FAE academic is part of the ANID-FOVI project on processed foods exported from La Araucanía

This is the professor of the Department of Administration, Dr. Carolina Nicolas, who is part of the international linkage project between Chilean and foreign universities, financed by the National Research and Development Agency (ANID) for Regional Research Institutions.

Valentina del Campo Escárate, USACh Journalist.- On March 24, the closing ceremony of the project “Diagnostic tool for sustainability challenges for processed foods exported from the Araucanía Region ANID-FOVI210039” was held, in which the academic from the Department of Administration of the FAE participated. , Dr. Carolina Nicolas, together with Dr. Valeska Geldres (project director) and Dr. Berta Schnettler, both from the University of La Frontera.

This is an international linkage initiative, between Chilean and foreign universities, financed by the National Research and Development Agency (ANID) for Regional Research Institutions, which seeks to generate and strengthen networks to consolidate international links in the different regions and macro-zones. From Chile. (https://www.thefoodexporttool.cl/)

“The general objective of the project was to propose a diagnostic tool to define sustainability challenges for processed foods exported from the Araucanía Region aimed at the final consumer,” explained Dr. Nicolas.

International universities, such as the University of Malta and the University of Barcelona, ​​joined the project, strengthening collaborative ties, a fact that has allowed a broader exchange of knowledge.

The importance of education and training in the sector has also been relevant, with the participation of undergraduate and postgraduate students, who carried out social responsibility, dissemination and database analysis activities.

Dr. Nicolas added that after a year of joint work between Chile, Spain and Malta, several contributions were generated, “among them we participated in conferences, publications and what enriched us the most is the transfer of knowledge between teachers, undergraduate students and national and international postgraduate. In the case of our University, the undergraduate research assistants Alexander Jorquera and Antonia Martínez and postgraduate Jorge Rojas Sánchez participated.

Students linked to the project

Alexander Jorquera, a fifth-year student in Business Administration in Business Administration at FAE Usach, said that “participating in this project allowed him to develop his more analytical side. “In addition, having contact with researchers from different parts of the world contributed to my development of interpersonal skills, being able to learn about other types of research methodologies such as bibliometric analysis, which have opened up a world of knowledge that has awakened my desire to continue training and learning more.

Antonia Martínez, fifth-year student of the Commercial Engineering in Business Administration degree, added that the experience of working at “The Food Tool Experience” was very challenging and, at the same time, very motivating. “A great door was opened for me in the world of research, infinite possibilities to be able to learn and deepen skills that perhaps I did not have so internalized, but thanks to research, I was able to do it”.

For Jorge Rojas Sánchez, a student of the Master’s in Marketing at the Faculty of Administration and Economics, this experience was enriching since “I found myself challenged to investigate a topic that caught my attention, but I did not know about. I discovered that it is very important to do good research, which allows us to know what you can really achieve and what impact you can generate in your context”.