The III National Entrepreneurial Education Colloquium was sponsored by the Ignacio Domeyko Engineering Consortium (CIID), made up of the Engineering faculties of the University of La Serena and the University of Atacama (UDA), and is part of the “ New Engineering for 2030 - Regions” by Corfo.

Promoting the exchange of good practices between academics from higher education institutions dedicated to the training of entrepreneurs was the objective of the III National Colloquium on Entrepreneurial Education, an event that brought together researchers, academics and professionals at the University of La Serena for three days. linked to the theme of entrepreneurship and innovation from the north and south of the country, who shared experiences and new knowledge on the subject through the various exhibitions presented during said meeting.

Organized by the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences of the ULS, in conjunction with the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Network in Latin America (EmprendeSUR), which has among its members the most prominent entrepreneurship and innovation professionals of the continent, the Colloquium allowed academics from the various participating institutions to reinforce their commitment to entrepreneurial training, something widely valued by university authorities.

In this sense, the Rector of the University of La Serena, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, highlighted the importance of the ULS joining the task of the EmprendeSUR Network of promoting the creation of innovative, fast-growing companies, developing entrepreneurship, strengthening entrepreneurial education and design entrepreneurial cities that will be the centers of innovation and entrepreneurship in the future, assuming through the development of this third Colloquium a concrete commitment to the development of entrepreneurial education.

“The University of La Serena conceives entrepreneurship as a valuable option for the professional development of its students and professionals, which is why we are convinced that the student and graduate of the institution must have the skills demanded by their professional field, but also the called 'soft skills', which are summarized in having an entrepreneurial seal and facing life with an entrepreneurial mentality," said the highest academic authority at the ULS.

He added that “the latter entails a proactive attitude, the ability to work as a team, knowing how to lead work teams, the ability to work under pressure, the strength to overcome failure, and also embodying high ethical values,” so developing initiatives that “They contribute to the generation of a climate of regional entrepreneurship, and they also reflect the high impact of the actions of linking our university with the environment” is relevant for this state university.

In the same vein, the Dean of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences of the ULS, Dr. Luperfina Rojas, pointed out that the University, through the FACSE, “is immersed in this challenge, and for this reason, seeks to train professionals competent and entrepreneurial, capable of initiating the autonomous development of micro-enterprises, promoting the innovative processes of companies and organizations in our region, and also becoming job generators.”

“Updating the content and experiences of its academics on these topics is essential for the success of our management,” said Dr. Rojas Escobar, which is why she highlighted the participation and joint work of all academics, researchers, professors and professionals from both the FACSE and the Faculty of Engineering (FIULS) that made the development of this Colloquium possible, which in turn made visible the need to prioritize entrepreneurial education programs in public policies from the school level to higher education.

For his part, the Dean of the FIULS, Dr. Ing. Mario Durán, expressed that the third version of this national colloquium, held between January 10 and 12 recently, acquires even more relevance given the new paradigms of the Society of Knowledge, which - in his opinion - “explain that people, along with knowing and knowing, must develop capabilities and skills, given the need for a profound cultural change that encourages and supports these new capabilities from an early age and in a sustainable manner. ”.

He added that “the role of education and the radical changes that traditional teaching must face constitute a priority challenge in this new scenario,” which is why being part of and hosting this important meeting, and hearing from the voice of its protagonists, the entrepreneurship experiences arising from their classrooms, only reinforce the interest in training professionals and postgraduates with a solid scientific and technological base, guided by a humanistic training, which contributes to sustainable development and a better quality of life for society.

An example of this is the panel carried out with young entrepreneurs who graduated from FIULS, Daniel Mondaca and Joaquín Morey, who through their companies Prolinguo and IntAR21, respectively, are a clear example of the importance of training in research and development, innovation and entrepreneurship for the future development of engineering professionals and any other discipline that contributes to the growth of the country, something highly valued by the participants of the III National Entrepreneurial Education Colloquium.

This initiative also consolidated the work carried out by the Chilean chapter of the EmprendeSUR Network, currently chaired by Dr. Pedro Vera and created in 2004 based on the concern of a group of teachers, researchers, and academics who shared the need for build a space for meeting, debate and reflection on the problems of entrepreneurship and innovation; and show the impact of entrepreneurship generated in higher education institutions in the Coquimbo Region.

In this regard, Dr. Vera, a mechanical civil engineer from the University of Concepción and Director of the Entrepreneurship Promotion and Development Program (EMPRENDO) of said university, highlighted that “entrepreneurial and innovative training must permeate the education curriculum. formal at all levels from basic education to higher education and starting at an early age", a task that - in his opinion - "is not an isolated task but rather opens a space for the collaboration of all actors, and in particular the community academic.”

For this reason, he pointed out, discussing topics such as the development of creative thinking through e-learning experiences, or defining the personality and entrepreneurial intention of students, as well as analyzing the success of centers, programs, projects and business incubators. As support for entrepreneurial training and the development and strengthening of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, it was of great help so that “from the exchange of experiences, we are able to create education for a new Chile.”

Finally, it should be noted that this activity, carried out in the Buenaventura Osorio Hall of the ULS Faculty of Engineering, was sponsored by the Ignacio Domeyko Engineering Consortium, which seeks to transform the respective engineering faculties of the ULS and the UDA into references national and international in research and development, innovation and entrepreneurship - with emphasis on mining, energy and sustainability -, involving various actors in society to contribute to the formation of world-class human capital.

Source: FIULS Press

The Institutional Improvement Plan for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability has been an active collaborator in the development of the ULS solar car.

One of the purposes that the University of La Serena has set for itself is to be an entity with a seal of training and scientific-technological capacity, to collaboratively contribute to the development challenges of the Coquimbo Region. Thus, through its Institutional Improvement Plan aimed at energy efficiency and sustainability, it has made significant contributions to the different projects that the university has undertaken, among them, the Intikallpa IV solar car run by students of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, belonging to the ULS Faculty of Engineering.

It is for this reason that Ineergias has supported the development of this important initiative, and has made it possible to establish collaborative links with the Mechanical Engineering degree, making a significant contribution of around $120 million pesos, between construction and implementation to achieve the so-called "Room Limpia”, which will become a milestone of modernization and solution for the U. de La Serena.

For Dr. Mauricio Godoy Seura, an academic belonging to the Department of Mechanical Engineering and current collaborator of the Intikallpa IV team, this consolidation of the “Clean Room” will provide solutions when assembling the new versions of the car, as well as promote technological transfer , related to the knowledge and use of new materials to improve the efficiency and sustainability of industrial processes and promote the manufacture of prototypes that use new materials.

It should be noted that the so-called “Clean Room” is a space specially designed to obtain low levels of contamination, which has strictly controlled environmental parameters, air particles, temperature, humidity, air flow, internal air pressure and lighting.

The aforementioned project, among its multiple actions, will allow with this technology, the manufacturing of prototypes made with composite materials, covering a wide range of engineering areas. For example, the Intikallpa solar car prototype will continue its development, a vehicle that has been the sole champion in two national races (Atacama Solar Challenge) and the sole representative in the World Solar Challenge race in Australia 2017. This positions the University of La Serena with other universities and Technological Centers of excellence at a national and global level.

Source: DEIP Press

The talk will be given by Dr. José Luis Nilo and will take place this Friday, January 12, at 18:30 p.m., in the Gabriel González Videla Room of the Regional Administration.

The Milky Way, the galaxy that houses the Solar System where we live, has a wonderful secret hidden by millions of stars that only intelligence could reveal.

Every night it is possible to see a large whitish track full of beautiful stars that amaze scientists and tourists. Unfortunately, when it comes to the study of the deep Universe, this "milky road", brimming with beauty, blocks the light coming from other, more distant galaxies that lie just behind ours.

However, astronomers recently developed a technique that allows them to observe the Universe that is just behind this colossal wall of stars and stardust that is the Milky Way.

Come discover how astronomers manage to investigate this "Dark Side of the Galaxy" in the talk offered by astronomer José Luis Nilo, researcher at the Multidisciplinary Research Institute in Science and Technology of the University of La Serena, this Friday, January 12, starting at 18:30 p.m., in the Gabriel González Videla Room of the Regional Administration of Coquimbo. Entry is free.

The presentation is part of the cycle of public talks “Astroserena, exploring the cosmos from the Coquimbo Region”, organized by the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of La Serena, with the collaboration of Gemini Observatory.

More information: http://astroserena.weebly.com/.

The final process in the students' professional training allowed them to incorporate professional and human experiences, as well as be a contribution to the health needs of the community.

During the last two weeks of December 2017, the first defense of the title of 6 students of the Kinesiology program at the University of La Serena was successfully carried out, an exam that was carried out at the Pedro Aguirre Cerda Family Health Center and at the KINNET Kinésico Center, both in agreement with the ULS.

In 2017, Nicole Pincheira Riveros, Aylen Castro Gallegos, Javiera Castro Slomp, Fernando Rojas Galleguillos, Anuar Gascon Muñoz and Matías Montenegro Reyes, completed their 5th year of study, in which they carried out their professional practices in public and private health establishments in the region. During their professional practices, the students developed and specified their cognitive, procedural and attitudinal skills, highlighting the professionalism, dedication to service, multidisciplinary work and professional ethical conduct of the inmates.

Each of the next 6 new kinesiology professionals from the University of La Serena had the opportunity to work in 4 health centers in the region (offices in La Serena and Coquimbo, La Serena Hospital, Coquimbo Regional Clinic, Kinnet Kinesic Center, Fundación Farré, community rehabilitation centers, pediatric and adult respiratory disease wards).

The final process in the students' professional training allowed them to incorporate professional and human experiences, as well as be a contribution to the health needs of the community.

“I am proud to have been able to reach this stage and be part of this first promotion. These five years were a process full of changes, in which I faced different situations, where I had the guidance and support of excellent professors, who gave me the necessary tools to function as a quality professional in today's job market in day," said Anuar Gascon.
 
The Director of the course, Dr. Alfredo Gary Bufadel, highlighted that “with this milestone the first stage of institutional work that was born in 2012 with the creation of the Kinesiology course through Decree 401/2012 ends. During this period, it was possible to form a solid team of professionals and officials, which has made it possible to strengthen working ties with the different units that support the curricular, academic, and personal development of Kinesiology students."

The discovery has implications for how we understand the role of these stars in the Universe.

An international team of astronomers, including FONDECYT postdoctoral researcher from the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of La Serena, Dr. Carolina Sabín San Julián, has studied the stellar content of 30 Doradus, a huge star-forming region Also known as the Tarantula Nebula, in the Large Magellanic Cloud (a galaxy located in the vicinity of the Milky Way and visible to the naked eye from the southern hemisphere), discovering a greater number of massive stars than expected.

In the study published in the journal Science, the physical properties of approximately 250 stars with masses greater than 15 times the mass of our Sun (massive stars) have been characterized through the use of stellar atmosphere models and evolutionary models, in order to determine the mass distribution of stars born in 30 Doradus.

Dr. Carolina Sabín, co-author of the article and researcher at the ULS Department of Physics and Astronomy, explained that the study was surprised by the number of stars with 200 to 300 solar masses in this region, being some of the most massive stars ever observed.

“This has enormous importance in the way we understand the role of massive stars in the Cosmos, since “a greater number of these objects implies a greater number of supernovae, neutron stars and black holes, increasing the probabilities of seeing events that allow detecting gravitational waves and influencing the evolution of the host galaxy. “This finding could change our view of what the early stages of the Universe were like, since the intense radiation emitted by massive stars played a crucial role in its evolution,” he noted.

The contribution of the Spanish professional in said paper has been the detailed analysis of a sample of approximately 100 massive stars through the use of stellar atmosphere models, the results of which were published in May 2017 (2017A&A...601A..79S) .

Dr. Sabín also indicated that Science is, along with Nature, one of the most prestigious scientific journals in the world, presenting outstanding discoveries from all areas of science, and that “the publication of this article continues to confirm the development of science at the University of La Serena, providing great visibility and impetus to the research work being carried out in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.”

The paper, titled "An excess of massive stars in the local 30 Doradus starburst" (by FRN Schneider et al.), is available at: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6371/69.

Other articles

The participation of the ULS researcher in this study is added to that of the institution's Master's in Astronomy student and hourly professor of the Department. of Physics and Astronomy, Natalia Ulloa, who has been part of the publication of 3 other works in the journal Science, all related to the event of the detection of the optical counterpart of the gravitational wave (http://bit.ly/2iejV14).

These are “Swope Supernova Survey 2017a (SSS17a), the optical counterpart to a gravitational wave source”, “Electromagnetic evidence that SSS17a is the result of a binary neutron star merger” and “Light curves of the neutron star merger GW170817/SSS17a: Implications for r-process nucleosynthesis”. The ULS Master's in Astronomy student, Abdo Campillay, also participates in the latter.

The team from the University of La Serena was the only Chilean, Latin American and Hispanic American representative in the prestigious world event.

A few months ago it was ranked among the 10 best teams in the solar car world championship, World Solar Challenge 2017, which took place in Australia, being the only national, Latin American and Hispanic American representative in the international competition. This is the Antakari (“Copper Man”) team from the University of La Serena and its Intikallpa IV (“Energy of the Sun”) solar car, a vehicle that was presented to the university and local community in an exhibition held on the premises of the University. ULS, in recognition of his outstanding performance.

In this global event, in which the most prestigious institutions and universities in the world participated, the representative of Chile and the state educational institution managed to successfully complete the 3.020 kilometer route throughout the entire Australian territory, beginning the journey in the city ​​of Darwin and culminating in the southern city of Adelaide.

The IK4 crossed the finish line within the top ten vehicles, thus becoming the world's top ten in solar vehicle technology, alongside powers such as Holland, the United States, Japan, among others.

This position positions the ULS team in the world's top ten in competitive solar vehicle technology. This was expressed by the Rector of the University of La Serena, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, who highlighted “the effort and dedication of the members of the Antakari team, who have demonstrated their ability, ingenuity and affection, which has led to achievements worldwide, always with the support of academics, graduates and private and public institutions. They are a source of pride for the University, the region and the country.”

Its design and manufacturing is carried out by students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, attached to the Faculty of Engineering of the ULS, who use the best sustainable technology available worldwide. The initiative involves the participation mainly of students and academics from this unit, as well as from other units of the University.

In addition, important national and regional companies collaborate, such as: Minera los Pelambres, Minera Teck Carmen de Andacollo, Invenio, Total Sunpower, Ecomac, HidroMFD, Banco Santander, Ameco, INVECC, etc. The collaboration of these companies is through donation, provision of infrastructure, equipment or supplies and direct support from the team of professionals, as is the case of Minera Los Pelambres.

For the academic of the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering of the house of studies, Dr. Mauricio Godoy, the solar car and the Intikallpa team “continues to consolidate itself as a successful initiative to link with the environment of our University, this mainly due to a work model that links students and academics and important regional and national companies, as well as the entire community (...). This project, which was born in 2010, has become an initiative of excellence that is linked to sport, as it is a global competition, and is also associated with innovation, creation, sustainability and entrepreneurship."

Benjamín Pieper, Operations Support Service Manager at Minera Los Pelambres, highlighted the great pride that it has meant for the company to be able to carry out this work together with the team from the University of La Serena, as well as see what has been built and recognize the performance they had in an international competition, since “being tenth in the world is the result of a work of excellence and that is undoubtedly a challenge to continue generating ties between the university world and our mining company,” stated the executive.

Meanwhile, Jaime Muñoz, captain of the Antakari team and engineer at Minera Los Pelambres, pointed out that Intikallpa IV was built entirely at the University of La Serena and that the years have allowed the project to mature, migrating to the University and building this type of competencies in the house of higher education. Regarding the competition held in Australia, the professional indicated that "the Intikallpa IV managed to place itself within the first 10 vehicles of the Challenge category, making us a team that completed the 3.020 kilometers that the competition lasts and where not all teams manage finish the race".

Another important collaboration for the success of this project is the one obtained through the PMI Innergias institutional project for energy efficiency, from the Ministry of Education, thanks to which it was possible to import the cutting-edge technological inputs that exist today in the world, with which the IK4 was made.

It should be noted that during the day each member of the Antakari ULS team was also recognized.

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