Wide participation in the Webinar for the Diploma in "Technologies Applied to Irrigation and Water Efficiency"

Applications for the diploma in "Technologies Applied to Irrigation and Water Efficiency" closed on Wednesday, April 30. This program will allow professionals from the Araucanía region to acquire efficient water management techniques through practical application.

The Araucanía region is suffering from a prolonged drought and a significant water deficit that has affected the population, farmers, and the environment. To address this problem, a diploma is being created to optimize the use of water resources and increase efficiency in water management in the area's agricultural sector.

In April, a webinar was held for the Diploma in "Technologies Applied to Irrigation and Water Efficiency" by Corfo Human Capital Scholarships in conjunction with the University of Concepción.

Corfo, SOFO (Agricultural Development Society) and the University of Concepción were present at the event, supporting the webinar. A large number of people attended the event, seeking to learn more about the application.

The diploma aims to train professionals capable of practical use of advanced technologies and efficient water management techniques in the agricultural sector, focusing on farmers in the Araucanía region. Its curriculum is a hybrid format, with online theoretical classes and a fully practical focus, with in-person activities in Temuco, covering 70% of the classes in this format.

Octavio Lagos, PhD. of the University of Concepción and director of the Water Technology Consortium (COTH2O), presented the topics covered in the diploma and the application requirements, which led him to answer questions from attendees.

In response to the diploma courses already offered by the University of Concepción, this diploma on water efficiency was created, placing special emphasis on practical work based on the theory previously covered.

For this reason, Dr. Octavio Lagos emphasizes that this version is primarily about practical work that includes in-person activities. He explained, "Now this practical activity is more related to how to install and assemble the systems that have already theoretically designed, sized, and economically evaluated the cost of those systems. Now, it's about how a pump is installed in practice."

“We will cover topics such as plants' water needs, how water is stored in the soil, how irrigation equipment is evaluated, how irrigation equipment is assembled, how a photovoltaic pumping system is assembled, how a sprinkler irrigation system is evaluated, and we will examine each of the characteristics and special conditions of each component of the irrigation system,” explained the consortium's director, Dr. Octavio Lagos.

The requirements to apply for the Diploma and obtain the Human Capital Scholarship awarded by Corfo are: being 18 years of age at the time of application, residing in the Araucanía region, being Chilean or a foreigner permanently residing in Chile, possessing a bachelor's degree or certificate of completion from a university or technical professional program related to the disciplines of engineering or agricultural sciences, among others.

To relive the webinar, the recording is available on our YouTube channel.