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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Those who are interested in receiving this type of support can request it through the SIGIT module of the Phoenix platform, or coordinate through the teachers, who can contact the professional in charge of doing these trainings.

The Graduate Monitoring Office, belonging to the Directorate of Institutional Studies and Planning, through its Capacity Building area, carried out two workshops in conjunction with the Industrial Civil Engineering degree aimed at providing tools and information to its students with a graduation profile in order to get to know the scope of effective labor insertion in the short and medium term.

In this sense, the activity "Evaluation of a CV from the perspective of senior management" was carried out, a session aimed at providing practical and theoretical tools that allow students to make effective decisions regarding future hiring that they must carry out in their businesses and jobs. Thus, practical elements were addressed that facilitate the detection of applicants that meet the requirements that their teams will face in the near future, as well as understanding discriminatory and ethical elements in this regard.

On the other hand, the activity “Group counseling for job placement” was developed for a total of 37 students, who actively participated in the detection of abilities, skills and knowledge that they possess and that they should project in their CVs and job interviews, with the aim of purpose of increasing the possibilities of hiring in their future recruitment and selection processes that they are faced with.

These types of workshops have been a constant at the Graduate Monitoring Office and teachers who are interested in offering this type of training to their final level students can contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call directly at 51-2-334667.

Currently, the Program works with twelve educational establishments in the three provinces of our region.

The seal that characterizes the Program for Accompaniment and Access to Higher Education (PACE) University of La Serena is the constant movement of its professionals to each of the Educational Establishments (EE) that are attached to this Program, which is an average government executed by Higher Education Institutions throughout the country.

Making a bit of history, the PACE Program was born within the framework of the Educational Reform promoted since 2011, which seeks to restore the right to enter higher education and professional technical education to students from vulnerable sectors, guaranteeing quotas to those who comply the qualification criteria established by the Ministry of Education through the Program. This allows increasing equity, diversity and quality in higher education, provoking new perspectives in secondary education.

To responsibly meet this challenge, the Program is implemented by teams from 31 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) that are in agreement with the Ministry of Education, which carry out preparation activities in the 3rd and 4th year and accompanying during their first year of higher education, with a view to being able to stay in the system and achieve their degree.

In the words of Loreto Garrido, Coordinator of the PACE ULS High School Preparation area, the Program provides important benefits for students who belong to establishments that are affiliated with the PACE Program of the house of higher education. “The work of the Program is a great help for all the students that we accompany as the University of La Serena, which this year amount to 1.604 students; and well, not only for them, but for the educational community in general. Our executors are the ones who are in charge of being in constant movement throughout the geography of the region, of giving most of the workshops, talks and of working with the management teams of the Educational Establishments (EE). I feel very grateful for the wonderful team that the High School Preparation area currently has, without them we could not have contact, nor the link, let alone fulfill the work with the EE, since the essence of the PACE Program ULS is to always be on the move for the students of the Coquimbo Region”.

Currently, the PACE ULS Program has twelve Educational Establishments (EE) distributed throughout the three provinces. In the Province of Elqui: Pedro Aguirre Cerda School, Gabriela Mistral High School, Marta Brunet High School, in the commune of La Serena; Pedro Pablo Muñoz School, from La Higuera; and Pedro Regalado Videla High School in the commune of Andacollo. In the Province of Limarí: Estela Ávila Molina de Perry High School, El Ingenio College of Administration and Commerce, Raúl Silva Henríquez College, of Ovalle; Alberto Gallardo Lorca High School of the Punitaqui commune; and Liceo Samuel Román Rojas de Combarbalá. And from the Province of Choapa: Nicolás Federico Lohse High School, from the commune of Los Vilos, and Salamanca Municipal Polyvalent High School.

About the EEs attached to the PACE Program, Loreto Garrido, explained that "at the moment the work is focused on what we call Vocational Days, which consists of the application of workshops to 4th grade students on the lines of how to write a cv, effective communication, among others. In addition to this, the application of the Holland test to the 3rd grade students and something very important for us is the talk on Scholarships and Benefits, which has been given by the different social workers of the Student Welfare Department, who have given us their support. in these conferences that have been held in Ovalle, Salamanca, Los Vilos, Combarbalá and Punitaqui so far, whose objective is to prepare students to leave better prepared for secondary education and also to know the benefits to which they can apply through the FUAS and updating the Social Registry of Households”.

Therefore, those who play a primary role in the organization and articulation of the Program work in the EEs are the figure of the PACE ULS EE Coordinators. Garrido specified that “they are our main allies and link with the internal organization of the EEs that belong to to the Program of our house of studies, without them the work we do would be very complex, since they are the ones who have the schedules in which we can carry out different actions with the educational community."

A very strong blow for the PACE ULS Team was the unexpected loss of the PACE coordinator of the Salamanca Polyvalent Municipal High School, Rubén Yáñez, to which he expressed "for us as a team it was a very strong blow, learning of his death, it was a great loss for the establishment and also for us, Rubén was always a teacher dedicated to his students, always enthusiastic, full of life, a great lover of his favorite subject, History and, above all, very committed to helping anyone who needed it; he will remain in our memories and in that of all those who knew him ”.

Drina Campos, PACE coordinator of the Pedro Regalado Videla High School in the commune of Andacollo, referred to the work carried out by the PACE Program in her establishment. "I personally consider that the work carried out by the entire team of the PACE Program belonging to the University of La Serena is impeccable, professional and I would add that each one of the professionals is fully committed to their work and to helping our students" .

While Abigail Collao, PACE coordinator of the Nicolás Federico Lohse High School in Los Vilos, maintained that “PACE is here to stay, I have seen as a coordinator that over time the work carried out by the entire team has been strengthened and is increasing; not only in human capital, but also that their actions are becoming more powerful and my educational community values ​​that”.

To conclude, the PACE Program, in its line of work for High School Preparation, will focus mainly on the higher education application process for fourth-year students, and will continue with transversal skills workshops for third-year students. of the Educational Establishments attached to the ULS Program.

Source: Press PACE ULS Program

The establishment is one of the oldest educational institutions in the city of Ovalle.

In a solemn official ceremony, a new year of life at the Estela Ávila Molina Lyceum in Perry was commemorated, highlighting the mission they proposed almost a hundred years ago. During the celebration with the community, outstanding alumni were awarded.

María Susana García, director of the Lyceum, said that “next year the Estela Ávila Molina Lyceum in Perry will celebrate 100 years since its founding. Its mission since it was created has been to train with quality and values ​​to promote a culture of high expectations in our students, and today our commitments are reaffirmed on the way to the centenary with the entire Ovalle community.”

Its seals as an institution are oriented towards comprehensive, environmental training, with a welcoming and inclusive climate that promotes the participation and commitment of students for the development of a culture of high expectations. Faced with this, María Alicia Segovia, PACE counselor and coordinator of the educational establishment, stated: “in recent years we have focused on the area of ​​school coexistence, strengthening and reinforcing it every day and, in addition, we are showing that the area is already surpassed.”

García added that “we have achieved all this thanks to a very committed psychosocial team, with highly trained professionals to meet the needs of our students, who established routines, schedules and discipline.”

Additionally, on this occasion, Claudia Toledo, AES Coordinator of the PACE ULS Program, received a tribute as an outstanding alumni of the educational establishment.

Viviana Romero, Executive Coordinator of the Accompaniment Program, stated that “it was quite an achievement on the part of the PACE ULS team to be able to bring Claudia to the anniversary, since our PACE coordinator, María Alicia, and the director of the educational establishment, María Susana, They asked me for absolute discretion regarding the delivery of the recognition, so that it would be a surprise for our colleague. “I am very happy that Claudia has received this recognition, since I know that it is very important for her and therefore it is also important for all of us who make up the team of the Support and Effective Access to Higher Education Program, PACE, University of La Serena” .

Romero added: “I wish much happiness to the entire educational community of our Estela Ávila Molina de Perry Lyceum on this path to the centenary; May they continue to carry out their work with the conviction that has always characterized the entire Oval community.”

Finally, Claudia Toledo, gave her impressions of this tribute and of the new year of life that her former high school house is celebrating. “I am truly surprised by this recognition, I never expected it, I was sitting like just another spectator and I began to listen to passages of my life over the speakers and it was very exciting, I am proud that my former Lyceum gave me this recognition, which brings back beautiful memories of my years as a student there. I thank the managers, as well as my colleagues from the PACE ULS team for cooperating in this beautiful moment.”

Source: Press PACE ULS Program