Tierra Blanca, Gto., May 8, 2018.- With the purpose to place the knowledge at the service of society and strengthen the formation of students of the University of Guanajuato (UG), the activities of the project "Sefi" began; though which there will be actions with a social impact in a community of the city of Tierra Blanca.

Through project "Sefi", students and professors from different areas of knowledge will seek to solve problems detected in the community "Cieneguilla", which at the same time, will allow the youth to practice their acquired knowledge and collaboratively work in benefit of the population of vulnerable zones.

To show their gratitude, the people received the participants of the program with a ceremony that showed the cultural richness of the zone by including rituals, chants and traditional food.

Welcoming the participants, the Director of Academic Affairs of the University of Guanajuato, M. Francisco Javier Pérez Arredondo, explained that during a week, the students –selected through a summon—will apply different strategies to address the needs detected in the community.

The Head of the Department of Educative Innovation, M. Jazmín del Rosario Sansores Montejo explained that "Sefi" means bee in otomí, so the name of the project represents the work of the university community outside the classrooms.

The program answers the social mission of the University of Guanajuato, as well as to the Educational Model, that visualizes the students as active agents in the learning process. "The idea is to prove that there is learning outside the classroom, but also to prove a methodology and a learning strategy", she mentioned.

The methodology is called service learning, and the strategy is challenge based learning. It begins with the idea there is a need, and from there on, the student plans how to solve from their discipline. It means, the set challenges and, with the accompaniment of UG professors, they seek the way to solve them.

The students who participate in the project will be in Tierra Blanca for six days, and next May 11, they will gather with UG authorities to expose their proposals and progress.

M. Sansores Montejo added that throughout the project, the student community not only will help the people in the town, but they'll also acquire new knowledge and skills, and will discover which areas of their formation they need to reinforce.

At the start of the activities was also present the General Coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Center of Northeast, M. Claudia Celic Guzmán Ruiz; the responsible of the Unit of Educational Development, Arq. David Cabrera; the Coordinator of the Educational Program of the Degree in Architecture, Arq. José Alberto Ochoa Ramírez; the chronicler of Tierra Blanca, León Rodríguez García, and community members.

Photo gallery