The 1st Meeting of CONICYT Research Centers was held at Manquehue Hotel in Santiago, on September 29 and 30. Representatives of the different regional centers participated in this event, and also from the Associative Research Program (PIA, for its Spanish acronym) and FONDAP (Financing Fund Research Centers in Priority Areas), including SERC Chile.
In both sessions, the delegates of each research center talked about their experiences, work methodologies and organizational challenges, in front of an audience that included CONICYT authorities.
The conference by Rodrigo Palma, director of SERC Chile, was held during the second day, in the second thematic block called “The contribution of research centers to Public Policies,” which was introduced by María José Menéndez, director of CONICYT Department of Studies and Strategic Management, who invited all scientists to explore other areas in order to set a milestone in society.
“The centers are called to make an impact not only in science, but also in other areas such as health, environment, culture, education, among others, in such a way that the impact made development can be visualized,” said Menéndez.
During his presentation, Rodrigo Palma stressed the importance of Public Policies in relation to the country’s energy development and also highlighted the different partnerships that the center has built in several occasions, as the participation of 5 SERC researchers in the Advisory Council created by the Ministry of Energy, and the consultancies in Congress commissions.
“SERC’s calling is to come close to real subjects and not to focus only on scientific areas. 20 years from now, Chile can become one of the exporters of solar energy and other non-conventional energy in South America. Our moon landing dream is to have 12 plots of land in the north of the country to generate 4,800 KW. However, we need to inspire the country and have associated public policies, otherwise this is going to be impossible,’ he added.
Download Rodrigo Palma’s presentation here.