Why did you decide to do an internship at the Institute of Education at Universidad ORT Uruguay? What did you know about the institution and the Uruguayan education system when you applied?
I had a very general understanding of the Uruguayan education system, since I had had the opportunity to visit Montevideo to attend an Ibero-American science conference in 2019.
I later learned about the Universidad ORT Uruguay Institute of Education and Universidad ORT Uruguay an invitation extended by the University of La Sabana in Colombia to Dr. Denise Vaillant to participate in the 2021 opening conference of the Doctor of Education program, titled “Teacher Training and Development Policies in Latin America: Challenges and Contributions from Research.”
After that, I got in touch with her, and that’s how both the Institute’s staff and I decided to go ahead with the internship.
Specifically, what tasks are you working on?
I am working with Dr. Claudia Cabrera, a professor at the Institute of Education, on an article about the training of biology graduates. We are currently outlining the topics for the paper. We hope to publish it in the first half of 2022 in an indexed international journal, following Dr. Vaillant’s review and feedback.
But also, as part of my internship, I’ve had the opportunity to read about teacher training in Uruguay and attend various events, such as the webinar “Networks and Digital Inclusion Project: Meeting of Teacher Training Institutions in Uruguay and Chile.”
What differences and similarities did you find between the education system in Uruguay and that of your country?
Unlike Colombia, teacher training in Uruguay has not yet been fully integrated into the university system, as it is currently offered at the tertiary level. Another difference we observed, when drawing that comparison with Dr. Cabrera, is that you have a national curriculum, whereas we do not. Each institution has its own curriculum, and there is a great deal of freedom in designing and implementing it.
Those are the most obvious differences that come to mind, but there are surely more. As for the similarities, we face the same challenges. For example, there are issues with training due to the wide range of backgrounds among applicants, as well as variations in the quality of training programs.
As for the internship, how would you sum up the experience?
For me, it has been a very positive experience, because I’ve been able to compare the Uruguayan and Colombian education systems. I was able to identify their strengths and areas for improvement. Obviously, in the medium to long term, it would be interesting to incorporate those strengths into our work as teachers.
It’s also worth noting that working with Professor Claudia Cabrera is very rewarding, because she is a wonderful person. We’ve been able to exchange quite a few ideas, and everything has been positive.
Would you recommend the internship to other students?
Yes, of course, because there are professionals who have received excellent training at the Institute of Education. In fact, Dr. Vaillant is nationally and internationally recognized for her experience and expertise. So, of course, I recommend her.