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The Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL) has a wide educational offer and a great technological and research production, which favors the training of high school graduates, technicians, professionals, university teachers and researchers of the highest technical and human quality; However, the UANL has understood that the challenge is not only to train first-level human resources, but also to be able to understand their reality and improve it under the approach of sustainability.
This change in institutional vision has led to the emergence of various favorable changes in the behavior of the members of the university community and the social environment that surrounds it, aimed at caring for the environment, social commitment and democratic life, which has accelerated the process of transition towards sustainability at UANL, achieving important results such as reducing institutional energy and water consumption, despite the growth in student enrollment in recent years, in addition to promoting sustainable mobility systems, promoting generation of renewable energies and control the growth of its carbon footprint, among others.
Additionally, the UANL recognizes members of the university community, especially students, as agents of change capable of transforming the environment that surrounds them, so there is a great commitment to provide its students with a quality education with a focus on towards sustainability, both formal and non-formal, and it is precisely in this last category that the actions aimed at promoting the formation of student groups are registered, since students who decide to get involved in a student association undergo positive changes in the personal sphere , social and academic, acquiring a series of competences, such as teamwork, leadership, problem solving, and critical thinking, obtaining a greater sense of responsibility and belonging, which is projected in the classrooms with better academic performance, favorable elements to enhance their professional development.
In this context, the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL), through the Directorate of Project Development of the Secretariat of Sustainability, promoted the holding of the first meeting of student associations linked to sustainability that took place on June 11 of 2021, within the framework of the celebration of World Environment Day, through the Microsoft Teams platform, with the aim of establishing a space for dialogue and academic debate among students enrolled in high school and higher level institutions that form part of student associations that work with issues related to the promotion of sustainability.
The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Carlos Ramírez Martínez, Director of Project Development, who welcomed the participants to the Meeting and commented on the importance and scope of this important event. For its part, the M.A.I. Luis Rolando Hernández Salazar, Director of Student Activities at UANL, mentioned the importance of student participation in the training of students and thanked the Secretariat for promoting the meeting. On behalf of the students, they expressed their opinion about the Meeting Nery Fernanda Peralta Herrejón, leader of Entorno Verde and secretary of the UNIVERDE Federation, and Marco Antonio Arguiropulos Gutiérrez, President of this same federation.
The opening ceremony was also attended by university authorities and invited personalities such as Dr. María de la Luz Tovar de la Cruz, Director of Preparatory School No. 8, Dr. Evangelina Ramírez Lara, Director of Environmental Management and Operational Safety, the MC Félix González Estrada, Director of Infrastructure for Sustainability, M.C. Luz María Nieto Caraveo, President of the National Academy of Environmental Education, the M.T.S. Juanita Josefina Rodríguez Cerda from the Faculty of Social Work and Human Development, Dr. Francisco Santos Coronado from the Faculty of Medicine and M.A.E. Roberto Terrazas Garza from High School 8.
At 09:18 am, Dr. Carlos Ramírez Martínez made the opening statement on behalf of Dr. Sergio Fernández Delgadillo, Secretary of Sustainability of the UANL.
Then the M.C. Luz María Nieto Caraveo presented the keynote entitled “Sustainability in comprehensive university education”, and later the M.A.I. Luis Rolando Hernández Salazar, gave the conference “The importance of student participation” in which Marco Antonio Arguiropulos Gutiérrez, President of the UNIVERDE Federation participated. At the end of this presentation, Dr. Ramírez Martínez, presented the conference “The importance of sustainability in the integral formation of the student”, with which the inaugural block was concluded.
Around 11:30 a.m., three work tables began, with the following topics: a) promotion of sustainability in university environments, b) promotion of human rights in university environments, and c) sustainable waste management, in which they were A total of 18 papers were presented, in addition to a dialogue table on the promotion of human rights in university settings that had the participation of panelists with recognized prestige on this topic.
Table one featured the participation of seven works by Q.B.P. Alondra Jazmín Fraustro Cardiel, the student associations ARSAFE and Medicina Sustentable, M.A. Alina Acosta Martínez, Dr. Francisco Santos Coronado from the Faculty of Medicine, the UNIVERDE UANL Federation and the ecology club from Preparatory 8.
At table two, four papers were presented by the Entorno Verde student association, the University of Monterrey (UDEM), the SDG Student Hub UANL, the Faculty of Political Sciences and International Relations and the Abeja Ambiental association, in addition to having held the Dialogue Table: “Role of human rights in sustainability” with the participation of Alejandro Sánchez Rodríguez, member of the University Network for the Promotion of Human Rights, UANL Chapter, Dr. Yuri Marisol Lara Hernández, member of the Committee of Human Rights of the Faculty of Social Work and Human Development (FTSyDH), Lic. Luis Alberto Ávila Rivera, State Commission of Human Rights of Nuevo León and as moderator Mtra. Juanita Josefina Rodríguez Cerda of the FTSyDH Environment and Sustainability Committee.
Seven student associations participated in table three, including the Ecology Club of Preparatory 8, FUNART, UNIVERDE UANL, Federation Animalia UANL, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics, FAE Sustentable and Abeja Ambiental.
The meeting had the participation of more than 150 attendees from high schools and faculties of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León among which are: Preparatory Schools 1, 4, 8, 25, the Faculties of Agronomy, Architecture, Performing Arts, Sciences Biological, Communication Sciences, Physical Mathematical Sciences, Political Sciences and International Relations, Chemical Sciences, Public Accounting and Administration, Law and Criminology, Nursing, Economics, Civil Engineering, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Dentistry, Psychology, Public Health and Nutrition, Social Work and Human Development, Veterinary Medicine and Medicine and Animal Husbandry
All sessions of the important academic event are available on the UANL Sustentable YouTube channel.
The work of the Meeting ended around 6 pm on the day it began, reaching the goals and objectives that were outlined for it, mainly having made known the actions and projects that the UANL student associations carry out to promote sustainability in environments. university students and the social environment that surrounds them, with the presence of representatives of other student associations and students interested in the exposed topics, which seeks to promote the incorporation of more students to existing student associations and collaboration actions between them.
The Autonomous University of Nuevo León continues to promote actions to promote the transition process towards sustainability, especially those aimed at consolidating communication networks between members of the university community and society that work in favor of sustainability.
