ITESO, Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara

ITESO is the Jesuit University of Guadalajara, in Mexico. It was founded over 60 years ago by a group of Jesuits, families and local business leaders who sought a different kind of university that would combine rigorous professional training with an education that would inspire men and women with a profound sense of social responsibility and justice. ITESO´s  programs are imbued with the educational philosophy of Jesuit institutions, recognized worldwide for training well-rounded leaders in the fields of the arts and sciences. With approximately 11000 students and 42700 graduates, ITESO offers a robust combination of professional advancement and knowledge production in the sciences. It houses state of the art programs in engineering, humanities and the social sciences.

As part of its mission, ITESO is called to offer solutions and alternatives for and with society.

The university community adad — made up of students, graduates, academics, researchers and other collaborators — has focused its efforts and its theoretical, methodological, and technical knowledge on creating solutions that address the challenges brought on by the pandemic, in the form of proposals for social and technological innovation, as well as programs and initiatives for counseling, dissemination and support for the most vulnerable sectors. This is evidenced by over 90 projects of applied research and 60 conferences, round tables, forums, and discussions about Sustainability and Technology, Identities, Social Inclusion and Health, The Solidarity Economy and Decent Employment and Justice and Democracy.

PAPs

Professional Application Projects (PAPs) are unique to the university and form an essential part of students’ integral education in all of ITESO’s undergraduate and engineering programs. Most PAPs are developed in off-campus scenarios and seek to respond to the most immediate needs of society at both the local and national levels, as well as to change the approaches of other projects to adapt them to the needs of the current context.

They are developed with a logic of nodes that bring together several initiatives according to the thematic areas of confluence, with the purpose to provide a powerful response to achieve the desired impact in the current situation, embracing complexity and steering clear of atomized efforts. PAPs are grouped into four macro-problems: Fair Alternatives to the Market and Material Redistribution; Health, Dignity, and Care for People; State Capture and the Construction of the Public Interest; and Environmental Degradation.

Collaboration and multidisciplinary approach: the key

Collaboration with civil organizations, research centers, government agencies, companies, and other educational institutions has always been a pillar of ITESO’s projects, even more so during the health emergency. Rather than individual efforts, ITESO's proposal has focused on working jointly to find solutions that contribute to the common good and prioritize the welfare of the most vulnerable sectors, with multidisciplinary, scientific, and academic collaboration serving as the means to overcome the difficulties caused by the pandemic.

COVID -19 INFORMATION

New ways for a new day-to-day

Over the course of this year, besides preparing for the return to campus, adjustments were made to various activities of university life so that they could continue within the constraints of the new realities brought on by the pandemic:

Admission Test

An online test was designed that could be replicated in other institutions of the Jesuit University System in Mexico. The university also conducted in-person exams.

Graduation Ceremonies

The first experience with the campus sanitation filters occurred during graduation ceremonies at the end of 2020. Sanitation protocols were put into place, and different stations were installed throughout the campus so that recent graduates could enjoy their academic ceremony accompanied, via livestreams, by their families.

Library Loans

Nearly one thousand people from the community, including students, alumni, and staff, have received books and audiovisual material at their homes. A total of 5,400 books (4,833 different titles) have been loaned during this period.

Equipment and material for classes

There are laboratories and workshops that prepare materials for learning activities that students need to do at home; these materials include video recording equipment, airbrushes, electronic cards, and even special floorboards with a barre for dance classes.