“We received this news with the satisfaction that we accomplished to put a program of excellence together, which now is acknowledged through its first accreditation for a period of four years”, commented the director of Master´s Programs, Dr. René Montalba.

The Master´s Program in Natural Resource Management of the Universidad de La Frontera received an important acknowledgement of the quality of its processes by being accredited for four years, from 2017 to 2021, granted by the Qualitas Agency.

The director who led the process, Dr. René Montalba, said that the notification was well-received by the Master´s team. “We received this news with the satisfaction that we accomplished to put a program of excellence together, which now is acknowledged through its first accreditation for a period of four years”, he commented.

This accomplishment could only have been achieved through meticulous processes, led by Dr. Montalba and a commission, comprised of Dr. Christian Salas, Dr. Alejandra Ribera and Dr. Adison Altamirano, in cooperation with the civil engineer, Denise Lisperguier, in order to take forward the self-assessment process, which was awarded with this accreditation.

This acknowledgement was also appreciated by the dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Science, Rodolfo Pihán, who emphasized that the accreditation of the Master´s Program is part of the priorities of the Faculty to assure the quality of processes and it reflects the excellent work and the commitment of the people who are part of the Program.

“This acknowledgement makes us happy because it adds public recognition to the quality this postgraduate program offers in the mission of training advanced human capital in an area, which is fundamental for the development of our region, the country and the relation to ournatural resources”,he said.

PROGRAM
This positive result is the result of a deep analysis and redesign of the Program, driven by the actual requirements of the professional world, which is linked to the environment and natural resources.

“An important part of this modification is the creation of three areas of specialization (Applied Agroecology, Analysis and governance of Socio-ecological Systems, and Natural Resource Assessment) that cover relevant aspects of natural resource management from a complex and multidisciplinary perspective”, he explained.

One of our strengths to receive this acknowledgement is that we have an academic body of more than 20 teachers of excellence, with a high scientific productivity and who are committed to the Program, in addition to a group of students and graduates who are working in the area, which, according to them, requires the use of applied science in order to resolve problems of the real world.

“In addition to academic excellence and the link with the environment, one of the main strengths of this Master´s Program is its diversity and the uninterrupted dialogue between different visions, perspectives and professional areas that are part of the management of natural resources”, he added.

He also added, that this significant accreditation is not the culmination of an improvement process, but an impulse to keep improving in the area of academic excellence, the cooperation with companies and institutions of the center and the south of Chile, and the consolidation of an active and united Master´s community that is committed to the development of the region and the country.

ADMISSION 2018
The admission process for the Master in Natural Resource Management starts on November 13th, 2017. For more information about the Program (in Spanish), please click here: http://magrecnat.ufro.cl/.