IDEASX seeks to support the development of innovative ideas that allow the creation of new ventures through training, initial capital and entrepreneurship support services.

Banco Santander invites you to participate in a new initiative, IDEASX, an award that seeks to train, encourage and enhance university entrepreneurial talent.

IDEASX seeks to support the development of innovative ideas that allow the creation of new ventures through training, initial capital and entrepreneurship support services.

Each applicant team must have a minimum of two members and a maximum of four, it is not necessary that the members of the same team belong to the same university, and they must designate a member who will act as representative and contact with the Bank, to effects of being the responsible interlocutor with Santander.

IDEASX will accompany university entrepreneurs through a pre-incubation, acceleration and monitoring process where they will be distributed up to a total of $70.000.000, an amount that will be distributed in two stages:

• Stage 1. 20 teams (entrepreneurship ideas) will be preselected, each team will receive an amount of up to $1.000.000 in capital.
• Stage 2. A maximum of 10 teams will be selected as winners, who will receive funding of up to $5.000.000 per team for the continuity of their venture in the follow-up stage.

The registration and application process will be carried out online through the site www.santanderx.com.

This new award is part of the Higher Education Support Program (PAES), promoted by Santander Universities with the aim of complementing students' university education and bringing them closer to the realities of the professional field.

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Source: Santander Universities

The solemn graduation ceremony was led by the Rector of the state campus, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, and was attended by authorities, directors, program directors and coordinators, academics and family members of the graduates.

The graduation ceremony for the Postgraduate and Postgraduate programs of the University of La Serena was held in the Aula Magna Ignacio Domeyko, where 74 professionals received their respective degrees.

This year's graduates belong to the Master's in Astronomy programs; Master in Biological Sciences Ecological Mention of Arid Zones; Master in Physical Sciences; Master in Risk Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Occupational Diseases; Master in Leadership, Strategic Management and Communication in Organizations; Master in Leadership, Management and Strategic Communication; Master in Latin American Studies with a mention in Literature, Master in Psychology with a mention in Social Psychology; Master of Science in Food Engineering; Master in Computational Mechanics; Diploma in Environmental Management and Energy Sustainability; Diploma in Tax Management; Diploma in Leadership, Strategic Management and Communication in Organizations; Diploma in Human Rights Education; Diploma in Educational Leadership for School Improvement; Diploma in Cultural Heritage and Identity of the Limarí Valley; Interdisciplinary Diploma in Educational Innovation; Diploma in Computer-Aided Engineering Design and Calculation of Mechanical Structures and Diploma in Technical-Economic Management of Rock Blasting.

The solemn ceremony was led by the Rector of the ULS, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, and was attended by authorities, directors, program directors and coordinators, academics and family members of the graduates.

In his speech, the Vice Chancellor of Research and Postgraduate Studies of the state institution, Dr. Eduardo Notte, congratulated all the professionals who graduated from the different programs “and who together with their families, wives and husbands were able to materialize their improvement and turn these into an opportunity to acquire and generate knowledge around various topics, which will undoubtedly be very relevant for the region, the country and of course for their own professions.”

Dr. Notte added that “it is also a source of pride that various areas of knowledge, exact sciences, technologies and humanities are represented at this graduation. This indicates that the ULS, the most important University in the Coquimbo Region, has an academic community that has the strength in quantity and quality to assume the task of training qualified specialists at the highest level.”

Furthermore, the Vice Chancellor expressed that “to achieve quality postgraduate and postgraduate degrees, it is necessary that institutions must make investments, because it is known that the development of improvements can only occur when scientific research and applied research capabilities exist. The ULS has strongly increased its investment in the area of ​​research and postgraduate studies, hiring new scientists, implementing research laboratories and providing various supports to researchers and academics to develop their projects. This is how we have continued to increase scientific productivity and a significant milestone: ULS has practically all of its Doctorate programs accredited by the National Accreditation Commission, CNA.”

The ceremony included a talk called “Automation and the Future of Work”, given by the Director of Postgraduate and Postgraduate Studies at the University of La Serena, Dr. Cristian Ibáñez, who specified that it is a topic “transversal to all professions.” and where today you (the graduates of the programs) are taking a very important step to face this tremendous challenge that is automation, given that it is seen that in the not too distant future two types of workers will be generated in our society, the one formed by people who have a level of specialization and another with those who do not have it. It is expected that people who have a level of specialization will be able to access the best jobs in the future.”

In his presentation, Dr. Ibáñez provided a series of examples that demonstrate how automation and the use of artificial intelligence are advancing, in addition to addressing whether the work of humanity is at risk, what type of jobs will be most affected by these. and what jobs will be needed in the coming decades, among other reflections.

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The tour was part of the university's commitment to linking with the community and presenting its academic offerings.

Informative talks and delivery of material regarding the academic offering and benefits of the University of La Serena, contemplated the promotional activities that the institution carried out in educational establishments in various communes of the Atacama Region and the Province of Choapa, with the purpose of guiding and providing important details that students must take into account when making the decision to enter the higher education system.

On the occasion, professionals from the Corporate Communications Department met with students from different schools in Copiapó, Vallenar, Illapel, Los Vilos and Salamanca, and were able to establish ties with the counselors and teachers who, in addition, are alumni of the ULS, strengthening thus the link with the only state university in the Coquimbo Region.

The visits were carried out through the coordination of the Promotion area and allowed material to be delivered to the establishments with complete information on the careers, scholarships and benefits that the school provides to regular students.

The students who received the information from the university were able to ask all relevant questions regarding the curricula, study times, infrastructure and university life in general. “It is a university that has prestige and a lot of history, so it gives us support when choosing it,” said a student from the Pedro Troncoso Machuca High School in Vallenar.

The visit was framed in the commitment of the house of studies to the connection with the community and in the interests that the establishments showed in knowing the academic offer of the house of higher studies.

The activity was organized by the project “Comprehensive Support for ULS Students, within the framework of inclusion and universal accessibility (ULS1799)”.

With a Pentagon Room at full capacity, the First National Meeting on Inclusive Teaching Practices and the second version of the regional meeting on this topic “Differences enrich our learning” were held at the University of La Serena, with the aim of promoting the exchange of inclusive educational practices and experiences in kindergartens, schools and high schools in the Coquimbo Region and other parts of the country. The activity was organized by the project “Comprehensive Support for ULS Students, within the framework of inclusion and universal accessibility (ULS1799)”.

At the conference, which was attended by university authorities, professors and special guests, it was noted that the way of addressing the issue of inclusion is diverse, and that although not all educational institutions have specific practices, they do make the effort to have an open door policy, recognizing that there are endless aspects that must be taken into account, from the form of accessibility to the training of staff to work with people with different abilities.

At the meeting, the SENADIS lawyer, Carolina Hernández, spoke, referring to the legal provisions that institutions face and what the process is that they must have when having to declare that they are an inclusive organization.

Today, educational institutions have been included in an agreement, through a declaration as a country, in the United Nations space, to move towards the elimination of poverty and social exclusion, stating that development not only has to do with the accumulation of wealth, but with access to education, participation and democracy.

Teachers from different schools in the Coquimbo Region, nursery educators from the ULS Kindergarten and representatives from establishments in Talca and Alto Hospicio also presented.

The academic and person in charge of the project “Comprehensive Support for Students of the University of La Serena, within the framework of inclusion and universal accessibility”, Dr. Georgina García, emphasized the need to maintain an integrative policy, respecting diversity and different aspects of this, ensuring that if a school ensures the development of the full potential of its students, it favors inclusion, social justice and democracy, in addition to the development of the entire community.

While the Academic Vice-Rector, Dr. Jorge Catalán, valued the holding of this event and indicated that “it is not only important for academics and pedagogy students to know about these experiences, but also for practicing teachers who are also part of our educational community, can learn from their colleagues in a clear example that inclusive education is possible when people come together committed to quality education and fundamental human rights.”

It should be noted that in 2007 the University of La Serena created the Disability Support Program, an instance that originated in the Department of Extracurricular Activities of the DGAE and whose fundamental purpose was to promote inclusive higher education processes for students with disabilities. in order to equalize educational opportunities that would allow us to respond to the academic, social and emotional demands that the professional training process implies.

In this context, since 2017, what is called the project “Comprehensive Support for Students of the University of La Serena, within the framework of inclusion and universal accessibility” began to be launched, which seeks to provide support in infrastructure and in aspects keys in support of the inclusion framework.

The program is currently financed by the MINEDUC State Universities Strengthening Fund and seeks to interact in different areas, whether academic, health, or social. In this last aspect, awareness campaigns have been carried out internally and locally, motivational talks for schoolchildren with disabilities, seminars, conferences, networks and dissemination activities at a regional, national and international level.

The biologist, Dr. Fabián Jaksic, gave a keynote lecture at the University of La Serena as part of the activities of this meeting in which researchers, teachers and students from Chile and Argentina participate.

At the U. of La Serena, the master conference was held by Dr. Fabián Jaksic Andrade, biologist, academic at the Pontificia Universidad Católica and director of the Center for Applied Ecology and Sustainability, who in 2018 was awarded the National Prize for Natural Sciences of Chile for its contribution to the creation of a school of ecology and biodiversity in our country.

The presentation by the biologist specialized in the field of community ecology research was titled: “History, ecology and impacts of the invasion of the European rabbit in southern South America” and was part of the activities of the Second Binational Congress of Scientific Research Chile - Argentina that takes place from November 6 to 9 in La Serena as part of the Integration Committee of Paso Agua Negra and the Commission of Higher Education Institutions.

Dr. Fabián Jaksic pointed out that both countries “share many aspects of environmental ecology, community ecology and, at the same time, similar threats. In this particular case, the fact that binational interactions are made, especially pertinent with regard to the threats that occur with the invasion in Chile and Argentina of beavers, red deer, wild boar, bison, rabbits, the hare, from the Argentine parrot. We have a tremendous exchange on both sides of the Cordillera that we are addressing independently, but to the extent that we realize that colleagues on the other side of the Andes have similar problems, we can manage to confront these situations both in research and in practice. control of exotic species (…). “There are situations in which binational strategies are required to confront these threats to biodiversity.”

After the presentation by Dr. Fabián Jaksic, presentations began on the thematic lines of “Energy, Present and Future” and “Geoscience, Environment and Sustainability”, by representatives of the universities of La Serena, Católica del North and National of San Juan and the Center for Advanced Studies in Arid Zones, CEAZA.

Collaborative work between institutions

During this meeting, the Rector(s) of the host university, Dr. Jorge Catalán, along with stating that the participation of the University of La Serena in this Congress is an example of the institutional commitment to strengthening scientific research, and the generation of knowledge and its dissemination, highlighted the collaboration between institutions of sister nations and “the commitment of our institutions to not only be reproducers of knowledge, but also to be generators of knowledge, but not of any kind of knowledge, of knowledge that has local, national and international relevance and relevance. That is a great challenge for our institutions.”

For her part, the president of the Commission for the Integration of Higher Education Institutions of the Coquimbo Region, Adriana Ledezma, expressed that “the first objective of this Congress is to deepen the collaborative work between the Higher Education institutions of both countries, with the I wish that joint research that favors Chile and Argentina can originate. As for the second objective, it is the possibility of promoting dialogue between researchers from the Coquimbo Region with the Province of San Juan, and without a doubt we have already been experiencing this since the first days of the Congress. In this way we are preparing to face and repair common problems that require solving with a joint scientific-technological response. This is how this academic event becomes a substantial link in the Chilean-Argentine integration process.”

The Binational Congress brings together nearly 200 researchers, academics and undergraduate and graduate students from Chile and Argentina, who participate in a series of master classes, presentations and posters.

Its organization is in charge of the Commission of Higher Education Institutions of the Coquimbo Region, made up of the University of La Serena, Universidad Santo Tomas, Universidad Católica del Norte, Universidad Central, Technological University of Chile INACAP, Universidad Bolivariana, Universidad Pedro of Valdivia, University of Aconcagua, Professional Institute of Chile, Institute of the Central Valley and AIEP Professional Institute, in addition to the National University of San Juan and the Catholic University of Cuyo.

The initiative was born within the actions framed in the Plan for Institutional Improvement of Pedagogies -PMI FIP ULS1501- as a way to promote pedagogical research within the University of La Serena.

One of the objectives of the PMI FIP ULS1501 is to strengthen the academic body that intervenes in the training programs of the eleven pedagogy courses taught by the university, and one of its strategies is associated with the incentive of Applied Pedagogical Research, the that involves all actors in the educational system.

In this context, through the Integrated Management of Pedagogies Unit (UGIP), various workshops have been developed that have addressed the main aspects of Applied Pedagogical Research, in accordance with the main goals of the project. One of the recent actions aims to create a Nucleus that promotes new research in the area of ​​education, mainly in the lines of pedagogy, innovation and didactics.

The proposal is developed within the “Applied Pedagogical Research” subunit of the UGIP, coordinated by Dr. Fabián Araya, and was presented to the Vice-Rector for Research and Postgraduate Studies, Dr. Eduardo Notte, and to academic researchers interested in being part of this initiative. “The Institutional Improvement Project has highlighted the importance of research in the context of pedagogy as a tool for producing and updating knowledge and as a way to diagnose the weaknesses and strengths of teacher training programs. and in this line it is important to generate actions that are sustained over time within the University,” explained Dr. Haylen Perines, in charge of leading this work together with the group of UGIP researchers.

In this way, the team seeks to generate a research core in initial teacher training, which increases scientific knowledge and productivity levels in pedagogies. Furthermore, this purpose is consistent with the current requirements demanded by national accreditation systems.

To date, the team has defined possible lines of research focused on Didactics and learning, Educational innovation, Professional development, and Curriculum development and learning evaluation, topics that are addressed in coherence with the CNA and institutional reality.

“The great work to follow must focus on developing and concretely establishing the lines and sublines of the Nucleus, applying for projects and linking with other universities in other research fields, so that each effort and work contributes to the macro objective of the University , which is strengthening the initial training of teachers,” emphasized Dr. Araya.

Profile of the researcher

On the occasion, librarian Francia Meza, who is part of the Applied Pedagogical Research subunit, conducted a brief training on the creation of a correct researcher profile, specifically on the ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) platform.

“The researcher's profile is a personal account in a certain web environment or database, which allows managing a scientific signature and thus facilitates research activity. There are different platforms where you can create researcher profiles. One of them is ORCID, which is mandatory, since all publication magazines are requiring it and even as part of the curriculum,” explained the professional.

The ORCID profile unifies the work developed by researchers on a single platform, giving the public greater accessibility, location and visibility, which facilitates the dissemination of publications.

For more information about the Nucleus, contact Dr. Haylen Perines at email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Source: Unit for the Integrated Management of Pedagogies (UGIP) | PMI FIP ULS1501 – CM ULS 1755