With the presentation of Dr. José Rutllant, CEAZA climatologist and member of the Chilean Academy of Sciences, a cycle of conferences by researchers from the Scientific Center began.

Through an alliance between CEAZA and the School of Pedagogy of History and Geography of the University of La Serena, the students of that degree began to receive cycles of talks directly from the researchers of that Scientific Center, as part of the strategy of connection with the environment of that vocational training unit of the house of studies.

The first presentation was made last Monday by Dr. José Rutllant, climatologist at CEAZA and member of the Chilean Academy of Sciences. The scientist referred to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle and its repercussions on the rainfall regime of the Coquimbo Region.

According to Pilar Molina, coordinator of these classes and in charge of knowledge transfer at CEAZA, this contribution seeks to support the training of teachers, but also to resort to the multiplier effect of knowledge transmission that the teaching profession implies, by transferring knowledge. to future students.

Strengthen the training process

For the Mg. Sandra Álvarez, director of the School of Pedagogy in History and Geography of the ULS, this is a very relevant instance, because it means promoting one of the lines of academic development and the management model of the educational process of our career.

“This allows us to maintain contact with scientific and educational institutions, especially. The signing of an agreement will enhance this line. On the other hand, we conceive the connection with the environment as a possibility to strengthen our training process. That's why we think about activities that can really provide feedback to our work,” commented the teacher.

According to the academic, this type of alliance is part of the degree's linkage strategy, which already has three agreements with other institutions.

“The agreement with CEAZA arises from our need to strengthen the area of ​​geography. We wanted to give it added value, even change the students' perception regarding the teaching of this area. Furthermore, the work in arid areas of CEAZA is very relevant for our training,” he expressed. 

He added that the talks are already being an important contribution to the degree, since the students would be motivated to go into the field and some even consult directly with the researchers at the scientific center for their work.

Dr. Fabián Araya, academic in charge of the Social Sciences Teaching Methodology line, points out that it has been a long-time desire for the History and Geography major, because there is the certainty that CEAZA develops cutting-edge research. in various specialties.

“The idea is that CEAZA is part of the sources of scientific research knowledge of the formal degree programs and of our students, who will then work with primary and secondary school students, to whom they will transfer that information. We want this virtuous circle to be strengthened,” he said. 

The topics “Principles of global climate change and their potential effects in the Coquimbo region” have also already been presented, by Dr. Bernardo Broitman; “Paleoecology and paleoclimatology throughout Chile”, presented by Dr. Antonio Maldonado; and “Northern Glaciers: Ice in the Desert”, a topic addressed by Dr. Shelley MacDonell.

Source: www.ceaza.cl