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" .

See photo gallery