From 8 to 10 November 2023, more than 700 people attended the activities developed in the Engineering Week event under the theme "Social Appropriation of Knowledge" in the field of engineering and the link with society, exploring how engineering and technology can be effectively applied to address social, economic and environmental challenges. Here are some of the highlights of this annual event.
Wednesday 8 November
Opening Event with the Magno Choir
After some songs sung by the Coro Magno of the Universidad del Valle and the welcome speeches made by Professor Fiderman Machuca, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering of Univalle and the Student Representatives of the Faculty: Nicol Sinisterra and Juan Felipe Reyes, the Week of Engineering begins with the first presentation by Ana María Jaramillo, Professional of the Vice-rectorate of Research of the Universidad del Valle.
The expert Jaramillo explained about a pilot programme of Univalle to strengthen the appropriation of knowledge that incorporates different worldviews.
International conference: Doing science journalism for the long term
Jennie Erin Smith, a journalist originally from the United States, based in Medellín, Colombia, described how she produced science journalism pieces for the New York Times and her book in progress about families in Antioquia, Colombia who have a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
Smith said she was grateful for the opportunity to share her experiences with the Faculty of Engineering and its students.
"Narratives are a common language between journalists and researchers," Smith said, adding that it can serve as a bridge between the scientific and social aspects of knowledge.
"We keep telling beautiful stories of science!" exclaimed Smith.
Virtual Conversation: Social Appropriation of Knowledge from the Territories
Science journalist and science communicator, Andrew James Wight moderated a virtual chat with the following speakers:
Panelist: Professor, Anna Polanía and her students (Tuluá).
Panelist: Professor, Royer Estrada (Tuluá Branch).
Panelist: Engineer, Magrel Londoño (Tuluá Branch).
Panelist: Professor, Lewin López (Yumbo Campus).
Pre-recorded Video: Professor Mauricio Quintero (Palmira Campus).
The professors and students explained the great advantage of doing research at the regional sites: direct access to the problems of the communities that the research is trying to solve.
Magrel Londoño in particular talked about his experience using the Internet of Things to solve the problem of dogs that are left alone at home for long periods of time.
Read more: Mobile app could improve the welfare of dogs alone at home
In addition, they mentioned that the main challenge has been to form and fund research groups and the necessary infrastructure.
Read more about research regional campus:
Palmira: Colombia's traditional corn flour treats have nutrition and heritage in every bite
Tuluá: New research could unlock the economic potential of pineapple scraps
Yumbo: 3D Printing: The tool that democratizes STEM education
Pacifico: Univalle researchers to develop a platform to improve public transparency
Conversation: A coffee for good ideas
On Wednesday afternoon, in the CINARA building at the Meléndez campus, more than 40 professors from the ten Schools of the Faculty and the CINARA Institute gathered for an activity where they became students: learning how to cup coffee.
Throughout the activity, the recognition of different professors was promoted, who told about their areas of study and projects. The aim was that they could relate to each other in the medium term, for the development of joint activities between different academic units.
Luisa López, student of Administration at the Yumbo Campus and entrepreneur of Little Berry Specialty Coffee was the guide for the teachers, freeing them in activities such as comparing acidic or sweet notes in fruits with the specialty coffees they tasted.
"In this tasting, they were working together and enjoyed it very much," López said.
Thursday 9 November
The role of women in generating and disseminating scientific knowledge
Professor Laura Sofia Rodriguez from Univalle's School of Systems and Computer Engineering and co-founder of STEM Women moderated a panel discussion with the following speakers:
- Rachel Palmén, researcher at the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3 - UOC) in Barcelona, Spain;
- Lina Carmenza Valderrama Aguirre, is a Colombian biologist and 3M Prize winner.
- Clara Goyes, Director of R&D&I at Feya in Cali, Colombia.
- Bibiana Ruiz, Director of the Innovation Centre ECONOVA Meta
Together, they discussed:
- Challenges in female participation in research, including systems with biases in defining, assessing and measuring scientific careers.
- Age limitations in doctoral training are a barrier as women are more likely to choose a STEM career later in life.
- There is value and importance of learning communities in promoting gender equality in the research and innovation sectors.
- The need for care policies to promote the equal sharing of care responsibilities between men and women.
Forum: How to achieve Social Appropriation of Knowledge?
Juan García Garay, Carlos Cusguén and Pablo Manyoma were the speakers for a series of talks on working with communities, in particular indigenous communities.
Garay, a graduate chemical engineer and biologist from the Universidad del Valle explained that one challenge was the difference in vocabulary and languages between different regions, groups and ethnicities.
"It is necessary to tailor our process for each community," Garay said.
Students from Univalle's Pacific Campus asked how research can help in the development of communities with Buenaventura. The professors responded that the first step would be to have young people trained in and passionate about research.eran los ponentes para una serie de charlas sobre trabajando con comunidades, en particular comunidades indígenas.
Garay, un egresado ingeniero químico y biólogo de la Universidad del Valle explicó que un reto fue la diferencia en vocabulario y lenguajes entre diferentes regiones, grupos y etnicidades.
“Es necesario individualizar nuestro proceso para cada comunidad”, dijo Garay.
Estudiantes de la Sede Pacifico de Univalle preguntaron cómo la investigación puede ayudar en el desarrollo de comunidades con Buenaventura. Los profesores respondían que el primer paso sería tener jóvenes capacitados en y con pasión por la investigación.
Participation of the Pacific Campus
On Thursday, Mauricio Payán Meneses, coordinator of the Outreach and Social Projection Area of the Pacificó campus and researcher of the GODEPAZCIFICO Group, accompanied 55 students from the Pacificó campus.
"It was very inspiring for the students to visit the university as part of the engineering week to learn that there are different ways of articulating technology and harnessing it for different activities in society," Professor Payán said, adding that creativity and innovation are increasingly needed to design solutions to the challenges of today's world.
"All this without forgetting that we must also be aware of the environmental challenges for the subsistence of society," Prof. Payán said.
Workshop: How to put your research in front of technical and non-technical audiences?
In the communications workshop How could your research stand out to technical and non-technical audiences? the speakers were:
- Ana María Mosquera, Ana Maria Mosquera, Editorial Assistant, Ingeniería y Competitividad journal.
- Andrew James Wight, International Science Journalist
In the communications workshop How could your research stand out to technical and non-technical audiences? the speakers were:
, Engineering and Competitiveness Magazine.
Participants learned from Mosquera about the process of submitting a scientific article to a journal, including the peer review process, keywords and other recommendations.
In addition, Wight talked about how to approach the media with a narrative about your research.
Friday 10 November
School Visits and Interactive Stations
Dozens of students from schools in Cali, Colombia came to the Meléndez site to learn about the research of the Faculty of Engineering, including visiting roving stations in the area of Geomatics and the electric vehicle developed at the School of Mechanical Engineering.
The students also received lectures from experts in various areas of mechanical engineering.
Communications Office Selfie Frame!
The team from the Communications Office of the Faculty of Engineering joined forces to hand out more than 100 gifts to people who complied with the dynamics they had set up for the day, i.e. to follow the faculty's social networks, take a photo with the "selfie frame" and post it on their networks.
In addition, the team explained the functions of the office to the participants, and reminded them of the importance of keeping informed through the newsletters, the publications of scientific outreach notes and the support available from the unit for teachers, students and staff of the faculty.
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