• A research team at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago de Chile is working on an ointment to combat melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer

The study led by scientists Sofía Michelson and Claudio Acuña is currently at preclinical stage (animal testing). The cream’s active compound comes from a Chilean endemic plant and it has proved to be an effective solution for melanoma. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 2 and 3 million people are diagnosed with this type of cancer every year.

"We are fighting melanoma because it is the most aggressive skin cancer. Currently, there exist other ointments to treat skin cancer but they do not specifically treat this type," Michelson said.

The main challenge the researchers face is to find a mechanism that is able to boost the body’s response in the presence of a tumor, so that it can stop the progress of the disease.

“The problem is that the human body does not react to tumours because they make the body believe that they are normal. For this reason, the idea is to achieve an immune response similar to the one that is produced in case of bacterial, viral or parasitic infection,” Acuña said.

The cream developed by the researchers is applied topically every third day for about a month. During that period, the application zone should be protected.

The cream contains an extract of an endemic bush in Chile that is found between the regions of Coquimbo and Bíobío (central Chile) which affects the viability of the tumor cells. “We have already conducted other studies on melanoma treatments, so it was during that search that we found this substance,” Michelson said.

The effectiveness of the treatment has been encouraging. After using the ointment in animals, they more than doubled their life expectancy in comparison with conventional treatments.

"The ointment gives protection against tumor growth. If life expectancy was previously seven days, now it is up to 24 days. There are even some subsequent cases that were able to successfully eradicate melanoma," she added. The medication also allows to prevent the disease from recurring.

Another advantage of this product is its low cost. Therefore, it would give the patients more access to the treatment.

“Currently, there are many products available to treat general cancer, but many of them are expensive, so people cannot have access to them,” Michelson said. This is one of the reasons that led the researchers to study melanoma.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• According to official statistics, in Chile there are 34,000 people infected by the HBV, which is transmitted through exposure to infectious blood or body fluids. Worldwide, 240 million people live with this disease. This is the reason why Dr Camilo García, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, decided to study the feasibility of a more effective and economical method for detecting this disease, in the context of a Fondecyt Initiation project awarded in 2015.

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Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) which affects the liver. It is transmitted through exposure to infectious blood or body fluids and it can cause both acute and chronic infections. Hepatitis B can be fatal and cannot be cured.

According to statistics provided by the World health Organization (WHO), 240 million people worldwide suffer from chronic Hepatitis B, which can develop into cirrhosis and liver cancer. In Chile, 34,000 people are infected by the HBV

In this context, and thanks to the funding provided by a Fondecyt Initiation project (11150434), Dr Camilo García, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago, seeks to develop a new method for detecting this disease.

Background

According to Dr García, he has an important reason for studying this disease. In Chile, there is a specific HBV genotype: genotype F.

“I decided to study Hepatitis B to explore a new field, because this is a terrible disease and the current detection methods are very expensive, in comparison to the one that we are studying. There is a type of Hepatitis B that has only been detected in Chilean people. So, it would be great to find a sensor that detects the strain that we want to identify,” he said.

“The human quality of the work team at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago was another reason to conduct this study,” he added.

After completing the three-year project, he expects to have a new detection method that contributes to the patients’ well-being and comfort during medical procedures.

Methods

“We want to see if it is possible to develop Hepatitis B sensors based on electrochemiluminescence,” professor García explained.

Quantum dots –fluorescent nanoparticles- emit light when voltage is applied. This light signal can be absorbed by a DNA-binding molecule, like cationic porphyrins.

Dr García explains that the study will be based on the comparison between linear DNA sequences and molecular beacons for Hepatitis B virus to establish if the light signal is affected by the resonance, providing novel biosensors to detect the disease.

Translated By Marcela Contreras

• The study suggests that stress in fish may be causing economic losses for the country due to its impact on the production of salmon farming industry.

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According to the Chilean Undersecretariat for Fishing and Aquaculture’s report of October 2015, exports last August reached 93 different countries, likes USA, Japan, Brazil, Rusia, China and others.

The importance of this strategic productive sector to Chile's economy, led Dr Claudio Acuña Castillo, Head of the Department of Biology and researcher at the Aquaculture Biotechnology Center (CBA, in Spanish) and his colleagues at Universidad de Santiago and other institutions, to conduct a literature review to understand the stress-generating mechanisms in fish, in comparison to mammals. 

The analysis entitled Neuroendocrine mechanisms for immune system regulation during stress in fish was published on the Fish and Shellfish Immunology journal. The article has had a high impact on the scientific community and has been cited in other scientific works, allowing to go deeper in an insufficiently studied subject. “It has contributed to understand some aspects of stress in fish and to help other researchers who are interested in the same subject,” Dr Acuña said.

According to the researcher, major causes of stress among farmed fish are overcrowding, relocation, vaccines and transitions between freshwater and saltwater. The latter process happens normally in nature, but in productive contexts, it causes stress and affects the immune system of fish.

Chronic stress and acute stress

When analyzing stress in fish, Dr Acuña emphasizes that we must consider that fish are not mammals, therefore, they have a different behavior. They have different regulation mechanisms, different anatomy and a lonely life, as they are not gregarious animals.

All living organisms need some stress to develop. “Chronic stress is dangerous and harmful. When it becomes permanent, it affects the immune system. However, acute stress is necessary and useful, as it contributes to decision-making in conflict situations,” he explained.

When stress becomes chronic, it can be perceived in different ways. “Fish show physiological and behavioral changes, aggressiveness, and, sometimes, loss of appetite and increased susceptibility to contagious diseases,” he said.

Impact on aquaculture production

According to Dr Acuña, “It is highly probable that stress in fish may be having an impact on the production losses of salmon farming industry. When stress is too much, fish become susceptible to sea lice, for example. So, when all the produced fish die, as it is happening now, maybe there are not only genetic causes but stress-related factors.”

The researcher is also very worried about the side effects of production losses: lack of jobs and unemployment. He thinks that, if we begin to understand the process, we will be able to provide solutions. 

Besides, Dr Acuña expects to reduce the stress effects in fish by using natural solutions, like plants or natural elements.

The article was also led by Dr Ricardo Fernández, researcher at the Faculty of Biological Sciences and the Faculty of Medicine of Universidad Andrés Bello. Dr Gino Nardocci, Dr Cristina Navarro and Dr Paula P. Cortes, of Universidad Andrés Bello, and Dr Mónica Imarai, Dr Margarita Montoya, Dr Beatriz Valenzuela and Dr Pablo Jara, researchers at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology and the CBA of Universidad de Santiago, collaborated with the study.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• With a project that involves the use of ICTs in early teacher training, professors at the Department of Education Juan Silva and Paloma Miranda, won the first place in the international contest of the Education Sector Fund, in the "Digital Inclusion” Mode. 

Juan Silva and Paloma Miranda, both professors at the Department of Education, were awarded an international research grant by the Government of Uruguay for a project that involves the use of ICTs in early teacher training.

Professor Silva is Director of the Center for Research and Innovation in Education and ICT (CIIET, in Spanish) of Universidad de Santiago, and professor Miranda is Head of the Primary Education program at this same university.

The contest was organized by the National Agency for Research and Innovation of the National Commission for Innovation, Science and Technology (Conicyt, in Spanish) of Uruguay.

International contest

This was an international call for proposals and 34 projects were presented, but only 12 were selected for funding. The proposal of professors Silva and Miranda won the first place.

The team is made up of the two Chilean professors and Uruguayan and Spanish researchers and experts.

The project was designed to meet the need of developing digital skills, both to teach and to learn using ICTs, during early teacher training, so that future teachers are able to successfully include ICTs in their professional activities.

The development of these skills should be constantly evaluated to make improvements and promote institutional policies in this matter.

Objectives

The objective of the project is to compare the level of performance on digital skills - for teaching and learning- of final-year students at early teacher training programs in higher education institutions in Uruguay and Chile, and generate recommendations to enhance the inclusion of ICTs in this stage of training. The results will be shared with other countries of the region.

Particularly in Latin America, empirical studies on the subject are scarce. There is evidence of public policies for the inclusion of ICTs in early teacher training and examples of good practices, i.e., if policies and their orientations are defined, and what the institutions are doing in this regard.

Besides, there are proposals for models and standards and studies on how students perceive the inclusion of ICTs in early teacher training, considering the technology available, the use of technologies by students and teachers, among others.

However, in spite of the above, there is not any study that reports on the level of performance on digital skills of students at teacher training programs. 

(Photo)

The project involves the use of ICTs in early teacher training

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• After four weeks of work in the Antarctica, Dr Raúl Cordero and Dr Alessandro Damiani, both researchers at the Department of Physics of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, were able to confirm that the extension of the hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctica reached more than 10 million km² in December 2015, i.e. more than twice the average of that period in the past three decades.

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The measurements were carried out during a campaign in the Antarctic Circle in the context of the Antarctic Scientific Expedition of the Chilean Antarctic Institute (Inach, in Spanish). Dr Raúl Cordero and Dr Alessandro Damiani, both professors at Universidad de Santiago de Chile, were part of the expedition.

The ozone measurement campaign at the Antarctica started on November 15^th and it continued until mid-December. Four researchers at Universidad de Santiago travelled to the heart of the White Continent, where about 600 kg of the best radiometric equipment available were sent.

The expedition was supported by Inach, what allowed the researchers to work at “Unión Glacier” Joint Polar Research Station located at 79 degrees South latitude, at about 1000 from the South Pole.

Constant monitoring

In spite of the negative results of this year, Dr Cordero expects that a process to recover the ozone layer starts in the short term, as a result of the actions taken worldwide to reduce the emissions of polluting gases. However, the information gathered highlights the need of adopting mitigation policies and conducting a constant monitoring of the area.

According to Dr Cordero, “the ozone layer depletion is mainly caused by the presence of ‘ozone destroying” chemicals in the polar stratosphere. These substances are generated by the industrial activity in mid-latitudes.”

Although these substances are everywhere in the planet, high latitudes are the most impacted areas by the layer depletion or destruction, particularly the Antarctica. During the southern spring, this area is affected by a massive destruction of the stratospheric ozone as a result of the particular weather conditions there.

According to the researcher, the ozone depletion process between September and December is favored by the low temperatures in the Antarctic stratosphere and by the Antarctic polar vortex that prevents the ozone from other latitudes from closing the hole.

“When temperatures increase at the end of spring, the ozone massive depletion stops and the weakening of the polar vortex allows the ozone from other latitudes to close the hole. The bad records this year are probably the result of unusually low stratospheric temperatures during last spring,” Dr Cordero said.

Recovery of the ozone layer

In spite of the negative results of this year, Dr Cordero expects that a process to recover the ozone layer continues until the middle of this century due to the actions taken worldwide to reduce the emissions of polluting gases. However, the information gathered highlights the need of adopting mitigation policies and conducting a constant monitoring of the area.

It is also worth to mention that this study included comparisons with databases of other months. According to this, the hole in the ozone layer reached 28 million km² in October, the fourth highest record since the satellite data is available. 

Dr Cordero also highlights the relation between ozone depletion and climate change. “The changes in the hole in the ozone layer could affect the energy balance of the Antarctica. Ozone depletion or exhaustion has affected the temperature of the stratosphere and it correlates with wind and surface temperature variations detected in the Antarctica in the past decades. Therefore, a better understanding of the relation between climate change and the hole in the ozone layer is required. This is the ultimate goal of our work,” he concluded.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• At the “Variabilidad Hidrológica en la Determinación del Caudal Ecológico” seminar held at Universidad de Santiago, Dr Matías Peredo presented a new model that allows small hydroelectric power plants to have a constant flow of river water.

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During the “Variabilidad Hidrológica en la Determinación del Caudal Ecológico” seminar held at Universidad de Santiago, Dr Matías Peredo, professor at the Department of Civil Engineering in Civil Works, presented a new model that allows small hydroelectric power plants to have a constant flow of river water.

The method simulates a physical habitat that includes fish and also leisure time activities, like sport fishing. The purpose of this model is to provide a way of measuring how much water these small power plants require to keep constantly operating, without damaging the ecosystem and independently of rain shortages.

Current Chilean regulations establish that there always should be a specific water flow limit to preserve river ecosystems. However, Dr Peredo says that, just like flora and fauna vary according to dry and rainy years, water flow should change to preserve that ecosystem.

“If more water runs, the volume of water should be higher; and if less water runs, then the volume should be lower. What should not happen is to always keep the minimum volume of water stated by the national regulations, as this not sustainable,” he says.

He adds that the purpose of the model developed is to allow the possibility of bringing more water to generate hydroelectric power by means of variations in the ecologic water volume, and at the same time, to protect the ecosystem. “This is the reason why this is a sustainable energy development.”

The study results could propose more diverse ways of hydroelectric power generation, promoting the incorporation of small power plants.

“The goal is not to rely only on large power plants, but also on small plants, as they could contribute to meet energy demands during dry seasons,” he explains.

The study allowed to conclude that rivers naturally change their flows, as they are flexible. This is why in dry years, water volume should be reduced: to have a delta of water that could be used by small power plants.

For his part, Dr Juan Manuel Zolezzi, President of Universidad de Santiago de Chile highlights the importance of this study and the support that our university “gives to this type of initiative, through which professors can strengthen their academic and scientific networks to build knowledge at the service of our country.”

He said that the seminar “allowed to reflect on how to transfer the results and new knowledge to environmental assessment agencies and the market through training activities, seminars, conferences and the development of written material, among others.”

In this project, Dr Peredo worked in partnership with the Environmental Assessment Service (Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental, SEA), that requested and validated this work, and the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO, in Spanish), that funded the project through a public goods for competitiveness contest.

The Department of Civil Engineering in Civil Works of this university, together with a multidisciplinary team of 25 professionals including hydrologists, geographers, biologists and experts in rural development and environmental engineers, worked at this project.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

•  Dr Claudio Laurido, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago, is studying the reduction of chronic arthritis pain by using drugs administrated via extended-release nanoparticles. “Currently, very strong injectable drugs are required, like morphine, with several undesirable side effects. The purpose of using these nanoparticles is to administrate lower doses of drugs, hopefully, with less side effects,” the researcher said.

According to the Chilean Ministry of Health, 1% of the population suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, mostly women between 45 and 75 years old.

Dr Claudio Laurido, professor at the Department of Biology of Universidad de Santiago, seeks to use drug-loaded extended-release nanoparticles to inhibit arthritis pain, by injecting them into the lumbar cerebrospinal fluid. 

“Currently, very strong injectable drugs are required, like morphine, with several undesirable side effects. The purpose of using these nanoparticles is to administrate lower doses of drugs, hopefully, with less side effects for patients,” the researcher says.

The study "Manufactura de nanopartículas de liberación prolongada de fármacos, caracterización y ensayo en ratas monoartríticas" (Development of drug extended-release nanoparticles. Characterization and testing in monoarthritic rats), will last for three years and is funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Department (Dicyt, in Spanish) of Universidad de Santiago.

The researcher says that there is evidence that chronic pain can kill a person. If pain is not controlled, it can affect the immune function, stimulate tumor growth, and cause depression, increasing the risk of suicide in patients.

“Common drugs are not the solution, as they relieve acute pain, which may be strong, but then it is reduced until disappearing. Chronic pain persists in time,” he adds.

For this reason, this study is focused on analyzing the neurobiological bases of chronic pain and identifying the cells involved in the processes that start, develop and maintain chronic arthritis pain.

Contributing to neurobiology

Dr Alejandro Hernández, co-investigator in this study, suggests the possibility of modulating spinal pain mechanisms by suppressing the communication between the glial system and neurons with drugs. For this purpose, the study will develop nanoparticles loaded with drugs that improve the cerebral blood flow.  

In this study, nanoparticles will be made of biocompatible and biodegradable materials, like lipids and other products used in the food and cosmetics industry.

“These nanoparticles are used for their ability to encapsulate and release drugs over time. A common pill does not have this ability and lasts for a maximum of 4-6 hours. In this case, only one dose is totally effective,” Dr Laurido explains.

With this study, the researcher expects to contribute to the field of neurobiology. Extended-release nanoparticles allow to place drugs close to the area where the pain is generated (spinal cord), using much lower doses, reducing the administration frequency, reducing or eliminating undesirable side effects and increasing drug effectiveness. It will be a great contribution to the study of pain.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• In the context of a research work on isolated microorganisms in the Chilean Antarctica, the research team led by Dr Claudio Vásquez, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago, discovered that glutathione reductase is one of the enzymes able to reduce tellurite, a compound which is highly toxic to almost all microorganisms.

Tellurium, a chemical element with symbol Te and atomic number 52, seems to be non-toxic. However, when combined with other elements like oxygen, it produces tellurite, which is very harmful to living organisms.

A research team led by Dr Claudio Vásquez studied the mechanisms that bacteria use against high concentrations of toxic metals. The results of the study were published in the American Society for Microbiology’sjournal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, USA.

This study is part of the Regular Fondecyt Project N° 1130362 “Tellurite-resistant Antarctic bacteria: Unveiling new toxicant resistance mechanisms,” which also inquired into how oxygen is partially reduced with the concomitant generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cells exposed to a toxicant. Organisms that depend on oxygen to breath live in an oxidative environment that affects their cells. Therefore, to prevent the cell’s structure and chemical composition from being damaged, they have an inner reductive environment,” he explains.

In the Antarctica

To collect the required samples, Dr Vásquez and Dr José Manuel Pérez of Universidad Andrés Bello, went to the Prat and Escudero Antarctic Bases; they visited Deception Island and Fildes Peninsula and travelled on the Almirante Óscar Viel ice-breaker of the Chilean Army.

“As the Antarctic laboratories are well equipped, we were able to process part of those samples. We wanted to isolate the Antarctic microorganisms resistant to the toxic salt tellurite that we had studied years ago at the university laboratory,” Dr Vásquez says. In the samples that they studied, they were able to isolate several tellurite-resistant bacteria.

Tellurite reduction

Dr Vásquez and his team were able to prove that glutathione reductase is responsible for reducing tellurite and, therefore, for the cell’s resistance to this toxicant.

“We purified proteins as of crude extracts of resistant bacteria and we found that a particular enzyme, glutathione reductase, was largely responsible for reducing the toxicant, as it changed it to its non-toxic metallic form,” he says.

“We tested these nanoparticles and we found that they have antibacterial properties, so they can be used to fight pathogenic bacteria that cause disease,” he adds.

It is worth to mention that the studies conducted by Dr Vásquez are eco-friendly, as he uses biosynthesis: He reduces metals by using proteins or cells and not chemical substances. In this way, it is possible to lower expenses and work at environment temperature, avoiding negative impacts on the ecosystem.

Dr Vásquez says that as tellurite is rare in the environment, it has been poorly studied and its properties are not well understood.

The research team is made up of the following members: Dr Benoit Pugin, Fabián Cornejo and Pablo Muñoz-Díaz (biochemists), Claudia Muñoz-Vilagrán, Joaquín Vargas-Pérez (biochemist) and Dr Felipe Arenas.

To read the full paper, search “Glutathione reductase-mediated synthesis of tellurium containing nanostructures exhibiting antibacterial properties” on the web.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Dr Santiago Peredo, professor at the Technological Faculty of Universidad de Santiago, has shown that using natural fertilizers like humus and compost are suitable for growing vegetables. His project was awarded funds through the last Scientific and Technological Research Department (Dicyt) contest.

   

  The objective of the study “Estructura comunitaria de la mesofauna edáfica en sistemas de cultivos hortícolas manejados con aplicaciones de compost”, led by Dr Santiago Peredo Parada of the Department of Agricultural Management of Universidad de Santiago, is to show that natural fertilizers are the best alternative for growing vegetables.

  The study has been conducted in a demonstration center in Buin (Metropolitan Region), under the real management conditions of small scale producers in areas where lettuce, cauliflower, spinach, chard, tomato and carrots, for example, are grown.

  According to the National Statistics Institute (INE, in Spanish), the horticultural surface of the country reaches 70 thousand hectares:  14% of them correspond to corn, 10% to lettuce and 7% to tomato. Many of these products are exported to foreign markets, so it is important that they comply with high standards of quality. Besides, they are major components of the country’s diet and small scale producers are their main suppliers.

  Agro ecological research

  One of the main challenges posed by an agro ecological study is the unpredictable behavior of climate at implementing the experimental design.

  Dr Peredo is studying the variation of soil mesofauna in this farming systems to determine the amount and type of organisms present in a cropland, and how they vary (or not) when two organic fertilizers are used: compost and humus. 

  When using these natural fertilizers, soil mesofauna communities are the expected to modify their structures in different ways. Natural fertilizers are important because they activate the biology of the soil, contributing to improve the fertility of the soil and the development of crops.

  The idea is that the soil contributes to the fertility of the plant, avoiding the use of synthetic fertilizers. “Soil life will provide the optimal conditions to get the nutrients required by crops. This process is slow as it is necessary to create a balance in the soil that allows delivering the nutrients available,” he said.

  Benefiting the ecosystem

  Dr Peredo’s study has shown two significant results so far. On the one hand, the organisms that abound in the soil correspond to the same functional groups detected by studies conducted abroad: mites and springtails. On the second hand, changes in community structure are more evident during the crop development and in relation to the type of crop, when comparing with previous projects.

  The researcher highlights the importance of using this type of natural fertilizer, because “we should not only consider farming requirements, but also the needs of the soil organisms.”

  “The variety of functional organisms in the soil contributes to create the edaphic conditions for crop development by stimulating the soil’s biology. This is one of the core elements of agro ecological management. Using natural fertilizers is an efficient way of adding balanced organic matter to the soil. This practice, together with polyculture, is the base of biodiversity management in agro ecological systems,” the researcher said.

  Dr Peredo expects that his research line “will contribute to reassess the criteria for the granting of subsidies in soil reclamation and improvement programs, among others, and also to create new state incentives and aids. For us, it is imperative to conduct applied research under real conditions that allow an agro ecological transition at a parcel level.”

   

  Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The project will enable academic exchange and collaborative research on matters of renewable energies with specialists of important foreign research centers, like Lancaster University, UK, and the Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria.

• The Network Project 140007 Isolated Energy Communities, led by the director of the Institute for Advanced Studies (IDEA, in Spanish), Dr Cristián Parker, was awarded funds by the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (Conicyt, in Spanish), in the 2014 Contest “Support to the formation of international networks among research centers”.

On November 13^th, at the IDEA facilities of Universidad de Santiago, a letter of intent was signed by two important research centers that formalized their participation in an international research network: Lancaster University, UK, and the Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria.

The participants in this meeting were the substitute director of IDEA, Dr Fernando Estenssoro; the researcher in charge of the project in Chile, Dr Cristián Parker; the national co-researcher, Dr Gloria Baigorrotegui; the researcher responsible for Austria, Dr Michael Ornetzeder, and the researcher for the UK, Gordon Walker.

Energy Communities

“The purpose is to make possible an academic exchange, at a researcher level, to understand what energy communities are,” Dr Parker said with regard to the objective of the project.

“We are in a period in which energy systems are being transformed and we are moving forward to renewable energies. But technologies are not something you implement on the first try: they are developed when they are accepted and adapted to the different needs and requirements of each community,” he said.

He specified that the idea is to study the research works on energy communities conducted in Europe and then promote their implementation in our country.

“We have selected two very interesting [research] groups for their progress, one in Austria (Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences) and one in the UK (Lancaster University), in such a way that we can have a benchmark and see how to promote the development of energy communities with renewable energies in Chile,” he said.

According to Dr Gloria Baigorrotegui, the European experience is interesting because, “there, in the seventies, they started without any funding, maybe in similar conditions to the ones we have today, but with a more economically promising and more advanced technological development.”

“These are the ways in which communities somehow organize their own energy systems and keep the benefits for themselves,” Dr Baigorrotegui added.

The project

The project involves seminars, publications in international indexed journals, as well as cooperation agreements that are being established with foreign institutions to continue with new research works and academic collaborations.

As the project has a multidisciplinary approach, it gathers academics of different areas, like Dr Fernando Estenssoro; Dr Ingeborg Mahla, professor at the Department of Electric Engineering, and Dr María Teresa Santander, professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering, among others

This project will help to extend the use of renewable energies in different communities, in different places of the country. It seeks to learn from the European experiences in these matters.

Universidad de Santiago’s hallmark

This project is in accordance with the social focus of our university, which impact should aim to solve the fundamental challenges of national development, in a creative way.

Translated by Marcela Contreras