The Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso was recently awarded the Promotion of International Linkages (FOVI) project “Port 5.0: the next revolution in sustainable transportation”, which contemplates bringing together academics from various countries and students from the community port-logistics of Chile with the purpose of working to face this great challenge that is framed in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations.
The initiative is led at our University by the academic from the School of Construction and Transportation, Lorena Bearzotti, and the professor from the School of Industrial Engineering, Franco Basso, with the participation of researchers from the PUCV schools of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
In this regard, an International Workshop was held in mid-May with the participation of Professor Stefan Voss from the University of Hamburg; Mario Vélez from the Eafit University of Colombia; Professor Alice Smith of Auburne University and Tom Obrien of Long Beach University.
Professor Bearzotti expressed that on the occasion a series of necessary strategies that our country requires to move towards a more sustainable port were discussed.
“We explore a wide variety of topics and work in the area of reducing the carbon footprint, optimizing logistics and strengthening resilience against climate change. We have carried out two intense works with undergraduate and graduate students and also a reflection and analysis activity with proposed solutions on the great challenges around the port-logistics chain and terminals,” he added.
The panels were a space to exchange innovative ideas, analyze successful cases or realities that allow us to positively address these great challenges that are included under the concept of sustainability.
“Ports are not only a center of economic activity, but must also take the lead in protecting the environmental and social environment. “This type of activity marks a milestone and the beginning of international cooperation in the context of port logistics chains, seeking to strengthen these work and research networks that allow transfer to actors from the various communities both in Chile and in the region,” added Bearzotti.
STUDENTS VALUED THIS LEARNING INSTANCE
Constanza Castillo is one of the PUCV students who participated in the meeting. “For me, the Workshop was an invaluable learning opportunity, since I was able to learn more about logistics processes and how to implement sustainability in the port area, which is a particularly relevant topic, since we are a port city and it helped me to have other perspectives. and collect important information, since my degree project is about how to improve sustainability in the port’s logistics processes,” he commented.
Sebastián Soto, Transportation Engineering student, added that it was valuable to learn about the international experience on this topic. “I would like to highlight the experiences brought from abroad that can be applied in our country. Not only have talks to hear national experiences, but also learn about what is happening outside the country, what the United States is doing or the process in Colombia on how to change the industry to manufacture cement in a more sustainable way.”
Those attending the meeting also got to know the ZEAL offices in Valparaíso, which was a very enriching experience. Student Giselle Rodríguez indicated that “we learned about other perspectives on logistics and how ports are working in various parts of the world. She reaffirms the thought that logistics goes beyond our borders and has global reach, it affects us all. “The area of how ports integrate with communities and how to make these actors reach agreements and work more together to achieve mutual benefits is valuable.”
By Juan Paulo Roldán
Strategic Communication Department
