• In its third public account, the ESUS Solar Energy Team referred to the big challenges that they faced during 2016: the Atacama Solar Challenge and the high possibility that the team has of winning the Construye Solar 2017 contest with the Casa Temperie. Among the challenges for 2017, they mentioned the initiative to build solar modules in the campus and their participation in the Sasol Solar Challenge 2018, in South Africa.

   

  In its public account after almost six years of its creation, the Universidad de Santiago’s Solar Energy Team (ESUS) highlighted the big challenges that they faced during 2016: the Atacama Solar Challenge and the high possibilities that the team has of winning the Construye Solar 2017 contest with the Casa Temperie, the sustainable social housing project developed in partnership with the School of Architecture of Universidad de Santiago. The team members also referred to their initiative to build solar modules in the campus through their Sustenta ESUS Division.

  The ESUS Team is currently made up of more than 50 students at the Faculties of Engineering, Humanities, Administration and Economics, the Technological Faculty, and the School of Architecture. They have worked with more than 15 business partners during this period that have contributed with more than 125 million pesos, a 594% more than the previous year.

  Since its foundation in 2011, the projects of ESUS promote the use of solar energy as a solution to the constant energy problems that affect our country, through research and by implementing different technological developments.

  Dr Claudio Martínez Fernández, Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation said that he was very proud of this young team that works for Universidad de Santiago.

  “The way in which they have approached their work -constantly looking for innovation and new projects, one of the focuses of the university- confirms that, in spite of the fact that they are undergraduate students, they can make a big difference,” he says.

  Vice President Martínez adds that “Universidad de Santiago is historically known for contributing to the knowledge and development of the country and ESUS is a clear example of this.”

  Challenges for 2017

  For next year, the Solar Energy Team highlighted three big challenges that they will face. First, The Apolo Team will build a new solar vehicle, the Apolo IV, a lighter version of the Apolo III, to compete in the Sasol Solar Challenge, South Africa, in September 2018. They are also evaluating the possibility of competing in the Atacama Solar Challenge 2017.

  Second, the Construye Team is ready to start building the Casa Temperie, (Temperie House), a project that was started in March by the School of Architecture. The team is among the 10 finalists in the Construye Solar 2017 contest organized by the NGO La Ruta Solar.

  The project is a new concept of social housing that involves a habitable environment in a greenhouse with renewable energies. With this project, the ESUS Team thinks that they have possibilities of winning.

  And finally, the Sustenta ESUS division has the goal of building solar modules in the campus to provide free power to charge batteries for laptops, cellphones and other electronic devices. In this way, the university community will have access to a real sustainable initiative.

  Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The Apolo II, the new vehicle built by students and thesis students of Esus, the Universidad de Santiago’s Solar Vehicles Team, is being assembled these days. During this week, they expect to finish mounting the electrical wiring onto the mechanical structure while they finish the body shell that, this time, was made of carbon fiber and fiberglass; the sheets were manufactured by Fibrovent, one of the sponsoring companies.
• After two years of work and research, the new car surpasses its predecessor by incorporating technologies that improve the energy efficiency, the engine performance and the use of batteries. Besides, innovations have been included in the design to meet the standards required by the Atacama Solar Challenge that will be held between November 13th and 17th this year.  
• The Executive Director of the project, Gonzalo Pacheco says: “We want to be in the first place as we have worked for that. We will do our best until the end of the race.”

 

Two years ago, Esus, the Universidad de Santiago’s Solar Vehicles Team, developed a prototype for an ultra-light vehicle, fed with photovoltaic power -the Apolo- that competed in the Atacama Solar Challenge.

Since then, the team focused its efforts on improving the efficiency of the car. The results are about to see the light of day. In 2014, Esus members, together with the new students that have become part of the team, have developed a new and more advanced car model to compete again in this race and win. The car now is in the process of being assembled.

“We are in the process of integrating all the electrical, mechanical and design components,” Gonzalo Pacheco, a thesis student at the Mechanical Civil Engineering program and Director of Esus, said. He added that the challenge has been as big as the expectations. “We want to be in the first place as we have worked for that. We will do our best until the end of the race,” he said.

Innovations and improvements

This week the electrical and mechanical components of the Apolo II will be assembled together, including new technologies. Patricio Cerda, director of the electrical area and thesis student at the Electrical Civil Engineering program explained that the components were tested separately and that now is the time to assemble them together to get everything working as expected.

“We are using better engines than the ones we used before. They are two engines and they can reach 97% efficiency, what makes the car go at a maximum speed of 120 km/h. We have acquired nine 120 watt solar panels made in China, with an efficiency of 21 per cent. The previous car only reached 19 per cent. Also, with the new lithium –ion batteries made in Japan, we have reduced 40 kilos of weight. The batteries have a higher power density that allows storing more energy,” Patricio Cerda said.

Regarding the mechanical aspect, the student Martín Catalán said that the chassis is made of 4130 steel, which is used in high-speed vehicles for its resistance and low weight. Also, the designers decided to move the driver’s place to the left side in order to reduce friction areas and to improve the aerodynamic design. To balance the car weight, the battery array will be mounted on the right side. The car assembly also incorporates a brake system that includes two discs that work independently.

The body shell will be one of the last parts to be assembled and it is also different from the one in the previous car. In the Apolo II, it is made of carbon fiber and fiberglass, what results in a lighter and more resistant body manufactured by Fibrovent.

Several mechanical and electrical aspects had to be adapted, not only regarding their design, but to meet the standards required by the Atacama Solar Challenge that will be held between November 13th and 17th. The team will arrive in Iquique before that date for the qualifiers.

Learning experience

The experience of building this car goes beyond competing in the race. Patricio Cerda explains that “This is a very valuable learning process for students”. The practical experience that they have gained in renewable energies is something new in their training, as they started the project before the University created a laboratory for this area. “We have been working on this for four years so we have an advanced knowledge now,” he said.

For his part, Gonzalo Pacheco added that the project became an interdisciplinary initiative without expecting it. “We realized that the cooperation among engineers, architects and designers does not frequently occur in other projects. The project gathered several academic units around one point of view, with the support of the University, to continue working in a more professional way.”

The Apolo II should be ready on October 20th, to move on to a testing phase to then be introduced to the University community on November 3rd.

In the practice there are challenges too. The two drivers also competed in 2012. Pablo Carter, a student at the Mechanical Civil Engineering program explained that this not only about experience in driving, but also in developing the project.

“We the drivers belong to the Department of Mechanical Engineering and we have participated in the project. We know how the car works, how it performs, how it should move or brake and how the electrical component works,” he said.

Sponsors

Although 80 per cent of the project was funded by the University and the participating departments, it has been sponsored too by the University’s Society for Technological Development and important companies like Fibrovent that was responsible for the body shell; Schneider Electric that provided training courses; PC Factory that contributed to the development of the telemetry software to transmit data from sensors in the Apolo II to the support team; Servicio Láser that made the fiberglass molds, and Maestranza Murúa that helped with the chassis welding.


The Esus team has about 65 members, including students and thesis students of the Departments of Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and General Technologies, and the School of Architecture. A group of academics has been supporting the team with the development and implementation of the project.


Translated by Marcela Contreras

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• Eleven American students started their study abroad program at Universidad de Santiago, in the context of the College of Charleston International Program, and opportunity for academic exchange led by the Department of Linguistics and Literature of Universidad de Santiago. This is the second time that Universidad de Santiago receives students from that public university of USA.

By the end of August, eleven American students coming from the College of Charleston participated in a welcome breakfast at Universidad de Santiago de Chile, in the context of the academic exchange program led by the Department of Linguistics and Literature of the Faculty of Humanities (FAHU) of Universidad de Santiago. The program allows students at the College of Charleston, a public university in South Carolina (USA), to spend one academic semester at Universidad de Santiago and take courses of Linguistics, International Relations, Spanish, History and others.

Dr Marcelo Mella, Dean of the Faculty, Dr Roxana Orrego, Director of the Department of Linguistics and Literature, and professors at the program also participated in this welcome activity. “This program will contribute to internationalize the university and to show our students that there are foreign institutions that trust our university to strengthen their students’ training,” Dr Orrego says.

The International College of Charleston

The International College of Charleston is a study abroad program led by the Department of Linguistics and Literature of the Faculty of Humanities that allows students at that College to spend an academic semester at Universidad de Santiago de Chile, just like if they were at their own university.

The students attend courses given by professors at the Department of Linguistics and Literature and the Department of History, and they include Chilean History, Political Science, Advanced Spanish and Grammar.

New members of the FAHU community

The group of American students will be here until December and they are: Jalen Dourine Brooks-Knepfle, Alexandra Elizabeth Comey, Amber M. Corry, Gregory Wayne Czekaj, Arthur Hamilton Dunlop, Edwin Randolph Hille, Alexander Joseph Hyams, Reilly Brielle Kilpatrick, Alexandra Elizabeth Mocerino, Alyssa Marie Páramo and Eric Charles Singleton.

During their first days in Chile, the students were accompanied by professor Andrew Sobiesuo, Associate Provost for International Education of the College of Charleston. He said he was very satisfied with this new exchange process, which has contributed to strengthen collaboration links between both institutions.

Dr Sobiesuo said that this program is important because learning Spanish is essential for his students. “We teach Spanish at our university, but we think it is very important for our students to spend some time living in the culture where that language is spoken. The program helps them to live the Spanish culture,” he says.

He added that the program has called the attention among Charleston students. “We have had very good results: Last year nine students came and this year three of them wanted to come again, but only two of them were able to come in the end. Let’s hope next year we have 14 or more interested students,” he says.

The students who came on this occasion said that they were interested in the program to improve their Spanish level and to learn about the culture of our country.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The activity will gather more than 5,000 university students from all over the world to replicate the debate model of the committees of diplomats from the 193 UN member states.

Twenty-two students of Universidad de Santiago are finishing their training to participate in the National Model United Nations (NMUN NY 2017) Conference that will be held between March 19^th- 23^rd at the UN headquarters, New York, USA.

For the fourth consecutive year, Universidad de Santiago will be the only Chilean institution to participate in the conference, an activity that gathers more than 5,000 university students from all over the world. During the activity, the students represent different states and simulate the debate model of the committees of diplomats from the 193 UN member states.

On this occasion, the students at Universidad de Santiago will represent Ukraine at the Security Council and Greece at the other UN organs like the General Assembly, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNEP, UNHCR, WHO, and others.

In this context, Alexandra Cabrera, student at the Translation program, and Sebastián Astudillo, student at the Public Administration program, met with the Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Santiago, Alex Thiermann, to get a better understanding of the foreign policy of that country, and they also expect to meet with a representative of the Embassy of Greece.

The other members of the group are the chief delegates Javiera Díaz (Translation program) and Emanuel Arias (International Studies program) and the students Paulina Caroca, Johann Golsworthy, Kimberly Robles, Yanira Díaz, and Erika Celsi (Public Administration program); Pablo Maturana, Militza González, Daniela Campos, Antonia Soto, Gabriela Correa, and Ángela Núñez (Translation program), Federico Izaguirre, Bárbara Góngora, Florencia Vega, Fabiana Guerrero, Catalina Solar, Daniela Peñaloza, and María Paz Pardo (International Studies program). Professor Sofía Schuster, of the Department of History, will accompany the group.

“The training workshop enables students to develop academic and professional skills, like the ability for critical analysis, for research, for data collection, for identifying reliable sources and also the ability to speak English at an academic level,” professor Schuster says.

Good diplomats

Javiera Díaz, graduate in English-Portuguese Translation, says that one of the main goals of the workshop is that students behave as “good diplomats”. “A good diplomat stands before everybody, persuades and negotiates, as he/her needs to get a solution to a conflict. The most important thing at the conference is the ability to convince, to persuade,” she says.

It is worth mentioning that the only Latin American institutions participating are Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Universidad Central de Venezuela and Universidad Nacional Autónoma and Anáhuac Mayab of Mexico.

Invitation to Kobe

The participation of the students at Universidad de Santiago in the former National Model United Nations Conferences has been outstanding. Since 2013, they have received 8 awards in the categories of Outstanding Position Paper and Honorable Mention Delegation.

For receiving the Honorable Mention Delegation award in the last conference, students were invited to participate in the NMUN Japan 2016, in Kobe, to commemorate the 60 years since that country’s accession to the UN. This activity was held between November 20^th and 26^th, 2016.

A group of 14 students at the programs of Translation, International Studies and Commercial Engineering travelled to Kobe: Daniela Toledo, Diego Vidal, Arlette Leal, Marcia Pérez, Paulette Reyes, Catalina Rodríguez, Patricia González, Gabriela Albornoz, Nadine Givovich, Javiera Villarroel, Karla Acuña, Jhonatan Díaz, Marcia Muñoz, and Edgar Rodas. They were accompanied by Professor Sofía Schuster.

Since this conference, the Department of International and Inter-University Relations (DRII, in Spanish) of Universidad de Santiago included the NMUN Conference as part of its student exchange program. 

In January, the students will continue their preparation to improve their English level, develop their personal skills and get a better knowledge of the Greek and Ukrainian cultures, to travel to New York on March 15^th. 

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• As the Executive Director of the Propedéutico Program of Universidad de Santiago and on behalf of academics from five national higher education institutions with inclusion experiences, professor Lorna Figueroa took part in the 4th Latin-American Conference on Higher Education Dropout (Medellín, Colombia), presenting an article that collects the experiences of universities that have successfully implemented the Propedéutico program, like Universidad de Santiago, among others.

 The initiatives driven by Universidad de Santiago to promote inclusion and equity in the access to higher education have been highly valued both in Chile and abroad. Recently, in Colombia, an article on the experience of Propedéutico programs in our country was awarded recognition. This project has been supported from the beginning by our state and public University.

• The winning project of one of the most important architecture competitions –the CAP Student Competition- was selected among 34 proposals from different schools of architecture in Chile. Now the winners will represent our country in the 9^th version of the Alacero international competition, in Brazil.

For the third consecutive year, students at the School of Architecture of Universidad de Santiago de Chile won the first place in one the most important contests of the national steel and iron industry organized by CAP Acero, one of the subsidiaries of CAP, a Chilean holding company of the mining and steel sectors. In the 30^th version of this national competition, the students who prepared the 34 participating drafts had to develop a cultural center using steel. The idea was to create inclusive facilities for a city where there is a lack of this type of infrastructure. 

Hugo Tello, one of the members of the winning team, says that their proposal emerges from the search for a close relation with the area of Puente Alto, at the Metropolitan region. “We understand the dynamics, the social problems, the historical neglect of the area, and the total lack of public policies for it.”

The innovative proposal convinced the jury. “We analyzed the requirements and the needs. The cultural center was required but we supplemented it with a cultural street platform to strengthen and promote the culture of the place,” the student says.

Innovative cultural center in Puente Alto

The jury unanimously awarded the first place to the proposal N°10 “Zócalo Cultural Bajos de Mena-Puente Alto.” According to the architect Yves Besançon, “the project chose an area that has been forgotten by our society and authorities, architects and urban planners. We particularly value the interest in implementing a cultural center in an area that totally lacks of this type of infrastructure. The proposal solves the problem posed by an existing gradient in that place by using a light and realistic structure,” he says.

The architects of the jury agree in that the selected draft is a suitable solution to the social segregation problem in Santiago.

Óscar Luego, professor at the School of Architecture and tutor of the project, says that the CAP competition is part of the students’ training at the school. “The tools they acquire allow them to participate in competitions at an international level,” he says.

The winners will represent Chile in the 9^th version of the Alacero international competition organized by the Latin American Steel Association that will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between October 22^nd and 24^ththis year. The prize for the first place will be USD 10,000 and for the second place, USD 3,000.

Another member of the team, Javier Rojas, says that the competition means the consolidation of what they have learned in four years of the program. “Representing the school is important and it helps us to position its name. The feedback shows us that we are doing things well,” he concludes.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The Apollo II, the photovoltaic car developed by the Solar Car Team (Esus) of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, showed an outstanding performance during the eco- rally across the desert, covering the route in a little more than 22 hours and being one of the four cars in its category that managed to reach the finish line.
• The Esus Team received recognition for its fourth place in the competence. The Japanese team of Tokai University won the first place; the team of Minera Los Pelambres mining company and Universidad de La Serena, won the second the place, and the team representing Universidad de Concepción, won the third place.
• The Esus Team students and collaborators valued the work done, and the knowledge applied, but above all, the experience they gained. Likewise, they expect to continue with this project, as “the performance and positioning of the team was clearly the best,” Gonzalo Pacheco, Executive Director of Esus, said.

 
The Universidad de Santiago’s Esus Solar Car Team members described the Apollo II’s performance during the Atacama Solar Challenge as absolutely positive. The prize awarding ceremony was held on November 18th, at Humberstone Saltpeter Works, in the Tarapacá Region.

The Challenge, one of the five solar car races held around the world, finished on November 17th, after the twenty teams coming from Japan, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile, completed five days travelling a route across the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile. The teams were mainly made up of university students and professors.

The Apollo II managed to cover the 1,082 kilometer route planned for the race- just like other three cars did, out of the eight that competed in the Evolution category- in 22 hours and 9 minutes, according to the official records. The Esus Team received recognition for being one of the finalists and achieving the fourth position, after the team of Universidad de Concepción (third position), the team of Minera Los Pelambres mining company and Universidad de La Serena (second position), and the team of Tokai University, from Japan, that won the first position with only a nine-minute gap over the second place.

In this category, the teams of Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Pontificia Universidad Católica, and the cars Sköll and Eolian, could not finish the Challenge.

Experience and growth

For the Esus Team members, this fourth place means an important progress in their evolution as a group, because many of them took part in the previous race (2012), in which the Apolo I had to be towed to complete the route, what led to penalizations that affected the final result.

This time, the Apollo II completed the required kilometers and route and followed the control protocols. Although it had some problems, they were solved, showing and optimal performance of the car, that in some stretches reached 100 km/h, the maximum speed allowed by the Challenge organization

“The solar car team had a significant progress in experience and knowledge. Overcoming difficulties and reaching the finish line were our challenge and we made it,” Pablo Fernández, head of management of Esus Team, said. “We were able to prove that the level of the competition was higher, because four of the cars that run on this occasion in the Evolution category finished the route, so all of the teams have progressed a lot,” he added.

For this reason, Pablo Fernández said that in terms of disseminating the advantages of solar energy- one of the goals of the Atacama Solar Challenge- “Universidad de Santiago is very well positioned, because all the students taking part in this project learn about renewable energies and how to use solar energy, regardless of the discipline or the program they study.”

Keeping talent at the university

Although they were satisfied with the performance of the car, Pablo Fernández explained that, according to his evaluation, they “did not have enough time to test the car and check some issues,” because importing some parts and getting some resources took too long and this affected the work management and the assembly of the Apolo II. “It gave us a test period of about a week, and during the race, we realized that with more test time we would have been able to prevent some problems. However, we were prepared and had spare parts for everything. Thanks to this and to our planning and inventiveness, we adapted to the situation and kept on going.”

According to Gonzalo Pacheco, Executive Director of Esus, “the performance and positioning of the team was clearly the best.” This was recognized by other teams, like the Japanese team, for example, that valued the Esus Team’s high level of organization. Particularly because it was “the only solar car team totally made up of students and unpaid collaborators that completed the challenge.” 

Pablo Fernández explained that teams from other universities hire graduates and professionals for direct expert advice.

“As a team, we would like to preserve the knowledge of the people with experience in this field in our university. We cannot let experienced people go; we should have strategies to keep talent here and include more professors in the team,” Fernández said.

This is why they expect the University to get involved in the project and in the innovative ideas of the Solar Car Team. “This experience left us well positioned as University. We will be remembered as a neat, disciplined and organized team. But the Solar Car Team should not continue being considered only an extra-curricular activity,” he finally said.


Translated by Marcela Contreras

•   The team developed a sustainable 120 square meter house called “Casa Temperie.” The proposal aims to produce interaction and balance between housing and environment. The house has an innovative greenhouse heating system and seismic protection.

   

  The “Casa Temperie” (Temperie House) prototype was created and built by the Solar Energy Team of Universidad de Santiago (ESUS, in Spanish), which is currently a finalist in the Construye Solar 2017 contest organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development of Chile and the NGO La Ruta Solar.

  The second version of the contest intended to encourage students and professionals of universities from all over the country to build sustainable high quality houses, with a focus on the quality of life of vulnerable families and making available to everyone the technology associated to sustainable building, with a budget not exceeding $20 million pesos. 

  “We accepted the challenge of creating a habitable environment in a greenhouse. Our house is called Temperie, that means “controlled atmosphere”. We included a piston with rails that works with a Full Space system, that allows to enlarge the house during summer and shorten it in winter to reduce energy costs,” María Ignacia Lucares, student at the Architecture program and coordinator of communications, explains.

  Cutting-edge, sustainable and economic technology

   

  According to the members of the team, the Temperie House is a new concept of social house and it aims to produce interaction and balance between housing and environment.

  Edith Díaz, coordinator and student at the Architecture program, explains that the house includes thermo panels and a system for strategic control of sun light. Besides, it has galvanized steel modules and opaque coatings, and it can be assembled in only three days.

  María Ignacia Lucares says that the project “totally reflects Universidad de Santiago, as it is focused on social awareness and technical aspects. The other projects are focused on design. We focus on social needs, and we are concerned about sustainability and environment,” she says.

  The team has already received offers from sponsors to build the house, so they are analyzing the proposals.

  Jorge Lobiano, the Head of the School of Architecture says that the project is an interdisciplinary work that involves all the university. Although he was very happy for being finalists in the contest, he was not surprised, for the school usually has excellent results in national contests.

  Evaluation and work team

  The Solar Energy Team started this project in March 2016 with a group made up of five students at the School of Architecture. Currently, the team is formed by 32 students at the Architecture and Engineering programs and professors at the university. 

  Manuel Mellado, architect and professor at Universidad de Santiago de Chile said that this work has involved much effort. “This has been a big challenge, but it has been an honor to be part of the project. I have great expectations and we all expect to match up to the results that the School has obtained in other contests,” he said.

   

  Translated by Marcela Contreras

• For the third consecutive year, Universidad de Santiago is the only Chilean institution participating at a new version of the National Model United Nations, a forum that gathers together more than five thousand students from different countries in a simulation of the UN main activities. Twenty undergraduate and graduate students at the International Studies Program travelled on March 18th to New York to participate in the activity that will be held between March 22nd- 26th.

Thirteen students at the Bachelor’s Program in International Studies and seven students at the Master’s Program in International Studies will attend the National Model United Nations forum organized at the UN headquarters. The purpose of the activity is to give new professionals a glimpse into the work done by this international organization.
 

The activity will be held in New York between March 22nd-26th and it will bring together more than five thousand students from different countries. They will be able to replicate the operating model of different UN bodies, like the Security Council, for example, by representing other States.
 

In the case of our University students, the will represent France in the Security Council, and Finland, in different UN programs and funds, like UNICEF, UNHCR or UNDP.


Mabel Cobos- who is currently completing her dissertation for her Master’s degree in International Studies- is coordinating this activity and this is the third time that she takes part in the project. The first time she participated as a delegate of the Master’s Program in International Studies, when an academic at Long Island University (USA) prompted students to join this activity. This time, in order to promote an outstanding performance among the participating students, she conducted a training workshop since June last year, in the context of a Teaching Innovation Project.
 

“It is very important for students to attend this type of activity, because more than five thousand people from Europe, USA and Asia are taking part in it; it is also a way of positioning Universidad de Santiago de Chile at a regional and international level. We were the first university of the Southern Cone to participate, and at a Latin American level, few countries participate, like Ecuador, Venezuela, Guatemala, Mexico and Brazil, a country that joined the activity last year,” Ms Cobos says.
 

Also, Mabel Cobos highlights the possibility that students are given to make use of their theoretical knowledge and abilities. “This forum is a simulation of what the UN and diplomats do at studying foreign policy guidelines and history of the country to be represented, as well as English language, to take part then in the debate. This allows them (students) not only to speak about cooperation and multilateralism but to also to act making resolutions, working in teams and developing partnerships. In this way, students develop soft skills that are difficult to develop in the classroom setting,” she says.
 

“We have been pioneers in this sense and the University has gained prestige because of this,” she added. Ms Cobos also explains that the best teams receive awards and our university teams have already received them in previous versions of the forum.
  

Prepared for good results

This year, the number of participants has increased to 20 students. Thirteen of them are students at the Bachelor’s Program in International Studies given by the Faculty of Humanities. Catalina Rodríguez, one of the students at this program who will participate in the forum, recognizes that she has high expectations of her performance, “because we have prepared ourselves to stand out and to bring recognition to our program and our university.” She expects her group to receive acknowledgement for their work, just like it happened last year, when students of our university received “position papers” awards. Catalina values the possibility of participating in this activity and capitalizing on experience in the field of international relations.
 

Jaime Rojas is a student at the same program. He expects to have a good performance thanks to the training they received in an eight-month workshop, in which they were able to study in depth the work done by the different UN bodies and funds, with professors of the Department of History and the Institute for Advanced Studies (IDEA, in Spanish). “We have made simulations and we are ready to bring recognition to our university and our country, because we are the only Chilean higher-education institution participating. It is also an opportunity to grow and position ourselves both at a national and international level,” he says.
 

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• After the success of Nutrisato- an innovative natural fertilizer that increases by 50% the size of fruits, vegetables and plants- in the international market, its creators opened an agricultural additives company.

In his search for environmentally friendly biotechnological solutions, Alejandro Muñoz, biochemist and student at the Biotechnology doctoral program of the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago, developed an interesting plant biostimulant based on organic molecules which is able to increase fruits, vegetables and flowers twice their size in the same period of time.

Later, Carla Céspedes, an agronomist from Universidad de Chile, and Rodrigo Ferreira, student at the Commercial Engineering program of the Faculty of Administration and Economics of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, joined the project team and took the responsibility of placing the product in the agricultural market.

After the positive outcomes of testing Nutrisato in peppers and tomatoes, the students participated in the Brain Chile program contest and won the first place. They used the funds that they were awarded to continue developing the product to a level that they never expected: today, they have their own company called Ingeniería y Biotecnología Limitada, Atama Biotech Ltda.

Nutrisato in the market

After the Brain Chile Contest, they continued testing Nutrisato. They found that it was harmless to people and the environment and it also “doubled the size of the products, increased the production of fruits by 50% and the production of biomass in vegetables by 30%,” Alejandro Muñoz explained.

Carla Céspedes, who is responsible for the agronomic development of Nutrisato, explained: “The first products in which we tested the biostimulant were harvested in April, but after the contest, they were left abandoned in an area with Andean climate. In that context, we realized that the fertilizer reduced the cold stress in plants and enhanced their hygroscopic properties.”

Supported by recent tests, the researchers confirmed that the fertilizer worked in every product in which they used it, like spinach, celery, parsley, coriander, tomatoes, peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes and ornamental plants like tulips, roses and daisies.

Now they are testing the product in hydroponic lettuces and tomatoes, and in berries and citrus fruits, in Valdivia.

With regard to the marketing of the product, Rodrigo Ferreira, who is in charge of the company’s management and sales, says that they created Nutrisato Hogar, a product which is targeted at people who grow their own vegetables in home gardens. The product will be in the market soon.

The researchers say that they have enjoyed their work with Nustrisato, because they are doing what they like to do. For this reason, they have continued developing innovative products, like Raizato. “Raizato is a super soil enhancer that adds organic matter to the soil and enhances the growth of roots and leaves,” Alejandro Muñoz said.

Translated by Marcela Contreras