Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: UC competition seeks to promote the transfer of research in education to society
The initiative “Transfer of Thesis in Education” offers a 10-month program, where those selected will have the possibility of developing commercial validation strategies. They will also receive a small financing for associated expenses and a physical workspace during the execution period in the CEPPE UC facilities.
Working on a thesis to obtain a doctorate in education, for example, requires arduous work and several months, an effort that translates into research, apply methodologies, make ground, and that often ends with the products of the research only in the library of the granting university.
But what about the broader contribution of results to people? How to ensure that research has an impact on society? These are part of the questions that prompted the UC Doctorate in Education , the UC Center for Policy Studies and Practices in Education, CEPPE , and EduLab UC to decide to launch the contest “Transfer of Thesis in Education”, which seeks to generate bridges and bring closer doctoral research to society, through the generation of a transferable product from thesis projects of the Doctorate in Education program.
“Transfer constitutes a new way of generating educational transformation based on research. On a more limited time scale and with visible results in a shorter term than the significant impact produced by other research, “says Alejandro Carrasco, dean of the Faculty of Education.
“Therefore, the transfer diversifies the impact produced by the educational research of our faculty,” says the authority.
“The transfer diversifies the impact produced by the educational research of our faculty” – Alejandro Carrasco, dean of the Faculty of Education.
PhD students and graduates
The contest is aimed at students and graduates of the Doctorate in Education program, who must submit their proposals.
This offers its winners a 10-month program, where those selected will have the possibility of developing commercial validation strategies in conjunction with relevant actors from society and the market, applying methodologies and approaches oriented to technology transfer, as well as receive various guidelines to increase the feasibility that their developments can be transferred to society. They will also receive a small financing for associated expenses and a physical workspace during the execution period in the CEPPE UC facilities.
“By promoting the transformation of doctoral thesis research results [this program] allows to bring to light and contribute to society with research that, many times, is kept in virtual or physical libraries and society does not find out about a work that it is very deep, long, and that many times it generates innovation from which society does not benefit ”, explains Magdalena Claro, director of the UC Center for Studies on Policies and Practices in Education, CEPPE UC.
“By promoting the transformation of doctoral thesis research results [this program] allows to bring to light and contribute to society with research that, many times, is kept in virtual or physical libraries” – Magdalena Claro, director of the Center for Studies of Policies and Practices in Education, CEPPE UC.
Winners of the 2021 version of the contest
This year the second version of the Contest Transfer of Thesis in Education is being developed, which had two winners, the doctoral student Evelyn Hugo and the graduate of the Ana María Yuivar program. Both were able to participate in this enriching experience in terms of innovation and transfer potential of their doctoral theses.
“The program has been an enriching instance that allows us to think of doctoral research as a concrete contribution to the educational system. This use value requires nurturing the central problem of the research with other data and needs that are not typical of educational research but that enrich it “, explains the winner of the contest Evelyn Hugo, in the category” thesis project “.
“After having spent years with my own scientific research, a door is opened so that the results not only circulate and contribute to peers, but also become an educational solution that may have repercussions in the classroom”, indicates the doctor in Education UC Ana María Yuivar, winner of the category “finished thesis”.
Undoubtedly, this is a positive experience for the rethinking of the research work carried out at the university, in view of its broad contribution beyond the academy. In the educational field, the possibilities of impact are multiple, so they recommend future applicants to design research that responds to the demands of society, and apply for contests like this as they support the transformation of their projects or research results into high-quality products. social relevance.
Regarding the link that allowed the development of this program, Diego Caro, head of EduLab UC, said that the research carried out in the doctoral programs has enormous potential to impact the educational system: “This collaboration seems very relevant, since it allows transform research into scalable and sustainable innovations, and that have evidence that they effectively improve the quality of education “.
“After having spent years iterating with scientific research itself, a door is opened so that the results not only circulate and contribute to pairs, but also become an educational solution that may have repercussions in the classroom” – Ana María Yuivar , Doctor in Education and winner of the category “finished thesis”.