The theme of the 8th International Urban Design Meeting was related both to the context of the city of Iquique - the desert - and to the possibilities of action of urban design for the construction of better cities.

The academics of the ULS Department of Architecture, Alejandro Orellana and Alma Ponce, participated in the 8th International Urban Design Meeting “Utopias, Deserts, Cities and Experiences: Good Practices for Emerging Cities”, organized by the Academic Network of Urban Design and Arturo Prat University. The event was held in the city of Iquique, between October 17 and 19, and brought together more than 40 researchers and professionals from public institutions, private entities and national and foreign universities.

The Urban Design Meetings have been held since 2011 in various cities across the country, including La Serena, where, in 2014, the event was organized by the Department of Architecture of the University of La Serena. These events, in the form of a congress, include among their activities presentations by researchers, keynote talks and a sample of projects in poster format.

The theme of this year's Meeting was related both to the context of the city of Iquique - the desert - and to the possibilities of action of urban design for the construction of better cities.

In this framework, Professor Ponce presented her presentation entitled “Gradation of religious traditions”, which investigates the cultural hybridizations of religious dances and their links, through color, with the urban spaces of northern Chile.

For his part, Professor Orellana presented his research regarding the metropolization of Greater La Serena through two presentations. The first, titled “New forms of metropolization and opportunities for planning. Gran La Serena Case, Chile”, where he presented the results of his doctoral thesis, with an emphasis on the possibilities of future development that our city has by virtue of its particular metropolitan future. The second, presented in conjunction with the academic from the University of Bío Bío, Dr. Aarón Napadensky, and titled “The landscape in the residential reorganization of the elite cases of Gran La Serena and Gran Concepción, Chile”, in which he delved into the trends contemporary aspects of the residential location of the elites in the urban systems of Greater La Serena and Greater Concepción.

For professors Ponce and Orellana, participation in these events and being active members in the Academic Network of Urban Design have been fundamental to position the Department of Architecture in the national context of urban research, promoting the publication of articles in indexed journals and carrying out linkage activities with other universities, enriching the field of research, as well as in undergraduate teaching of the Architecture degree.

The meeting was broadcast by reuna.cl to bring the conversation to other relevant actors who wanted to be informed and participate.

As part of the activities promoted by the Disability Support Program of the University of La Serena, the II REDEG Norte Conversation for Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion was recently held, organized by the Network for Gender Equity, in collaboration with the ULS (Human Resources Department) and OTIC Proforma, presenting a space to learn about and discuss the methodologies and organizational practices that allow mainstreaming gender equity, diversity and inclusion.

This activity was attended by representatives of various public and private institutions at the regional level, in order to delve into how we are capable of promoting the construction of a better society, through greater respect for people, with greater knowledge and understanding in relation to the phenomena associated with gender equity, labor inclusion and inclusion in education.

In this regard, the Director of Human Resources of the University of La Serena, Dr. Héctor Bugueño, commented: “we have also met in order to seek answers on how we are generating a greater amount of resources to produce sustainable change over time. , in the sense of learning that we are one, we are all people and indeed we must also see how we are capable of reducing these inequality gaps in the most different tasks and in the most different dimensions that we have today, and that there is a ethical issue to assume to produce a change and, in this way, the construction of a friendlier, fairer and more ethical society.”

This meeting was broadcast by reuna.cl to bring the conversation to other relevant actors who wanted to be informed and participate in this great opportunity to delve into the methodologies and organizational practices that allow mainstreaming gender equity, diversity and inclusion, in favor of the economy. local, and with this, also, contribute to the development of the country.

Source: DIVEULS press

The products were presented as part of its Equipment Workshop, which is in charge of the academic Marco Gutiérrez.

In an emotional ceremony, four students from the Design career of the University of La Serena presented games for pedagogical support, specifically mathematics, which were created as part of a collaborative design work between ULS students and the community. education of the Luis Braille School.

In the establishment, both the students, teachers and staff in general were happy and grateful for the collaboration framed in this strategic alliance between the institution and the school, especially for the commitment adopted by each of the four students of the Equipment Workshop 5, subject of the seventh level of the Design career.

For Paz Muñoz, one of the students who presented her design, this activity was quite enriching from different points of view. “Working with the school instead of being alone in the classroom is much more enriching because you get feedback from the children and the teachers. The fact of coming, having the design proposal and getting closer to correcting and testing, is very important since there are things that we overlook, so here it allows one to generate more empathy and put oneself in the user's place. In addition, it provides motivation to finish the project, not necessarily because of a grade, but because they are still waiting for them and one commits as a person to deliver a certain product”, she indicated.  

The same feeling is shared by her classmate, Valentina Rojas, who commented: “personally it allows me to see another type of design that goes beyond my daily life, so with the children here I realize that there really are other needs that can be important to them and that no one is covering them. In other words, doing this type of project, apart from being nice as an experience, also benefits them a lot”.

In this regard, the director of the establishment, María Soledad Hernández, expressed: “this is important and interesting. How the profession of university designer is made available at the service of people with special educational needs. We find it interesting because different areas of work have been taken (…), the positive thing about all this is that it is like a tradition, there is a solid link between the school and the University of La Serena.”

Finally, the academic in charge, Marco Gutiérrez, emphasized that "the beauty of this stage is that the fourth-year Design students have a very direct experience of giving a different, deeper meaning to what they are doing and what they are studying." , like seeing the usefulness that their designs can have in a space like this that is not very familiar to most university students: that of blind or low vision children. And for some of them, it is the first time that they deliver a material that is really going to be used and it is not only to fulfill a requirement for a teacher and put a grade and then the material is left behind”.

Part of this project corresponds to one of the initiatives awarded in the Contest for Linkage Projects with the Environment promoted by the Academic Vice-Rector and DIVEULS.

Source: DIVEULS press

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The University of La Serena has become a scientific pole in the north of Chile and this has generated a massive interest of young scientists in carrying out research at the University. A reflection of this fact is the historic number of applications that were sponsored for the 2019 Postdoctoral Competition.

The National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FONDECYT) is the main source of financing for basic research in Chile. Every year a call is made that seeks to finance young doctors so that they carry out projects with a view to their employment in the academic field or another, through their incorporation into consolidated research groups that will contribute to their scientific development and that, in their time, they will be strengthened by your participation. In this way, this contest seeks to stimulate the productivity and scientific leadership of young researchers.

It should be noted that this contest exclusively finances scientific or technological research initiatives that lead to new knowledge or applications and with a duration of 2 or 3 years, where the responsible researcher must have exclusive dedication to the research work.

“This year, the University of La Serena sponsored 17 applications for the 2019 Postdoctoral contest. If we consider that last year the University sponsored only 4 applications, this year's figure represents a historic milestone for the University and is, without a doubt, a reflection of the level of excellence that scientific research has reached at ULS. In addition, last year the University achieved a 50% award in this contest, so we hope that this year's massive application translates into a considerable percentage of awards”, said the Vice Chancellor for Research and Postgraduate Studies, Dr. Eduardo Notte.

Specifically, the University has four doctoral programs accredited by the National Accreditation Commission CNA: Doctorate in Astronomy, Doctorate in Biological Sciences mentioning Arid Zones, Doctorate in Biology and Applied Ecology and Doctorate in Food and Bioprocess Engineering, in addition to the fifth program, Doctorate in Energy, Water and Environment, which in March 2019 will send the background information to the CNA for accreditation. “For the institution, generating and maintaining these doctoral programs has been a great achievement. Without a doubt, their contribution to the effective strengthening of research groups within the institution is evident,” Notte added.

The application for the contest this year was distributed in the area of ​​Astronomy, where there is the largest number of applicants, eight in total: Food Engineering, Biology and Energy, with two applications for each area; and finally Arts and Letters, Kinesiology and Physics, with one application for each area.

The activity is part of the work that the Senator for the Coquimbo Region seeks to establish with the only state university in the Coquimbo Region to work on matters of astronomy, water, erosion, gender, among others. On the occasion, the Senator congratulated Dr. Avilés on his re-election as Rector of the University of La Serena.

The Senator of the Coquimbo Region, Adriana Muñoz, met with the Rector of the University of La Serena, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, with the aim of outlining their interest so that the ULS can collaborate in the development of a series of initiatives of scientific dissemination in matters of regional development.

In this regard, the Senator raised the need to establish with the University of La Serena an alliance that allows generating different instances of dissemination and work in strategic areas for the region such as, as she said, “astronomic scientific development, research applied to the subject of water resources and erosion, and the development of gender policies.”

For his part, Rector Avilés expressed his satisfaction for the Senator's interest in having the support of the University of La Serena in this work, since, according to what he stated, "it is a recognition of the prestige that the institution has in scientific matters in the areas of regional development”.

Thus, both authorities agreed, in the coming months, to hold a congress that will form part of the field of Links with the Environment.

A young researcher and five students from the careers of Pedagogy in Spanish and Philosophy, Pedagogy in Music Education, Business Engineering, Pedagogy in History and Geography and Architecture, will study a semester at universities in Mexico and Spain.

In an emotional ceremony held in the Andacollo Hall of the Central House, the University of La Serena in conjunction with Santander Universities of Banco Santander awarded six scholarships from the "Becas Iberoamérica Santander 2018" program, aimed at undergraduate students and young professors and researchers.

This scholarship, in its eighth version, will allow students to specialize for a semester at a foreign university, while the researcher will be able to carry out research projects that will benefit the academic excellence of the U. de La Serena.

The ceremony was presided over by the Academic Vice Chancellor of the state campus, Dr. Jorge Catalán, and the Manager of Santander Universities and Institutions, Rodrigo Machuca. In addition, it was attended by university authorities, bank managers, scholarship holders and their families.

On the occasion, the Academic Vice Chancellor, Dr. Jorge Catalán, on behalf of Chancellor Avilés, assured that "this collaboration becomes even more relevant in the current context of Higher Education, where one of the greatest challenges is to train students who have the competencies to live and work in a global society, together with the ability to live together in a world of plural identities.”

For his part, the Manager of Santander Universities and Institutions, Rodrigo Machuca, pointed out that "the main objective of these scholarships is to promote international mobility, and in the case of the University of La Serena we increased by three scholarships so that the students of this institution have even more opportunities to participate and have the opportunity to learn about other cultures.”

Beneficiaries and their challenges

Carlos Aníbal Rodríguez Rodríguez, from the Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Sciences and Technology, is the young researcher with the scholarship. He will travel to the University of Zaragoza, Spain, to pursue his scholarship.

Meanwhile, the scholarship students are Álvaro Ernesto Araya Ahumada, from Pedagogy in Spanish and Philosophy, who will travel to the University of Murcia, Spain; Andrea Alejandra Leyton Rojo, from Commercial Engineering, who will travel to the University of Monterrey, Mexico; Constanza Denisse Maldonado Zamora, from Pedagogy in Musical Education, who will travel to the University of Malaga, Spain; María Fernanda Ossandón Gómez, from Pedagogy in History and Geography, who will travel to the National Autonomous University of Mexico and, finally, María Paulina Godoy Álvarez, from Architecture, who will study for a semester at the University of Malaga, Spain.

On behalf of the scholarship recipients, María Fernanda Ossandón expressed that "winning this scholarship means gaining experience in terms of our professional training and also being able to discover new horizons that will enrich us as a person."

Likewise, María Pualina Godoy, assured that "it is a wonderful opportunity both professionally and to acquire life experiences, it is a dream, it is a very beautiful opportunity and the idea is to return to inspire new colleagues to apply for this scholarship" .

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