biology seminar

The activity is aimed at students majoring in Pedagogy in Biology and Natural Sciences and in-service biology teachers.

Next Monday, July 22, in the Seminar Room of the Department of Biology of the University of La Serena (Andrés Bello Campus), in a joint effort with the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, the seminar called “Scientific Thinking” will be held. at school".

The event will take place from 09:45 a.m. to 18:00 p.m., and seeks to bring together students and practicing teachers who are involved in the area of ​​biology and natural sciences, with the purpose of reinforcing the idea that scientific thinking It is an essential and basic tool and that teachers are responsible for establishing the precept in students.

The activity will be divided into two phases: the first, which will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 13:00 p.m. It will be given by Dr. Dirk Krüger, from the Freie Universitat of Berlin, with his presentation called “Thinking scientifically in the classroom: from observation to modeling”, and the second part, by Mg. Paola Núñez and Dr. Hernán Cofré, from the PUCV, with the talk “Learning biology using scientific thinking.”

Those who want to participate must register with the Coordinator of the Biology and Natural Sciences degree at the University of La Serena, Francisco López, by email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Space is limited and there is no cost for attendees.

Written by Patricia Castro, DirCom

app1

This July 8 in the city of Ovalle the Virtual Reality Application “uniVRso” will be launched and will be available for download on the Play Store platform. 

Strengthening astronomical tourism in the Coquimbo Region through citizen training is one of the main objectives of Univrso, a project of the University of La Serena, through Campus Digital.

Creating four massive open courses on Astronomy topics and a Virtual Reality application that simulates the skies of the star region. 

The initiative financed with resources from the Regional Government through the Innovation Fund for Regional Competitiveness and the ULS, will officially launch the “uniVRso” mobile application this Monday, July 8 at the Astronomy Seminar to be held at the Municipal Theater of the city of Ovalle. 

The activity begins at 15 p.m. and will feature the participation of prominent academics and astronomers from the University of La Serena who will talk about astronomical news in our region. “We are going to talk about what will happen now after the eclipse. We had a peak of astronomical interest in recent days, what I am thinking now is to show what we are doing in the region in the astronomy part, especially data science techniques,” explains Dr. Marcelo Jaque, ULS academic and one of the exhibitors. .

App created with Unity

The uniVRso project is made up of a multidisciplinary team of experts from the University of La Serena, who have developed a Virtual Reality application created with a video game engine called Unity.

In this sense, the Computer Engineer and professional in charge of the development of the App, César Villegas, points out that “we decided to use Unity because of the potential that it offers, being a video game framework, it allows us to manage the graphic complexities and interactions of the different objects in the scene. In our case, it allowed us to work in a three-dimensional environment, where spaces and objects that interact with the user were designed."

In the case of uniVRso, “an example of interaction will be to select a quadrant of the sky with your gaze and the constellation belonging to said sector will immediately be displayed,” says the professional.

In summary, the Project Director and Head of Digital Campus, Humberto Farías, highlights the project as a contribution to the Region. “uniVRso seeks to provide tools to astrotourism operators in the region, with the incorporation of a virtual reality application and 15 kits that will be delivered to different tour operators. This virtual reality application incorporates the latest technological innovations in the development of video games, which seeks to model while maintaining the scientific coherence of the objects observed in the skies of the Coquimbo region.”

He also adds that "The massive courses have a clear focus on citizen training and aim to ensure that people can access scientific knowledge delivered by experts free of charge and at a distance," he said.

The Virtual Reality Application will be available to download on the Play Store platform for free starting in July. To learn more about uniVRso you can visit the page univrso.userena.digital.

 

damke1

Dr. Guillermo Damke, together with the famous astronomer and National Prize for Exact Sciences, José Masa, were responsible for providing educational talks to a large audience that came from all over Chile to enjoy the astronomical event.

“I think that no one, not even the best of poets, will have enough words to describe what I felt watching the eclipse.” Thus emphatically and with a deep feeling of emotion, the astronomer from the University of La Serena, Dr. Guillermo Damke, referred to his experience when observing this phenomenon that occurred on July 2 and which, minutes before, he had the opportunity to observe. exhibit before nearly 10 thousand people at the La Portada Stadium in La Serena, in an event broadcast throughout Chile by Channel 13 and organized by the Serena municipality, with which the university established an alliance to educate the community about the astronomical event.

damke2Dr. Damke's massive talk was part of a series of actions that the University of La Serena promoted as a scientific educational partner of the community, with which he shared valuable knowledge to understand and enjoy the astronomical phenomenon.

Regarding this challenge, the astronomer noted: “it was a personal learning and a professional challenge. All of us who participated explained with different resources what this great event was going to be and many people have been behind it. Finally it was my turn to be in the stadium representing the University of La Serena, and it gave a very good result and the community was grateful for this dissemination, which was not only done on the day of the eclipse, but was hard work that continued months before this one.”

Regarding the opportunity to present in front of about 10 thousand people, he indicated that “it is a great experience, without a doubt. They were super respectful and when I went on stage there were obviously nerves, but I actually felt very comfortable. People want to know about science and if we are able to deliver information in a didactic way, we can reach many people, connect with them, and that is what I tried to do that day. And my colleagues tried to do it in many other instances. Obviously, I also took advantage of the opportunity to convey what the ULS does, because we are many scientists and researchers who work for science and the community in general, not only in the area of ​​astronomy, but in other sciences.”

Finally, the astronomer, as a summary, called on the entire community to continue informing themselves, to stay active with moments of science and to see the University of La Serena as an educational scientific partner.

“The University is prepared for many events, we are not only Astronomy, but I feel that we are in a privileged situation to be surrounded by observatories and we must take advantage of these ties that we have been forming. We have a seal in the region, we cannot lower our arms as astronomers. The learning was achieved and the experience is already there,” she said.

Written by Patricia Castro, DirCom

talk enjoy1

The activity was developed thanks to an alliance between the university and the Municipality of Coquimbo, and was attended by various authorities and the general public.

In its role as scientific-educational partner of the community, on July 1, the University of La Serena held a talk on the solar eclipse, which was given by the astronomer of the house of studies, Dr. Guillermo Damke, within the framework of the “Carnaval Sun Eclipse Coquimbo” activity organized by the Municipality of Coquimbo.

talk enjoy2The activity was attended by the Rector of the ULS, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, the Academic Vice-Rector of the university, Dr. Alejandra Torrejón, the person in charge of the International Relations Office of the Buenos Aires municipality, Américo Giovine, and the Colonel of Aviation, Luis Felipe Sáez, as well as the general public.

“The University of La Serena has committed itself as an educational partner of the total solar eclipse, a commitment that protects and precedes a greater bond with knowledge, science and astronomy, and this is how we have carried out various activities in conjunction with the Illustrious Municipality of Coquimbo, in an association that has generated us a lot of satisfaction. We have been at the service of the people with whom we form a community and the sense of university that is developed in its greatest expression,” indicated the Rector about the work carried out together with the Coquimba municipality.

After the talk given by the ULS astronomer, there was a presentation on “Mission and Vision of the Air Force and the objective of the new Scientific, Technological and Innovative Satellite Program that will replace FASat - Charlie”, by the Aviation Colonel, Luis Felipe Sáez.

The day ended with the presentation of the Big Band, an activity open to the community that delighted the inhabitants of Coquimbo.

This activity took place at the Enjoy Coquimbo Hotel, an opportunity where the public present received certified glasses to view the solar eclipse safely, delivered by the University of La Serena for free.

Written by Tomás Rodríguez, DirCom

sub teaching

After preparing the report for the first plenary session, the Teaching Subcommittee focuses on perfecting a matrix of questions to prepare the next big step on the path to Institutional Accreditation.

Every Friday afternoon and led by Dr. Pamela Labra, the Teaching Subcommittee meets to advance the tasks arising from the institutional Self-Assessment process that the ULS has been experiencing since May 2019.

During the last 3 weeks, the Subcommittee has experienced intense work days in which they reviewed the alternatives to determine who will be the most relevant key informants in the process.

In addition to the review of the matrix of questions, they also reviewed the information that allowed them to prepare the reports of the first plenary session on June 19.

In the sessions, the members of the Teaching Subcommittee have established a systematic and productive work rhythm. This was described by the Director of the Kinesiology program, Dr. Alfredo Gary, who also pointed out that “this opportunity allows us to become more familiar with the field of teaching, and we can also understand what it has meant for our University in previous accreditation processes.” .

On the other hand, Patricia Marín, Coordinator of the Department of Physical Education and Sports of the University of La Serena, highlighted that she felt honored to have been invited to this important process, pointing out that “these processes enrich us both on a personal and institutional level.” . It gives us the opportunity to share, learn, and learn about other aspects that bring us closer as a university community.”

The Subcommittee expectantly awaits the holding of the second Plenary Session scheduled for the last week of July. The 24th will be the day in which we will learn more progress along the route of this important Institutional Self-Assessment process.

Written by Paz Montecinos, DirCom

See Photo Gallery (June 6)

See Photo Gallery (June 28)

guidance counsellors

The initiative “I want to be an education professional” emerged in 2017, promoted by the Integrated Management of Pedagogies Unit (UGIP), with the purpose of strengthening the teaching identity of high school students. This program has official recognition from MINEDUC.

Various university experiences and activities have been experienced by the 29 students who entered the University of La Serena, through the special access program to pedagogies during 2019. The first generation of this initiative marked the first precedent in the institution, being the pioneers in being part of this experience that enhanced their vocation and training as future teachers.

counselors1In this context, the counselors of the educational establishments attended an information meeting, in which they were informed of the main advances achieved during the second year of program management.

In this regard, it was reported that, during this semester, the students have received psychoeducational and academic support linked to the APRENDE ULS program and have participated in different workshops related to university life, which has allowed them to complement their academic training.

On the other hand, there are 24 participants in the second version of the “I want to be an education professional” program, who attend modular classes held every Saturday in the university premises.

“The majority of students have a genuine vocation to be a teacher, which must be taken care of, they like to teach and have an interest in teaching. We must not extinguish this illusion,” emphasized the program coordinator, Dr. Karla Campaña.

Likewise, to clarify aspects related to other areas of the University, the academic coordinator of the Learn - PACE ULS program, Loreto Garrido, attended, who detailed the role of leveling, support and monitoring that the instance has for first and second year students. , benefited free of charge.

“Our objective is to articulate all the instances of support that the University provides. Although it is focused on those students who have free tuition, the support provided in leveling and tutoring is for everyone,” the professional explained.

The Coordinator of the Student Welfare Department, Patricia Astroza, also participated, who delved into scholarships, credits and benefits that students can opt for once they enter the institution.

In this way, the counselors had the space to ask questions about the program itself and also about administrative aspects, in order to optimally instruct students prior to their entry into university life.

Written by Daniela Ledezma, UGIP