International Seminar on Technological Exploration

On Wednesday, December 9, 2020, the International Seminar on Technological Exploration was held virtually, an activity organized jointly by ExploraTec UDD, from the Universidad del Desarrollo and UC Davis Chile. This activity is framed in the collaboration agreement that both institutions are executing.

The objective of this seminar was to know and review the experience of the University of California, Davis in terms of academic programs and technological projects implemented in the context of the exploration and use of new technologies.

In the activity, which was attended by nearly 100 people, four guests from UC Davis presented their work. Dr. Joanna Regulska, vice provost and dean of Global Affairs, who gave inaugural comments on the global networks around technology and innovation that UC Davis has and the importance of these in the internationalization process of the university. Dr. Bill Tucker, associate vice chancellor of innovation, technology and commercialization, continued with a presentation on the processes of capacity building in new technologies for students and the academic community of the University of California, Davis. Later, on a more technical level, Dr. Christina Cogdell, former director of the Department of Design and professor, spoke about the experience of UC Davis in the application of new technologies to the discipline of Design, both from a teaching and research perspective. Finally, it was the turn of Dr. André Knoesen, director and professor of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who gave an interesting presentation on Engineering as a vehicle to connect technology with the creation of value, focused on the use of sensor systems and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Also, representatives of the Universidad del Desarrollo, who gave an account of the wide road travelled by this university, a partner of UC Davis Chile, regarding the implementation and use of new technologies in the disciplines of Engineering and Design. With words of welcome, the rector of this house of studies, Mr. Federico Valdés, explained. Then, in a joint presentation, the dean of the Faculty of Design, Alejandra Amenábar and the dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Fernando Rojas, showed the experience of UDD in the creation and implementation of interdisciplinary centers in new technologies, specifically about the impact of the creation of ExploraTec UDD.

Also, with words at the beginning of the event participated the Undersecretary of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Carolina Torrealba, who gave a brief overview of the agenda of the public sector and in particular of its portfolio with respect to promoting the adoption of new technologies.

For the future, it is expected to continue deepening the collaborations between both houses of studies in the topics exposed with a focus on learning from each other's experiences that can impact on undergraduate and graduate programs, and on R & D projects in development, and why not, in future joint collaborative projects.

In the following link you can review the recording of the seminar.