partners we must work together, just as we will support them with their activities, we hope in the same way that they contribute to us so that the race is the best in the region and the country," emphasized the Dean of the FACSE.

For his part, Dr. Araya contextualized the role that the PMI has had in this process through the Integrated Management Unit of Pedagogies (UGIP). “We have achieved important milestones that are mainly summarized in developing a unified curricular renewal, where the eleven pedagogy careers will have common elements that are reflected in their new study plans and that consider the curricular areas of General Training, Pedagogical Training, Disciplinary Didactics and Practices. In addition, to date we have signed ten collaboration agreements with the different communes of the region, and we have promoted the development of applied pedagogical research projects in connection with the real problems presented by educational establishments. And, as members of this Council, we have to help the key actors in the school system become aware of this change,” said the director.

For this reason, and with the purpose of actively providing feedback to the internal management of the institution, at least two meetings will be held per semester, in which representatives of the school system will present opinions regarding the actions to improve in the study plans.

“I feel that they are meeting the current demands, in terms of how students who graduate from the University will be able to respond to the standards established in the establishments and that are essential for professional pedagogical practices. This result is wonderful, and I am very satisfied with the work carried out by the University, since without a doubt it will be a powerful change at an institutional level,” said director Tamara Torres.

Source: Integrated Pedagogy Management Unit (UGIP) – PMI FIP ULS1501 | CM ULS1755

The successful cycle invites you to know what is being done in frontier astronomy in the Coquimbo Region.

“Clash of Galaxies - Problems in Universal Traffic” is the title of the next talk of the second season of the cycle “AstroSerena - Exploring the cosmos from the Coquimbo Region”, which will be offered by the PhD in Astronomy from the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) and University of Aix Marseille, (France), Sergio Torres.

In this presentation, the Director(s), academic and researcher of the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of La Serena will address how such structures interact, allowing us to learn more about the evolution of the galaxies that we observe today in our Universe, including the future that holds for our own Galaxy.

The activity, which will take place this Friday, January 11, starting at 18:30 p.m. at the Gabriela Mistral Regional Library in La Serena (Juan José Latorre 782), is part of the cycle of free public talks that is organized by the Department . of Physics and Astronomy of the ULS and the Gemini Observatory, with the collaboration of the Gabriela Mistral Regional Library and the financing of the ALMA-CONICYT Project #31180047.

Successful cycle of public talks

The AstroSerena cycle, in all its forms, is an invitation to learn what is being done in frontier astronomy in our region, to experience curiosity about the cosmos, to enjoy the beauty of our skies, to share and preserve a heritage of all humanity.

AstroSerena was born in 2017 with the perspective of offering free talks on Astronomy and related Sciences, given by experts in the field. “There were obviously no lack of astronomical dissemination initiatives in the city's cultural panorama; What we did feel was missing was a season of talks with continuous programming throughout the year,” explained the researcher at the University of La Serena, Dr. Rodolfo Angeloni, who added that the cycle has reached its second season in optimal way, “with a growing number of people who attend our talks monthly in the auditorium of the Regional Library. On average, each event is attended by 100 people, and our website has already been visited by more than 3.”

In addition, Dr. Angeloni, from the ULS Multidisciplinary Research Institute in Science and Technology, highlighted the award of the ALMA-CONICYT project, “whose main objective is the purchase of astronomical equipment: telescopes, accessories for visual observations, etc., in order to expand our activities even beyond the traditional format of public talks. Our next effort in linking with the environment, as the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is now to also be able to offer monthly 'star parties', that is, night sky observation activities open to the public. "We are working to define some important logistical details, but the idea is to leave, hopefully in March of this year, so that we can all be prepared for that great event that is the total solar eclipse on July 2."

The instances are framed within the “Practical and Assistantship” subject of the degree.

Different practical experiences were carried out by the students of the Ped degree. in Chemistry and Cs. Natural to the institution, with the purpose of replicating exercises typical of the profession in different educational establishments. In this context, the scientific fairs organized by the Liceo Gabriela Mistral, Colegio Americano and Colegio Calasanz were visited, and Saint John's School was also received at the University premises.

“The students of this subject carry out the practical experience, which is carried out with some chemical reagents from laboratory work and others with chemical products from the home environment, considering all the relevant safety regulations. In the activities they develop both their procedural skills as well as their conceptual and attitudinal skills, since they begin their work as teachers from the initial training,” explained the program coordinator, Dr. Patricia Pizarro.

Furthermore, the participation of sixth-level students, who are taking the subject “Practical and Assistantship”, has also included first-year students and those who are taking the subject of Didactics.

The experience was described by the students as very valuable for their training, since it allowed them to strengthen the knowledge acquired in the classroom in a practical way. “These spaces seem like a very good opportunity to me, because many colleagues from other careers do not have these practical instances while they are studying, so this brings us closer to the world where we are going to have to work and also allows us to see if we really have the vocation to be teachers,” said student Carolina Calderón.

While the student Javiera Íter, who is in the last year of her degree, pointed out that “as a future teacher, these experiences help me in training, as they allow us to expand, lose fear and see my mistakes, which we have had to be resolved on site. Therefore, these instances help us see if we are good with our knowledge and it is the opportunity we have to see what didactic or teaching techniques we can use."

On the other hand, the graduate of the course, Paulina Zúñiga, valued the possibility that the students could learn about the University's facilities and carry out practical exercises in the Chemistry laboratories themselves. “The practical part is super important, one tends to bombard students with theory all year long. The fact that they see what happens, the reactions themselves, is doubly significant, since there is a double knowledge when carrying out demonstrative experiences and it allows them to assimilate a lot of the theory and understand the reason for certain reactions or situations," stated the teacher at Saint John's School, who accompanied the third-year students of the Chemistry elective of said establishment.

The coordinator hopes to continue participating in this type of activities during the current year, since in addition to promoting the initial training of future teachers, it has allowed them to connect with the graduates of the program, who have been able to share their vision regarding their own experiences faced in the world of work.

Source: Integrated Pedagogy Management Unit (UGIP) – PMI FIP ULS1501 | CM ULS1755