In a year marked by the creation of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, and ad-porta to the appointment of who will be at its head, the First National Science Day in Chile is celebrated this Sunday, October 7. The creation of the Ministry is not the only thing that marks the context of the historic celebration that will take place this Sunday. Despite the growing Chilean scientific productivity and the increasing global notoriety that our scientists are achieving, the contingency has been marked by the organization of Chilean scientists both in Chile and abroad to give visibility to the precarious working conditions they face. the sector; the enormous inequalities of gender opportunities to pursue a career in research; the low possibilities of job placement for young researchers; and the limited increase in the budget to finance new research projects. This, added to CONICYT data that shows that a good part of Chileans do not understand why scientific work is relevant both for their daily life and the development of the country, makes it imperative to have a discussion about what we want to do with our scientific development. , giving it the space it deserves on the national agenda.

Given that the State Universities in Chile constitute one of the most important pillars for national scientific development, they will be main protagonists of the celebrations that will take place throughout the country. The University of La Serena carries out research in various areas of knowledge and is a driving force in the Coquimbo Region in the training of high-level professionals and specialists. Among its postgraduate programs, it has four doctoral programs accredited by the National Commission of CNA accreditation and a fifth doctoral program in the accreditation process. The ULS has become a scientific hub in the north of Chile and therefore will be one of the most important points of the celebrations in the region, an opportunity in which it will open its doors to the entire community, both to publicize its different areas research as well as the equipment that some of the laboratories have.
The activities will begin at the Andrés Bello Campus from 10 a.m. with words from the authorities and a talk titled “Science for a Smart City” by Dr. Amelia Ramírez, Director of Research and Development of the University.

We reiterate that this is an open invitation to all audiences. We invite our university community to be the protagonist of the celebrations by actively sharing audiovisual material and comments on social networks by tagging the University accounts on Twitter (@userena) and Instagram (u_de_laserena).

Thanking you for your attention, we bid you a cordial farewell.

Dr. Eduardo Notte Cuello
Vice President for Research and Graduate
University of La Serena