USM Rector, Darcy Fuenzalida: "What we will see in the future will be a different form of collaborative work"

Francisco Martinic director@ladiscusion.cl

There is no doubt that humanity is learning great lessons from a pandemic that marks out a path of changes that at other times we thought impossible and that today can become part of our challenges and priorities to act.

For the Rector of the Federico Santa María Technical University, Darcy Fuenzalida O'Shee, the pandemic has taught us to shorten distances to interact and share ideas, thanks to technology, while universities, especially those with a public vocation, have shown forcefully, how knowledge can be timely and relevant at the service of society.

“The Federico Santa María Technical University has always made all its capabilities available to respond to the country's challenges. We are a public institution with a strong vocation for solidarity and social responsibility, which has encouraged the university community to collaborate, from our work and knowledge, in the search for solutions to the requirements that the country presents in the context of the complex health situation due to COVID-19.

During these months, various teams of professors, students, and officials from our campuses and venues have deployed their scientific-technological potential, contributing with various initiatives that range from the production of medical implements such as artificial respirators, face shields, and masks, to the monitoring of air pollution and its impact on the spread of the disease”.

Of these different initiatives, which ones would you highlight?

One of the first initiatives that emerged within the University was the manufacture of artificial respirators. We have two projects in this line: the first, a mechanical ventilator for endotracheal intubation, which is currently in the testing phase, and which would use the gas line of hospitals; a system of valves that will be connected to the patient and that will provide the breathing cycle. This project is one of the five selected by Sofofa among 35 that were presented in the country, and also has the support of Corfo. A second project develops a respirator that administers air and oxygen through a mask, and that is characterized by being easy to implement and low cost.

There are volunteer teams of professionals, academics and students in our FabLabs who, in our Campuses and Headquarters, are making face shields and masks with the aim of mainly supporting hospitals and the community, donating hundreds of them to date, a project that will allow that more than 10,000 face shields be donated to Hospitals and Health Centers in the Valparaíso, Biobío and Metropolitan regions, to be distributed throughout the country.

Added to this is the creation of an isolation box prototype to give greater security to personnel in the endotracheal intubation process in critically ill patients and mainly in nursing and kinesiology of the ICU-COVID, in extubation processes.

In parallel, various initiatives are being carried out, such as the design of a swab that can be developed in Chile, to carry out tests for this disease, studies regarding the behavior of the virus through mathematical modeling and using artificial intelligence and Big Data, which It will allow anticipating expansion dynamics and providing advance information to the authorities.

How difficult has it been for UTSM to adapt to distance education, teacher training and student connectivity?

Beyond the normal difficulties involved in the process of adapting to a new way of teaching, it has worked well. All subjects are being taught under this modality and high attendance has been recorded by students, especially first-year students. The foregoing is largely due to the fact that we have managed to support our students, mainly those with limited resources, with the delivery of connectivity scholarships, which have benefited almost three thousand students, mainly belonging to the Viña del Mar and Concepción, and also with computer loans. The students have also taken advantage of its benefits, such as the possibility of having recordings of the classes to review the contents and the opportunity to incorporate new teaching and learning methodologies.

Likewise, we have supported our teachers in the use of new technologies, providing them with the necessary tools to carry out their work. Added to this is the great commitment and willingness of everyone in this process.

On the other hand, and along with accelerating the digitalization process of the bibliographic texts that are essential for the study programs, the USM has ordered a greater investment and availability of resources for the library system, which has allowed the benefit of nearly 150 students throughout the country, with loans of laptops, which have been delivered to their homes, through the Institutional Information and Bibliographic Documentation Department of the campus.

A step-by-step guide on how to change your Zoom name, profile picture, and background, make a breakout room, and mo… https://t.co/D2hmMJVQws

— High Speed ​​Crow Wed May 26 17:17:35 +0000 2021

Apart from the technical aspects of distance education and work, what other support (psychological, health) to your students and workers?

As a University we have focused all our efforts on guaranteeing the well-being of our university community. At the end of February, a comprehensive information campaign began to alert the community about the risks of this disease and provide recommendations to minimize the chances of contagion. To this was added the installation of gel alcohol dispensers in each of the Institution's Campuses and Headquarters, the development of preventive rounds, the suspension of massive activities and distancing in common spaces. As of March, the teleworking modality was implemented and for those officials who have disclosed some connectivity difficulties, monthly data bags were contracted.

Through the Human Resources Department and the Student Relations Department, expeditious communication channels have been set up and we have developed a complete support and care plan to provide our professors, students and staff with all the help and guidance they need to face this emergency.

The University has also provided special support for those students who prove very complex situations of coexistence in the family nucleus or present a severe decrease in their disposable income. These circumstances are analyzed case by case, in light of the background information presented.

Added to the above is the development of conversation spaces, where a group of students talks about a particular topic with a professional in the area, and also that psychological care and social workers are carried out online, safeguarding privacy. of the students.

Recommendations are constantly made to teachers, students and officials to continue applying prevention and self-care measures, to carefully observe the protocols issued by the Ministry of Health and to go to the nearest health center if they present symptoms associated with COVID-19, reporting immediately, in in the case of civil servants, to the Human Resources Department, and students to the Student Relations Department.

Are you concerned that the adjustments and reallocations of fiscal resources that the Treasury is promoting, affect the development of research projects or development of Higher Education Institutions?

The context that universities have had to face has been quite complex, since, since the beginning of the pandemic, our policy has been to adapt our work to new modalities, in order to ensure the protection of the health of our communities. We have invested our own resources to face the emergency, acquiring software to implement teleworking and online classes, in addition to providing connectivity scholarships, support for our students and other benefits.

The financial complications in the CRUCH Universities have been generated as a result of the social outbreak and the COVID 19 pandemic, and will lead the Universities to receive lower income due to impacts on enrollments and higher costs due to the measures that have had to be addressed. due to the health situation, leading to a financial impact of $146,739 million.

This situation will cause complex impacts, which is why as a council we have proposed a series of measures to face the difficult academic and financial situation of our universities, most of which have been unfortunately rejected by the Ministry of Education. One of the aspects that raises the greatest concern for us is the Ministry's proposal to nationalize the surplus money that has accumulated in the University Credit Solidarity Fund, thanks to the contribution and management of each of our universities, which would deprive our students to be able to dispose of these resources from their own institutions.

It is important to express that the surplus of the University Loan Solidarity Fund is a patrimony of each one of the Universities, so it is a legitimate request that they be the ones that can make use of them, in order to implement support for our students and contribute to face the deficit generated, allowing us to continue with our academic, training and research work, since universities are an important source of knowledge and 85% of the country's research comes from our institutions, so this crisis It also puts research, innovation and patents generated for the country's development at risk.

Once the pandemic has been overcome, we are going to face a different society and even a world that is going to change or has changed. How does the University fit into that new society and in that new world?

Without a doubt, we are already witnessing a change in society, which presents us with a new reality. As a University we have been living online work for some time, led by the work of our researchers and today the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the process of implementing the development of the virtual modality with students, professors and officials, to through telecommuting.

This change, without a doubt, will remain in the community and the Universities in the future, we will have much more virtual activity in our natural development, because the demands have shown that these means contribute positively to the task. However, once the pandemic is over, we must begin to gradually reactivate face-to-face instances and what we will see in the future will be a different form of collaborative work, where virtual and face-to-face work will coexist in our university work.