In the public account, the highest authority highlighted that the main challenge for 2019 is the self-assessment process for accreditation, urging the community to participate and evaluate with fair judgment the collective work that has allowed the indisputable improvement in institutional quality.
With well-deserved recognition to all the people who have made it possible to grow the prestige and quality of the University of La Serena, the Rector, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, began his public account corresponding to the 2018 period.
“Every day that passes has the mark of thousands of people who, with will, talent and work well done, have allowed us to rapidly approach what we aspired to more than a decade ago, when they gave me the trust to guide the University of La Serena and work to turn it into a prestigious state and regional university, socially responsible and technologically advanced (…) a benchmark of educational quality for the country and the Coquimbo Region,” he expressed during the opening ceremony of the 2019 Academic Year.
In the ceremony framed in the commemoration of the thirty-eighth anniversary of the University, the highest university authority shared with the university community the main institutional achievements of recent years, especially in matters of Teaching, Institutional Management, Research and Links with the Environment, which They were the basis to face 2018.
Teaching
In Teaching, the curricular renewal of 35 of the 40 careers stands out, including 100% of the pedagogies. Likewise, he highlighted the curricular renewal of the 11 pedagogy courses and the optimization of the 2019 enrollment process, to which the digital component was incorporated. The above allowed the selected applicants to carry out their procedures in a technologically expeditious manner. “A great example of inter-unit teamwork that culminated in 1.750 new students enrolled,” he said.
And in terms of accreditation, he mentioned the improvement in the accreditation rate of undergraduate courses, with 53% of the academic offering accredited.
He also clarified that the objective is to make continuous improvement an institutional culture. “We must consider, today more than ever, that internal quality management is an imperative that will additionally be required by the new accreditation system where both undergraduate and graduate degrees must demonstrate quality,” he expressed.
Research and Postgraduate
Regarding Research, he highlighted “the surpassing of the average of 100 WoS publications per year, which characterized us between 2012 and 2015, moving on to an explosive growth that today establishes us with 203 WoS publications in 2018. Double the number of publications in just 3 years. And an indisputable advance if we remember that a decade ago we reached 26 publications per year.”
He also indicated that the total external financing fund awarded during 2018 for research reached 1.050 million pesos, while in the management of research and postgraduate projects the institution delivered a total of 647 million pesos for the execution of 51 projects. competitions, incentives for scientific productivity and doctoral scholarships.
Regarding Postgraduate Studies, he highlighted the creation of 5 creditable doctorates, 4 of them already accredited and one that is in process and corresponds to the most recent program, created in 2018: the Doctorate in Energy, Water and Environment.
Link with the Environment
Regarding links with the environment, he valued the positioning of the University in the community and the work networks with relevant institutions in the territory. At the same time, the Rector specified that it is “a challenge in the face of the new accreditation process, to make visible and put in value, the contribution of the Departments and their disciplines, to the task of linking with the environment.”
Institutional management
While in terms of Institutional Management, he valued the financial health of the University, recognized by external organizations as a guarantee of sustainability of its development project, in addition to the important progress made to complete the digital transformation.
Added to the above is the awarding of initiatives aimed at institutional development, highlighting in 2018 the execution of 25 Performance Agreements with Mineduc for an amount of 6.432 million pesos. Also noteworthy is the awarding of 9 initiatives, four of them Performance Agreements and five student projects for financing of 4.034 million pesos.
And in relation to the institutional infrastructure, he explained that the institution carried out 60 improvement works, with a total investment of more than 7 billion pesos, "a record figure for the University of La Serena." Among the works mentioned, the following stand out: the installation of an interior ramp for people with disabilities in the access hall of the Faculty of Engineering building, the installation of the panoramic elevator located on the Ignacio Domeyko Campus, the Study Workshops and Reading Room of the Andrés Bello Campus, the replacement construction of the Schools of Psychology and Nursing on the Andrés Bello Campus, among others.
Regarding the long-standing buildings, he mentioned that they were affected by the earthquake of magnitude 6,7 and intensity 8.0, on January 19, and that "repairing the damage requires facing expenses close to 1.400 million pesos. The most affected campus is Enrique Molina Garmendia. The work began during the summer period and we estimate that it will continue throughout 2019, so I ask you to give due understanding."
Rector Avilés also referred to social demands, specifying that during 2018 the Protocol on Harassment and Arbitrary Discrimination was made official, which was prepared by the working group formed within the framework of the student mobilization, and which was made known to the entire community. university. Likewise, he valued how the institution has comprehensively addressed students with disabilities, “decidedly advancing in inclusion and universal accessibility.”
Students: the center of the training process
In his intervention, the authority stressed that students are the center of the training process and the exercise of university functions. He also emphasized the comprehensive training of young people through structures and initiatives that address their well-being in areas such as health, coexistence, food, sports and socioeconomic benefits. Along these lines, he stressed that some 180 million pesos were granted by the institution during 2018 for the direct benefit of the students.
Challenges and projections
In turn, the Rector called on the community to renew its commitment to comprehensive quality and to “learn to work with generosity and collaboration, overcoming isolated management and building bridges so that communication and relationships between units facilitate integration.” and systemic management of the University”.
Regarding institutional challenges, he highlighted the development of a new institutional statute, “which we will begin next month, through a highly participatory process.” Added to this is the strengthening of the three-state relationship and the ability to add will and talent to face the self-assessment leading to institutional accreditation 2020.
“Now, the challenge is to further consolidate and improve the strengths of the Research area and incorporate Postgraduate studies, or aspire to a greater number of years of accreditation,” he expressed in his speech.
Finally, he maintained that “it is good to have a critical view because constructive criticism helps to grow. However, such criticism should not be paralyzing or destructive. On the contrary, I invite you to be fair in your evaluation and recognize the profound transformations we have had in these years. If we do not believe in or value our own work, outsiders will hardly do so. Valuation and pride must start at home (…). I invite you to dare to dream big, because at ULS there is talent to make that big dream a reality.”
Written by Gonzalo Lozano, Communications Department