CHILE– Education center Campus Arauco, located in Arauco commune, was officially inaugurated with a ceremony attended by authorities of the Ministry of Education, ARAUCO and Duoc UC representatives, students and workers of the area.

Campus Arauco is the country’s first applied education center, established after an unprecedented alliance between Duoc UC and ARAUCO that aims to contribute to the development of Chile and the región with an academic model that combines the education process with hands-on experience at work.

This professional institute covers industry needs by offering technical majors in Electricity and Industrial Automation; Electric Mechanical Maintenance, mention in Industry; Risk Prevention; and Financial Management. Through this initiative, the Province of Arauco will be able to count on more technical professionals who specialize in different fields, fostering a greater economic development for the area.

The new campus, which will also operate as a training center for professionals, initiated classes on March 7, offering close to 320 student openings. Over 209 students enrolled this first year: 33% of them in daytime classes and 67% in evening classes. At its full capacity, Campus Arauco will enroll 780 students, becoming a key institution to meet the industry needs of the Province of Arauco by providing more options for education, training and employment.

The dean of professional institute Duoc UC, Ricardo Paredes, stated that this new center “will allow hundreds of young people of the region to productively enter a labor market that needs them, and it will provide training that is closer to their history, their community and surroundings. We’re certain that the alliance with ARAUCO will be fruitful, for the region and the nation”.  

In addition, he mentioned that two of the major challenges for Campus Arauco are to consolidate its operational and academic functioning, and to implement the dual education model in 2017, which is currently being developed with the German Chilean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Camchal. ARAUCO will play an important part in the success of this initiative, by combining education and hands-on practice. 

Charles Kimber, Senior Vice-President Commercial & Corporate Affairs at ARAUCO, highlighted: “As a company, we believed in this project years ago, and we’re very pleased to see it come true. Today, we share a dream with Duoc UC, by materializing this shared value initiative, which aims to find solutions to social needs while at the same time enhancing company competitiveness. This project not only contributes to the company and the Region, it’s also a powerful contribution to the country and quality of life of its people”.

The center was built with noble and renewable materials, such as timber, and is designed to integrate into its surroundings. With more than 2,500 square meters, it offers a place that complements the education of its students. The building has seven classrooms, three workshops for industrial assembly and maintenance, welding and testing; and four computer and hydraulic labs, among others. In addition, the campus counts on a highly experienced team of teachers that students can rely on, and who provide a distinctive seal to the education center.