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- E'(UBB) is an annual event held at the UBB, and in 2025 it was organized by researchers from the Center for Mathematical Modeling (CMM).
Between Monday, October 13, and Thursday, October 16, the eighth edition of the ‘E’(UBB)=2025: Spring School in Applied Mathematics at the Universidad del Bío-Bío’ was held in a hybrid format. It is traditionally organized by academics from the Department of Mathematics (DMAT) of the Faculty of Sciences (FACI) of that university, who are also researchers at the Center for Mathematical Modeling (CMM) of the Universidad de Chile.
Dr. Pablo Venegas Tapia and Dr. Verónica Anaya Domínguez promote this activity to disseminate the lines of research developed within the framework of the DMAT’s postgraduate programs: Doctorate in Applied Mathematics and Master’s in Applied Mathematics.
The event is aimed at advanced undergraduate and master’s students in mathematics and related sciences from institutions in Chile and Latin America who wish to pursue postgraduate studies. In this edition of the meeting, more than 60 people participated both in person and remotely.
Focus on applied mathematics
Among those attending was Adrián Tenorio Galván, an eighth-semester undergraduate student at the Universidad Central del Ecuador in Quito, who is interested in researching topics related to EDP and dynamic systems. “I heard about it from a friend who had attended last year’s event, and I decided to attend for several reasons: to find out what the university was like here, what Chile is like, to see a little bit of the research topics that are being carried out, and to learn a little more about the master’s and doctoral programs”, he explained.
“Above all, I liked the finite elements course”, he said, explaining that “at the Central University we take a course in numerical analysis and part of the content is on finite elements, but we didn’t see it as it was presented in the course, which was quite formal. I liked how everything had its theoretical weight”.
“I am very grateful to have been able to attend and share with so many people. I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to delve so deeply into these branches of mathematics, and they really caught my attention”, he said.
Meanwhile, Katari Cea Cancino, who is studying Civil Engineering Mathematics at the Temuco campus of the Universidad de La Frontera, learned about ‘E’(UBB)=2025 a few weeks ago when Prof. Venegas mentioned the event in a talk he gave at her university. “I have always been interested in applied mathematics, and my degree involves a lot of data analysis, which doesn’t really appeal to me”, she explained.
“This semester,” she elaborated, “I am taking a course on partial differential equations, and I have always wanted to learn more about the subject. Now, here at the event, I have discovered that there are several lines of study within each area, all of which are interesting. I don’t know yet which one I would like to specialize in, but I am very interested in the programs offered here. The school has helped me learn a lot of information.”
“I’ve been to mathematical engineering meetings before,” he explained, “but there they talk about data analysis, statistics, and equations, whereas here it was purely about application, so it’s about seeing how mathematics can model different things in real life, and that’s what caught my attention the most. My expectations were completely fulfilled, and I feel that I learned a lot. At the same time, I realized that the mathematics foundation at my university is good.”
Hybrid format, international convocation
Dr. Pablo Venegas emphasized that “the call for applications was conducted in an open and broad manner, through the official channels of the University of Bío-Bío and national and international academic networks linked to postgraduate programs in Applied Mathematics.”
“Our graduate students and alumni played a key role in spreading the word”, he said, “promoting participation at their home universities, both domestic and foreign. In addition, invitations were sent to various institutions in Chile and abroad, supplemented by announcements on institutional websites and social media”.
The objective of the call—to promote interest in postgraduate studies in applied mathematics and strengthen the link between students and teachers—was successfully achieved. “We received outstanding participation from undergraduate and master’s students from different regions of Chile and other Latin American countries,” emphasized the academic, explaining that “the hybrid format allowed us to expand the scope and inclusion, enabling both in-person and virtual participation.”
“The interaction generated during the workshops and talks promoted academic exchange and the dissemination of the lines of research developed in our postgraduate programs”, Dr. Venegas added .
Applied workshops and lectures
‘E’ (UBB)=2025 featured three specialized workshops on Partial Differential Equation Analysis, Numerical Analysis of Partial Differential Equations, and Dynamic Systems, as well as six lectures. “Faculty members from the master’s and doctoral programs presented three workshops, one for each line of research”, Dr. Verónica Anaya explained.
“The workshops, presented in a lecture format”, added the academic, “allowed us to introduce participants to our areas of research and show them some of the work we do within the graduate programs”.
“In addition, there were two talks for each line of research, presented by students and professors from the programs”, Dr. Anaya said, adding that “although the format was structured, there were opportunities for questions and interaction, where participants showed interest and participated actively”.
“The talks were a very valuable complement, as they showcased more specific work in each of the lines of research”, she noted.
An event that has been growing
The academic in charge of the first lecture was the director of DMAT and also a researcher at CMM, Dr. Ricardo Oyarzúa Vargas. “The EPRIMA School is an initiative that began in 2018, when I was director of the Doctorate in Applied Mathematics program, with the aim of attracting students to our postgraduate programs”, the researcher explained, adding that “the first edition was held in person and had 13 participants, four of whom subsequently enrolled in our programs. With the arrival of the pandemic, we found it necessary to adapt it to an online format, which allowed us to evolve towards a hybrid model and thus reach a much wider audience.”
“Today, the school brings together nearly 60 participants from different Latin American countries. It is very gratifying to see how an initiative that started with a small group of students has grown over time, thanks to the work carried out in recent editions by my colleagues Verónica Anaya and Pablo Venegas”, the director said.
Workshops and talks, spread over the first three days of the meeting, were led by researchers and students from both postgraduate programs. On Thursday, attendees interested in pursuing one of the UBB programs participated in interviews with the respective academics.
This event is funded with institutional resources from the Universidad del Bío-Bío through the Vice-Rector’s Office for Research and Postgraduate Studies and the Faculty of Sciences, to which the Doctorate in Applied Mathematics and Master’s in Applied Mathematics programs are affiliated.
Por Iván R. Tobar Bocaz, CMM Communications.
Posted on Oct 21, 2025 in News
