With the participation of more than 35 attendees, last Friday, May 31, a new day was held that brought together representatives of the different extension teams of the academic units and institutes of the Casa de Bello. In the instance developed at the Eloísa Díaz Campus, the participants were part of applied workshops and tours of the Faculty.
With the presence of the vice-rector of Extension and Communications, Pilar Barba; the director of Extension of the University of Chile, Fabián Retamal and the director of Extension and Linkage of the Faculty of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nelson Ibarra, began the work day that sought to bring together experiences and analysis around Extension training.
Led by professionals from the Extension Directorate, Nicolás Peña and Bárbara Azcárraga, the workshop “Moving towards transversal definitions of Extension Training at the University of Chile”, which had the objective of agreeing on transversal lines around Extension Training and Extension Diplomas at the University of Chile, based on the work carried out by the Extension directorates and teams of the Academic Units, in light of University Decree No. 0027670 (2023) on Diploma Regulations.
In this regard, the workshop began with a general review of the University Decree N°0027670 of Continuing Education and Extension Diplomas. Then, the attendees were divided into four groups, where a blind table was analyzed for the construction of Extension Training instructions.
In the instance, the proposed material was reviewed (University Decree No. 0027670 (2023) and Instruction No. 037/2023 VAA Diplomas and Continuing Education initiatives) and work was done collectively around Extension Training and Extension Diplomas in light of these institutional documents. he collectively completed the blind box on Extension Training.
Finally, the groups were part of a general plenary, where the results and reflections were presented regarding the progress and challenges around Extension Training in light of the reviewed documents and the completed table.
He Director of Extension of the University of Chile, Fabián Retamal, He expressed his joy at the positive balance of the day and highlighted the organization of the meeting. “We had the opportunity to exchange views and experiences in relation to the extension and connection with the environment, integrating the realities of each faculty, which allows us today to make an extremely positive balance, both for the high attendance and for the participatory space generated in conjunction with the extension direction of the Faculty of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, which undoubtedly contributes to the enrichment and enlargement of the Extension Network.”
While, Nicolás Peña, the coordinator of the Territorial Linkage and Extension Training Area, highlighted that this workshop addressed the challenge of sharing common experiences and definitions regarding extension training in general and extension diplomas in particular, with a view to moving towards instructions or guidelines that allow academic units to address the formulation, design and implementation of programs aimed at the community. “Based on the heterogeneity of practices, approaches and disciplines that are developed in the different academic units, progress was made in establishing a common language and sharing procedures in relation to extension diplomas, identifying gaps and pending challenges in this matter. ”.
To this, Bárbara Azcárraga, professional in the area, He maintained that the meeting allowed, in a transversal way, to generate an agreement that extension training implies addressing the community and strengthening ties between the university and the territories. “To achieve this, it is important to generate heterogeneous, dialogic and reflective training spaces that promote the democratization of knowledge and social commitment.”
Likewise, Peña referred to the event as an enriching space, since “there are few instances where professional teams from different academic units meet and discuss common topics.” To this, he warned that, although the challenges are still many, there are various meeting points and common senses that allow establishing a general view of extension training and extension diplomas, which allow establishing a dialogue with other instances of the University such as teacher training, continuing education and postgraduate programs.
The professional of the Vice President of Extension and Communications He also highlighted that the most interesting thing was knowing that the different academic units seek, through their offer of extension diplomas, to carry out the social commitment of the University with the various territories of the country, seeking to open the University to the diversity of communities. that inhabit it, especially those most relegated and marginalized from academic knowledge. “In this way, progress is made in social justice that points to equity and inclusion,” he concluded.
I work together with the Faculty of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Organized by the Department of Extension and Liaison of the Faculty, the day continued with the talk “Stories of projects and strategies of engagement with society: ACCDiS” by the National Science Prize and academic from the University of Chile, Sergio Lavandero.
After that, the group went to the ACCDiS Laboratory, where they participated in a fluorescent staining scientific workshop and observation of mitochondria in live cardiomyocytes. Likewise, the attendees visited the Food Science laboratory to observe the preparation of food made by students for the Expo Fair to be held in July 2024.
Finally, the Director of Extension and Liaison of the Faculty, Nelson Ibarra, He expressed that for the organizing team it was “an honor to receive them in our Faculty, taking into consideration the necessary integration of experiences that we must develop in a University like ours, where each local reality is diverse, but we have a common denominator associated with the seal of this house of higher education, as a public and state institution, at the service of Chile and its people.”
