The project, which is led by students in engineering, business engineering and physiotherapy, aspires to be a creative solution that is easy to use and maintain, eye-catching and of low cost.

The group of students of the Universidad de La Frontera presented this innovative device that is meant to turn into an alternative or complementary solution for physiotherapy in children with chronic bronchial diseases.

“Fisiosmart” is the name of this vibration vest that has been elaborated to remove secretions in 2 to 12 year old children that aspires to be a creative solution that is easy to use and maintain, eye-catching and of low cost.

The device has been created by students of the Macro Faculty of Engineering in Chile and students in physiotherapy. It is designed to show its effectiveness in a short period of time. It is made of a net of motors with counterweight, which are connected to a wide pulse modulating circuit, with a potentiometer that permits to regulate the vibrations frequency according to the physical properties of the secretions, acting directly on them, what facilitates its elimination.

At the beginning, the project was financed by the Macro Faculty of Engineering in Chile (through the competition “Experimentando”) and, afterwards, by the Regional Support Program for Entrepreneurs (PRAE) of the Production Development Corporation (CORFO). The vest was presented at the UFRO thanks to the alliance the team of students made with the private company for its development.

“We have an application that controls this device and allows to use three vibration modes and three frequencies, from 100 to 300 hertz. The vest allows to remove the secretion in children and avoids that a basic disease turns into something more complex,” José Luis Portiño, graduate in Civil Industrial Engineering with specialization in Mechanics and the director of the project, explained.

In this context, Franco Pérez, the CORFO technical executive, said: “It is important to support entrepreneurship linked to the fields that have certain problems nowadays. The students applied for PRAE funds and received funding of 15 million Chilean pesos, what allowed them to develop the working prototype of their project.”

Rodrigo Navia, dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Science, emphasized the multidisciplinary work of students from three different faculties for the realization of this initiative.

“This project has been particularly successful because they managed to leverage CORFO funds and the advice of Incubatec in order to put the product on the market with an appropriate business model. This shows that our students are not only able to work on issues of social impact, but also can develop, design and prototype products of commercial interest,” he said.

ACCESSIBLE TO PATIENTS

Although devices that are similar to the one that has been developed by the UFRO students do already exist on the market, the high costs make it difficult to acquire them. “There are vests that cost between 15 and 20 thousand dollars. We reduced this price considerably and arrived at a figure close to a million Chilean pesos. In an economy of scale, this price can be reduce even more,” José Portiño sustained.

Finally, Valeska Geldres, the dean of the Faculty of Law and Business, expressed: “For us, it is a fact that entrepreneurship at a young age is possible. When you take the plunge, you have to take calculated risks and that means you have to associate yourself with people of other disciplines and experiences, what has been shown in the present case.”

Written by: Mauricio Antivil
Macro Faculty of Engineering

It is excellent news for the Faculty of Dentistry which just joined the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE). In this context, the unit also recently participated in the Annual Meeting of the Association in Oslo, Norway, from August 22nd to 24th.

For the Faculty of Dentistry of the Universidad de La Frontera it is important to be part of this organization that brings European and non-European university faculties of dentistry, as well as specialized societies and other institutions related to dental education, together.

“From our point of view, this association is a global leader in dental education and, above all, able to bring different countries with different realities together and gives a certain orientation and consensus in dental education, what we really appreciate because there are a lot of experiences which we can review, observe and apply,” Dr. Ramón Fuentes, dean of the UFRO Faculty of Dentistry, explained.

In this regard, he added: “We believe that being part of the Association for Dental Education is an important step for the Universidad de La Frontera. First, because it allows us to get to know what is done in Europe; and second, what is done in the rest of the associated countries; and finally, we will have the possibility to participate in their activities and, in the future, in some accompanying and quality assurance programs.”

ANNUAL MEETING

The first activity of the Faculty of Dentistry of the Universidad de La Frontera as a member of ADEE was the participation in the Annual Meeting at the University of Oslo in Norway between August 22nd to 24th under the heading “Dental Education in a Changing Society”. One of the UFRO participants was Paulina Hofer who is a teacher and member of the team that manages the Dental School.

“I had the opportunity to participate as a representative of the UFRO Faculty of Dentistry and the State Network of Dentistry, and to get updated on the developments and new techniques, to observe and dialogue with directives about what is happening regarding research and development, in meetings with authorities of several European faculties and through observations during the poster presentations. And I also had the chance to participate in the general program with activities around the city, besides of listening to European speakers regarding dentistry around the world.”

The academic added: “It was important to participate in the workshops and groups with special focus on the syllabus of the program and it was enriching to create international networks. This kind of encounters favor the extrapolation and reflection about the quality of our dentistry program in relation to what happens in other countries.”

The next Annual Meeting of ADEE will take place in Berlin, Germany, in 2019. During the final General Assembly this year, the member institutions were invited to actively participate in this meeting.

Written by: Soledad Millapán
Faculty of Dentistry

This program gives students the opportunity to get practical work experience abroad and to get to know different contexts within their professional training.

Since 2016, the Universidad de La Frontera, through the Faculty of Engineering and Science and the Student Mobility Unit of the International Affairs Office, is constantly working on the coordination of practical training experiences abroad for their students, in alliance with Temuco UniverCiudad, an institution that is cooperating with the International Association for Student Exchange for Practical Experience (IAESTE).

This cooperation that comes together in an initiative called FICA IAESTE promotes international student mobility experiences, giving the students of this institution the chance to do their practical training abroad.

This is how the UFRO sends its future professionals to other countries and also receives a large number of students from other nations in order to do their practical training at our institution.

RECEPTION

In this context, and making use of the visit of Bernard Baeyens, the IAESTE president, the coordination office for practical training of the Faculty of Engineering and Science, which is directed by Gabriela Reyes, organized a meeting of fellowship in order to welcome the five foreign students that now are at the UFRO within this program: Diana Rentería from Mexico, Kourtnie Ruber from the United States, Gabriel Brandao from Brazil, Vit Ruzicka from the Czech Republic and Taiga Inoue from Japan.

The participants in this meeting space were Juan Möller, the director of Undergraduate Affairs of the Faculty of Engineering and Science, together with Antonia Espinoza, who is in charge of the UFRO Student Mobility Unit, Valentina Carrasco, the coordinator of the IAESTE program in Chile, and also the academics who are going to participate as the students´ employees and host families.

“From what I´ve seen, this program responds a little to the concerns of teachers, directives and students, what makes me very happy, because I can see that it works, that there is an interest in giving stability to the program in the future,” Bernard Baeyens pointed out and added that the idea is to strengthen the work that is being done in Temuco through IAESTE, for later extending it to the rest of Chile.

Regarding the multicultural experience this kind of programs offer, Bernard Beayens has no doubt when he says: “The idea is precisely to make the people get used to facing a new culture, because I think that, the less you know something, the more you´ll learn.”

Having this in mind, the married couple of the two academics Dr. Carlos Muñoz and Dr. Sonia Salvo decided to receive Kourtnie Ruber, a student from the United States, at their home for a period of four months. They describe this experience as very enriching, especially for their daughters.

“We have two daughters, a nine year old and an eleven year old. They were very anxious to get to know Kourtnie, not only for learning more English, but also for getting to know a different culture, and, considering that we are planning to go to the United States for some time, this allows us to prepare our daughters in a better way. This is why we really appreciate this opportunity,” Dr. Muñoz explained.

VISIT

Within the visit of the IAESTE president, Gabriela Reyes, who is in charge of the FICA IAESTE practical training program, together with Antonia Espinoza, who is in charge of the UFRO Student Mobility Unit, presented the experiences since the implementation of this initiative in a forum that has been held in the Amor de Chile Hall, an activity in which also foreign and UFRO students, who have had the possibility to do a practical training outside of their home countries, participated.

“As a faculty, we are very happy, because we are increasingly consolidating and strengthening a program we have been working on since 2016, with the support of the Macro Faculty of Engineering and the Student Mobility Unit, but we want that the number of foreign students grows each time more. Therefore, I invite the academics to be part of the program, as host families or as employees, accepting students in their fields of work for their practical training in 2019 and, this way, contributing to internationalization, which is one of our main strategies,” Gabriela Reyes pointed out.

Finally, it is worth saying that, now, two students of this faculty are doing their practical training abroad: Nicolás Oyarzún in Colombia and Samuel Rilling in Germany; an experience that also awaits Camilo Cuevas, who is going to travel to Germany next December.

Written by: Daphne Bormann
Faculty of Engineering and Science

It was the twelfth version of the Research Exhibition FIUFRO, where researchers presented their scientific and technological work. More than two thousand people visited the stands that had been prepared to bring science closer to the community.

The Regions of Chile do contribute to the scientific development of the country. This is one of the premises the Universidad de La Frontera has supported through research, thanks to the talent of the women and men who have helped this institution to be nationally recognized because of the knowledge they are creating, and who now have been sharing their work with the community.

It was the twelfth version of the Research Exhibition FIUFRO, where researchers presented their scientific and technological work to more than two thousand people who went to see how science is made at the UFRO. More than 60 exhibition stands and about a hundred researchers were being part of the circuit that had been prepared especially for the exhibition, with the aim of showing science in a fun way and to bring it close to the people.

“This Exposition connects us with the people, with our region and our country,” Dr. Hebel, the Rector of the university, emphasized regarding this new version of the exhibition. He explained that the important advances the UFRO shows in research “are part of the strategy for positioning itself as a complex university that once started as a future-oriented vision with two fields of research in its first stage: bioresources and social sciences. Now we can see with satisfaction that there are emerging groups.”

He also appreciated the importance of innovation and technology transfer: “They give sense to our research, make the people feel that they benefit from it and that it improves their life.”

Dr. Renato Hunter, the Vice-rector for Research and Graduate Studies, specified the scientific advances the UFRO has made and mentioned the main achievements and indicators. “This Exhibition allows us to disseminate the knowledge we create in our classrooms and laboratories, with the objective to make the community participate in the success of each of our research works,” he said, and added that this was also a space of integration, where the academics get to know what their colleagues are doing.

OUTREACH

The exposition is an initiative that came to life at the Research Division more than a decade ago and, by the time, became a yearly awaited event and a real science festival.

In this regard, Dr. César Arriagada, the Director of the Research Division, pointed out that this Exhibition – that is organized by his division – is one of the important opportunities that allows the UFRO to present its work to the community. “We are a complex university and it is an important aspect to bring the different research work we are developing close to the community, but explaining it in simple terms, so everybody can understand what we are doing,” he explained.

This year, more than two thousand people visited the stands. Most of them were elementary and high school students who came from different parts of the Araucanía Region and were invited through the regional partnership project, PAR Explora Araucanía, and the educational program for children and teenagers with academic talents, PROENTA-UFRO. There was also a space to talk about science at the special edition of the Scientific Café, with live streaming.

Felipe Gallardo, the director of PAR Explora Araucanía, said that this event does not only bring science close to the community, but that it is also a space to motivate young people to do science. “We can see that the scientists of each stand are very dedicated and trying to make science playful in order to bring the world of science closer to educational establishments and the citizens, so young kids get captivated by knowledge.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

At this year´s version of FIUFRO, Dr. Mario Cantín López received a posthumous award for his productive scientific career, which was handed to his widow, Mariela Muñoz.

The dedication and creativity at the stands was also awarded. After an evaluation, the three best have been announced. The first place went to Dr. Alejandra Fuentes with the stand “Biological Remediation of Contaminated Soils”; the second place went to the group of researchers of the CIBAMA (Center of Excellence in Biotechnological Research Applied to the Environment) stand; and the third place to the stand of the Biometrics Laboratory, led by Dr. Christian Salas.

COMMUNITY AND SCIENCE

	Dr. Beatriz Pérez Sánchez, Researcher at the Scientific Social Science and Humanities Nucleus, UFRO “This exhibition is fundamental, because it is an important opportunity to show what is happening with the population of Chile and the Araucanía Region and to motivate the children to do science. It is very interesting to talk to them about all kind of topics we are investigating.”
	Irene Huentemilla, teacher at the Leftraru Center for Education of Nueva Imperial, Chile “This is the second time I visit this exposition. I think that it is excellent that the UFRO shows the research they have been doing during the year and that they share this information with institutions like ours, where we don´t have resources for research.”
	Tania Toledo, student at Irene Frei School of Lautaro, Chile “I really liked the exposition a lot, because I was able to participate in a lot of things and that was very fun. At the moment we are learning about bacteria and viruses at school and the exposition helped me a lot to improve on what is difficult for me. I really enjoyed the experience.”
	Humberto Ponte, PhD student in Natural Resource Sciences, UFRO “I find it very positive, not only the fact that we get out of our laboratories to show the people what we are doing, but also that children of all ages come here to see what we are doing and get in touch with science, so the fact that science and the community come together is very positive.”