ULS participates in international event 'E2 Education Exchange' held in Singapore

uls singapore

The person responsible for representing the institution was the academic of the Department of Biology and Director of the Laboratory of Research and Technological Innovation for Science Education (LIITEC-ULS), Mg. Francisco Lopez.

Between March 12 and 15, the so-called 'E2 Education Exchange' took place in Singapore, in whose 2018 version only two Chilean higher education institutions had the pleasure of participating, among them, the University of La Serena, which was represented by the academic of the Department of Biology and Director of the Laboratory of Research and Technological Innovation for Science Education (LIITEC-ULS), Mg. Francisco Lopez.

Academician López was invited to this annual exchange event between educators - organized by the Microsoft company - based on his outstanding contribution in the field of technological innovation worldwide.

The activity was attended by 310 educators from 91 countries, as well as educational leaders and 23 speakers from around the world. The other distinguished Chilean academic was Mg. Francisco Velásquez, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

uls singapore2Among the activities included in this event was participation in talks and workshops aimed at discussing topics linked to the impact of digital transformation on the countries' economies, the need to prepare students for the changes that are coming in terms of the incorporation of new technologies at the classroom level and the realization of pedagogical work experiences with emphasis on didactic innovation.

Within the framework of the activity called “MarketPlace”, where the works promoted by different educators were publicly exhibited, the ULS academic had the opportunity to present the proposal called “Cellfie-ULS: Support system for the capture, labeling, administration and publication of photographs taken through an optical microscope using a mobile device.” This system was developed by a multidisciplinary team led by Professor López, based on the contributions made by the Good Teaching Practices project of the Teaching Directorate (DiDoc) and funds from the LIITEC-ULS Project.

Along with being able to learn, directly, about the teaching experiences supported by technology that other teachers carry out in different places around the world, the event also allowed the establishment of collaborative work networks with professionals from other countries, especially in terms of publicizing the advances that, in terms of technological development, are carried out at the University of La Serena.

In this regard, López emphasized that “attending E2 was a tremendously enriching experience in terms of being able to interact with educators and researchers who are currently developing successful pedagogical experiences around the world. With them I was able to share the developments we are making at the ULS. Furthermore, this new community of educators that was generated at E2 becomes a global platform to exchange, share and, above all, generate collaborative experiences that impact students in different parts of the world.”

Another notable aspect pointed out by López was the opportunity to exchange experiences with educators and researchers who have focused their work on topics related to Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Mixed Reality, some of which are a priority in terms of the objectives of LIITEC-ULS.

It should be noted that the Research and Technological Innovation Laboratory for Science Education (LIITEC-ULS) corresponds to an institutional initiative financed by the Ministry of Education whose objective is to strengthen institutional capacities for research, innovation and focused implementation of resources. public appropriation technologies for Natural Sciences education, relevant to the needs and challenges of the Coquimbo Region.