A view of the pandemic from the Academy
On May 5, the Salesian Polytechnic University (UPS), its CEA Research group, the Communication Career and the Technical Secretary for Publications of the UPS and the Graduate School of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Cuenca presented the book “ Pandemic from the academy. Transdisciplinary experiences of the Cuenca university in times of # COVID19 ”.
The work is the joint effort of 41 academics and researchers from UPS, the University of Cuenca, the University of Azuay and the Catholic University of Cuenca, together with professionals and members of civil society in the early hours of the crisis.
The event was attended by Francisco Salgado, Rector of the University of Azuay; Carla Hermida, one of the authors of the book; Father Juan Cárdenas, Rector of the Salesian Polytechnic University; Elena Jerves, Vice-rector for Research at the University of Cuenca; Vanessa Bermeo, Academic Vice-Rector of the Catholic University; Fernando Pesadores, Vice-Rector General of the Salesian Polytechnic University; Fernando Moscoso, Vice-Rector of the Cuenca Headquarters of the UPS, and Andrea de Santis, Vice-Rector of the Social Communication Career of the UPS.
The object of study of the book is the crisis caused by the pandemic and the profound social changes to which the University is called to respond from its knowledge and expertise, with research and solutions that allow understanding and intervening on the environment.
"They called us so that each of us, in our areas, have small contributions of pandemic and so that together we can demonstrate in a comprehensive way that the Cuenca university did not stop," said Carla Hermida and added:
“Yes, we lock ourselves up but we don't stop and that has allowed us to heal in the metaphorical and literal sense, we write about the different experiences that as an academy we were able to live, reflect, learn, investigate, transmit and ultimately try to solve during the first months of the pandemic ”.
The value of the work lies precisely in the collaboration, commitment and solidarity of various instances and people from the universities present. The text has three sections: The academy and the new normal, Science and technology at the service of society and Health and life from the trench of COVID-19.
“When the human being pauses, turns on, turns on and begins to see things with a new look, he is not trapped in the vertigo that does not have the possibility of flourishing or bearing fruit, but begins to see the things with a different form and he captures it in his studies ”, indicated Francisco Salgado and added:
"For this reason it is important to share them and put them at the service of society as soon as possible, a different perspective is necessary and it is not just a play on words to go from the pandemic from the Academy to tenderness from the garden."
The text "Pandemic from the academy " It has 268 pages and can be downloaded from the following link:
UDA Correspondent
