Senate and Red G9 form alliance for future Chile – Senate

With a commitment to work together and continue to forge alliances between the university world, the legislature, government and the private sector, Seminar entitled “Science and the Future: G9 Network Experiences”organized by Future Challenges Authority and the G9 Non-Governmental Universities Network.

The aim of this meeting, which was held at the previous National Conference, last Wednesday, November 9, was to communicate various projects to the G9 universities, and to demonstrate the general role of the network and the contributions of the institutions that make up it in the field of science, development, technology and innovation, always in a binding work with the regions and in the interest of the development of the country .

It must be remembered that the G9 Network consists of the following Study Centers: Universidad de Concepción, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad Católica del Norte, Universidad Católica del Maule, Universidad Austral deó Chile, Universidad de Valparaíco in Valparaíco Santa Maria and the Catholic University of Temuco.

Chairman of the Future Challenges Authority. science, technology and innovation, Francisco Chahuan He explained that “our committee and the network seek to anticipate a better future for Chile and this depends on each and every one of us. The G9 universities represent a key window to make this happen.”

Regarding the contribution Ues made from the G9, the legislator stated that “we must be careful not to confuse the public with the state (…) I want to reveal the public nature of the G9 universities, which sometimes governments do not succeed in showing preventing the contribution of these universities to the Innovation, science, technology and knowledge, from having the character and scope one would expect.”

On this occasion, the Minister(s) of Science, Carolina Ginza, highlighted the increase in the science budget for 2023 and emphasized that it “will allow progress in the status of research in improving people’s well-being and quality of life. There is a political will to understand that research is important in our country to transform the development paradigm and change Our production matrix. We have to understand that promoting research is not a government policy but a state policy.”

President of the G9 Network and Dean of the University of Concepcion, Carlos Saavedra, noted that “in the new process it is necessary to recognize the real investment of our universities in science and technology and that it cannot continue to be funded. Without considering the full costs that our institutions must bear (…) therefore, A fundamental change is required.”

Among the seminars held at the symposium was the session devoted to science and transport. The Vaccine Development Project and the new GMP Laboratory of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile were presented there. This work against the respiratory virus led to the development of a university-wide coronavirus vaccine in collaboration with Sinovac, along with a university consortium led by the University of California.

Also highlighted is the work of the Millennium Institute for Research on Volcanic Hazards Ckelar Volcanes, of the Universidad Católica del Norte, whose main objective is to identify the factors that control the frequency and magnitude of volcanic eruptions throughout the central volcanic region. from the Andes Mountains. From the Catholic University of Temuco, the KimGen Data Platform: Scenarios for Emergency Management, a comprehensive technology system that supports disaster risk management, was introduced in the event of a devastating or catastrophic event.

In the panel are Regional Relevancy and Impact Research Centers, the Center for Educational Leaders of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, the Advanced Center for Electrical and Electronic Engineering (AC3E) of the Technical University of Federico Santa María and the Center for Research in High Dynamics Latitude Marine Ecosystems (IDEAL) of the University of Austral in Chile.

Finally, from the Innovation Panel from Regions, he highlighted the new zero-emission and zero-emission copper concentrate processing technology from Concepcion University; In addition to the construction of a green hydrogen plant for industrial applications in the Biobío region, affiliated with the Catholic University of Santísima Concepción, and the sustainable innovation of the industrial brick manufacturing process in the Maule region, affiliated with the Catholic University of Maule.