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Dear University Community, This means that we will keep working remotely and that only those who have to fulfill tasks that are absolutely critical for the university will be able to access our Campus, while complying with the safety measures established by the health authorities (mandatory use of face masks in public spaces, one-meter distance between people, etc.). In addition, and in accordance with our institutional strategy regarding this health crisis, in which the well-being of the people has always been our priority, we have established a protocol with the aim of elaborating a Return to Work Plan. The idea is to develop different stages in order to guarantee a safe and progressive return. Therefore, we put together a Committee with different members of our university community, who are directly linked to those processes and who represent the different units. We will inform you about the advances in due course. The classes for our undergraduate and graduate students will take place online during the first semester of 2020. Kind regards, Temuco, May 8, 2020
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The fifth season of this initiative, which during this first semester of 2020 will be called Online Science Café, will begin on Thursday, May 7, at 7 pm. (Chilean local time). |
It started five years ago as a space for the dissemination of science and scientific knowledge. Today, it has become a consolidated activity of the Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO), which will start its fifth season providing topics of interest to the community. Given the health emergency that affects the country and the world because of COVID-19, this season will take place online. “People are highly interested in scientific issues at the moment, probably because they are looking forward to a solution to the global health crisis. In this respect, the interaction between science, technology, the society and the environment is key to move forward, and this is precisely one of the focuses of the Science Café of UFRO,” said Dr. Alex Seguel, the Director of the Student Development Office at UFRO and one of the organizers of this initiative. Over the years, 27 sessions of the Science Café have taken place, where 37 speakers have presented topics such as natural hazards, cancer treatment, Araucaria preservation, functional foods, depression in adolescents, male infertility, medical cannabis, etc. Besides, we were able to prove that young people are interested in science, with an audience of more than 4000 people in total. FIRST SESSION OF SCIENCE CAFÉ SEASON 2020 The name of the first session of the Science Café season in 2020 is “COVID-19: Cultural Changes in Chile”, with the speaker Dr. Catterina Ferreccio R., a physician, specialist in Public Health, MSP from the University of Chile and MSP in Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University, a professor and the director of the Master’s Program in Epidemiology at the Department of Public Health of the Faculty of Medicine of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (UC), and a member of the COVID-19 Advisory Council of the Chilean Ministry of Health. The audience will be able to learn more about COVID-19 with the help of this expert during this session. “Although the recommendation is to stay at home these days, we feel the strong commitment to continue with this space for science in order to help the community in an interactive online edition that allows us to talk about scientific advances, and where the audience has the possibility to express their opinions and to ask questions. We invite you to join us and to participate from your homes via the digital platforms of Ufrovisión,” Dr. Seguel added. LIVE BROADCAST It is worth mentioning that this year's season will also be broadcasted by Ufrovisión, the Media Network of the Universidad de La Frontera, which will play a fundamental role in these online transmissions, which will allow to reach a large audience with interesting topics. We invite you to join our Science Café with a session about COVID-19 (in Spanish) on Thursday, May 7, at 7 p.m. (Chilean local time):
Written by: Carmen Hernández
UFRO Communications Office |
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Dear University Community, With respect to the decision of the health authorities to lift the mandatory quarantine in the city of Temuco on Thursday, April 30, at 10pm, we would like to inform the University Community that, as already mentioned before, our institution will maintain the preventive suspension of academic and administrative activities. Only the ones who have to fulfill tasks that are critical for the appropriate functioning of the university will be authorized to access the Campus. This measure is equally effective for our Campuses in Angol and Pucón and will be extended until Thursday, May 7, when we will evaluate the situation again and inform you in due course. Kind regards, Temuco, Chile, April 28, 2020
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The collaboration is based on a R & D Agreement to explore the scientific potential of marine micro-organisms in the southern macro-zone of Chile and is extended for three years, expecting auspicious results. |
The main focus of this ambitious R & D Agreement between the Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO) and the Canadian company Mara Renewables (Mara) is the biodiversity and scientific potential of marine micro-organisms in the southern macro-zone of Chile. Within the framework of this strategic alliance, the company's Director for Research and Development, Dr. Roberto Armenta, visited UFRO, where he had important meetings with the Vice-Rector of Research and Graduate Studies, Dr. Renato Hunter, and the Director of Research and Technology Transfer, Franklin Valdebenito, among other university authorities. “We are working together on the discovery of marine microorganisms. They are important because they produce certain compounds, in this case lipids, fats that are relevant to human nutrition and have beneficial properties for our health. This partnership is important because we will be able to have access to certain microorganisms from this part of the world,” Dr. Roberto Armenta explained. The person in charge at UFRO in this collaboration agreement that will last for three years is Dr. Carolina Shene. “During this phase we are investigating and isolating different strains that could be of interest for Mara, while they will carry out an analysis in Canada, in order to determine if these strains are useful for the research they want to carry out or not,” Dr. Shene explained. Mara develops research for the food industry, focusing on the production of algae derived DHA-rich omega-3 oil for nutrition applications and naturally-sourced products. “This agreement is very important, because there are not many companies that work with this type of microorganisms. It is an area of highly specialized knowledge and this part of the world has a biodiversity with great potential. The main strains of these microorganisms will be identified and this information will be passed on to Mara, in order to determine if they can be produced on a larger scale, since we have the capacity to grow them on a larger scale, and to asses if their production is cost-effective,” Dr. Armenta pointed out. The R & D Agreement foresees that in the next few months they will be working on issues directly related to technology transfer, since the idea is to visualize a patent for an invention that should be jointly protected.
Written by: UFRO Communications Office
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The Universidad de La Frontera has significantly improved in this ranking, by climbing six places up since 2018. |
The Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO) is ranked in sixth place in the Overall Ranking of Chilean institutions for higher education in the latest Scimago Institutions Rankings. It has significantly improved over the last two years in this ranking, climbing from place twelve in 2018 and seven in 2019 to the sixth place this year. This university has constantly improved its indicators of scientific productivity and is ranked first among the Chilean regional state institutions. “As a complex university we are proud of the position we achieved. It validates the processes of continuous improvement that UFRO has implemented within its institutional development plan and in particular in its strategies for research and innovation,” Dr. Renato Hunter, the Vice-rector for Research and Graduate Studies, said. The Scimago Institutions Rankings (SIR) is a science evaluation resource to assess academic and research-focused institutions by a composite indicator that combines three different sets of indicators based on research performance (50 %), innovation outputs (30 %) and societal impact (20 %), measured by their online visibility. In the Research Ranking the Universidad de La Frontera is in place 11 out of 35 ranked universities and in the Innovation Ranking it is in 8th place, being the second best regional university in this category. With respect to the Societal Ranking the UFRO managed to climb from 9th place in 2018 and 8th place in 2019 to the 6th place this year. According to Dr. Renato Hunter the challenge is to keep improving, by establishing more and better mechanisms for internationalization and networking, which will allow this university to keep developing cutting-edge science and technology. Click here to view the Scimago Rankings Escrito por: Karimme Riadi
Vice-rectorate for Research and Graduate Studies |
