The outgoing mobility students came together at the traditional farewell ceremony. They are going to Europe, Asia, and North America, thanks to the international agreements established between UFRO and numerous universities around the world.

Within the framework of the student mobility program of Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO), the International Affairs Office carried out an emotional farewell ceremony for the 21 undergraduate students who will spend the first semester of 2024 at universities in Germany, Austria, Belgium, South Korea, Spain and Mexico.

The ceremony was led by the vice-rector for Research and Graduate Studies, Dr. Rodrigo Navia Diez, who pointed out that these experiences have a positive impact on people’s lives, not only regarding their professional training but also regarding their personal development.

“International mobility is a fundamental pillar of our university – an important task that includes resources and a huge institutional effort at all levels. We hope that these 21 outgoing mobility students will be able to fully enjoy this opportunity and that they motivate their peers to also go see the world upon their return. It is important for us to have students who know what is going on in other parts of the world. That way, they can share their experiences and implement some of the practices here in Chile. It allows us to develop a better quality of life for the people,” the vice-rector Navia pointed out.

According to the director of the International Affairs Office, Dr. Lorena Vieli, this is another major achievement. “This is a very valuable experience and I hope that our students are aware of the privilege they have by getting access to such an opportunity, which implies a lot of previous work of our Student Mobility team. We have made great efforts to manage these processes, in order to be able to include more and more students in these programs. We want to support our UFRO students and provide the tools that allow them to receive the required funding, not only from our university but also from other institutions that offer these scholarships and grants that allow the students to make use of these opportunities,” she explained.

The student mobility opportunities are a crucial part of the Internationalisation Strategy of UFRO and directly contribute to the internationalisation of the undergraduate curriculum. In addition, they are also part of at least two pillars of UFROs Educational Model: Global Citizenship and People’s Comprehensive Development.

In this context, the university sends the students to countries such as Germany, Austria, Belgium, South Korea, Spain and Mexico, where UFRO maintains strong international relations through mutual collaboration agreements, which allow the students from the different faculties to study at least one semester at prestigious universities abroad.

	Cristóbal Villanueva Navarrete; Spanish and Communication Pedagogy; Universidad de Castilla - La Mancha (Spain) “I have two clear goals: on the one hand, I want to expand my knowledge in the academic field of literature. Actually, most of the subjects I registered for deal with literature, art and culture. I am very interested in an academic career and this opportunity will allow me to learn more for when I return to Chile. On the other hand, I want to get to know Spain and Europe in general and to enjoy a new experience. I am really looking forward to that.”
	Claudia Muñoz Pérez; Business Engineering; Sungshin Women’s University (South Korea) “Academically, I want to expand my knowledge, especially in terms of business innovation, and to learn about a totally different, forward-looking and innovative culture. I also want to learn about the Korean culture. I really like their music and entertainment in general, so I hope to learn from that and to generate networks that will help me in the future as a professional.”
	Ignacio Vilar Bertolotto; Physical Therapy; University of Lleida (Spain) “I am going to do my internship there. I want to get another view of my future profession and to learn about how they work there. The idea is to enjoy a comprehensive experience, to get to know and work at many health centres and to learn a lot about my profession.”

From December 10 to 15, the Pucón Campus of Universidad de La Frontera receives researchers and students from multiple disciplines related to geometry for this international event organized by the Research Center Geometry at the Frontier.

The international mathematical community gets together at the 8th Iberoamerican Congress on Geometry, which takes place at Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO) in Pucón, Chile, this year, where national and international researchers and students meet from December 10 to 15, to share their knowledge on the issues and progress in this mathematical discipline.

The program of this international congress, organized by UFROs Research Center Geometry at the Frontier, includes eight plenary talks and four special session talks on Higher Dimensional Algebraic Geometry, Dynamical Systems, Algebraic Surfaces and Riemann Surfaces, where the speakers will present the recent advances in geometry.

All speakers are outstanding national and international experts in the study of geometry. They carry out significant work, combining their efforts and capabilities to strengthen and position the Iberoamerican scientific community as an important reference in the field of geometry.

It is worth mentioning that the first Iberoamerican Congress on Geometry took place in Olmué, Chile, in 1998. After that, it took place in Guanajuato, Mexico, in 2001; in Salamanca, Spain, in 2004; in Ouro Preto, Brazil, in 2007; back in Pucón, Chile, in 2010; in New York, USA, in 2014; and in Valladolid, Spain, in 2018.

This year, the congress takes place in Pucón, Chile, again, as a promising encounter of knowledge exchange between mathematicians from Iberoamerica and other parts of the world.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE CONGRESS

The researchers of the Physical Literacy Research Centre (CIAM) of the Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO) analysed the active behaviour of children in the La Araucanía Region in order to understand the relationship between motor competence, motivation and the levels of physical activity in schoolchildren.

Motor competence describes the ability to execute fundamental motor skills and is one of the skills that we should promote during childhood to ensure the children’s comprehensive development. A high motor competence allows the child to ride a bicycle, run, jump the rope, and participate in other games and activities. However, something so simple can turn into a problem for those who do not develop these skills, which leads to anxiety, frustrations and a lack of motivation to participate in physical activity. The consequence can be problems such as the development of an inactive lifestyle.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and its reports on physical activity and sedentary behaviour (WHO 2021), children and adolescents should carry out at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day of the week, especially activities of moderate to vigorous intensity.

The study “Motor competence, motivation and enjoyment in physical education to profile children in relation to physical activity behaviours”, carried out by the Physical Literacy Research Centre (CIAM) of Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO) in collaboration with researchers from Germany, Switzerland and Spain, and published by the prestigious journal “Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy”, shows that these WHO recommendations are not being met, what, in addition to the low levels of motor competence, might have multiple health consequences both in adolescents and adults.

THE STUDY

The study evaluated 730 schoolchildren from 5th and 6th grade of primary school in the La Araucanía Region, Chile, and the results show that 78% of the children have low levels of motor competence and only a few meet the physical activity recommendations. In addition, those schoolchildren with a high perceived motor competence and a high motivation and enjoyment of physical activity class were more active and presented a lower Body Mass Index. That shows the importance of affective and psychological factors for the promotion of an active lifestyle.

According to Dr. Jaime Cárcamo, the director of CIAM UFRO, the study shows that the level of motor competence and physical activity of the schoolchildren allows understanding how the perception of competence and motivation could be determining factors for the development of motor competence and the regular practice of physical activity in schoolchildren.

“This relation is essential, not only for physical education class at school but also for the promotion of physical activity in our society. There are highly motivated children, but their enthusiasm contrasts with their performance in tasks such as bouncing a tennis ball against a wall and catching it, or something as common as jumping the rope, an exercise that more than 80% of the children in our study were not able to carry out,” Dr. Cárcamo explained.

The academic Dr. Isaac Estevan of the University of Valencia, Spain, who is also one of the co-authors of the study, indicated that “the impact of this research is not limited to the academic field, since its results have important implications for physical education class and the promotion of an active and healthy lifestyle. The results also may affect our view on motivation in the field of sports and physical activity in general. Therefore, we hope that this study will be useful to physical education teachers and the decision-makers when it comes to policies in this field”.

NEED FOR ACTION

In the analysis of the study, the researchers found that although the majority of the children presented low levels of motor competence, there is a group with high levels of motivation and enjoyment regarding physical education class. We could use that as an opportunity to improve their motor competence through pedagogical strategies and to consolidate their motivation for physical activity. The researchers of the Physical Literacy Research Centre (CIAM) also recommend that the parents promote their children’s motor competence as much as possible. That could be through actions such as playing with them, taking them to the playgrounds, and reducing screen time (in front of the television, tablet, or mobile phone).

Currently, CIAM is actively training physical education teachers and the idea is to implement a platform in the future, where teachers and parents can easily evaluate the motor competence of their children or students, as well as to provide recommendations to promote motor competence and the practice of physical activity.

In addition, CIAM develops continuing research projects to better understand the issue and to contribute to this important field of knowledge.

The publication of this study in the journal “Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy” is an important achievement for CIAM UFRO, since the Q1 journal is considered one of the most important ones in the field of physical education. That also underlines the relevance of this study for the international scientific community. The authors hope that this work will be the starting point for future research that contributes to the improvement of physical education classes and the promotion of physical literacy in Chile.

The Washington Post published an article about a study led by Gabriel Nasri Marzuca-Nassr, a researcher and associate professor at Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO), about the importance of resistance exercise for older people (in their 60s, 70s and beyond) to gain strength and muscle mass, and to improve their mobility.

Source: The Washington Post