The Santiago Center has signed an inter-institutional collaboration agreement with Universidad Viña del Mar (UVM) to support academic research regarding senior citizens accessing digital ecosystems.
The agreement, signed mid-June, will specifically support David Petit’s research project titled “Analyzing Inequality and Digital Gaps in Valparaíso, Chile.” Petit - an educator, researcher, and consultant – forms part of the 2024-2025 cohort of the Columbia Global Emerging Scholars Fellowship Program.
Under the recently signed agreement, Petit will work with UVM’s faculty members that teach at the University of the Elderly (UDAM, according to the acronym in Spanish). UDAM is a UVM program designed to integrate seniors into a more academic setting, providing them the opportunity to continue developing their knowledge in various areas of interest, including the use of information and communication technology.
Specifically, Petit will apply a Columbia IRB-approved questionnaire for UDAM students. The results from this study will contribute to qualitative evidence for academic means regarding innovation and the formulation of public policy, to be used in forums, seminars, and workshops.
UVM’s Dean of the School of Legal, Social and Education Sciences, Bárbara Calderón, noted that the signing of the agreement was a natural progression in the academic relationship formed with Petit. “From the first conversations with Dr. Petit, we identified common themes. We started with specific research on the digital divide with the elderly, but we also sought to make visible what is done at UDAM and map out new projects,” she said. “Today I celebrate the signing of this agreement.”
Petit, who will lead the joint research, underlined the transformative potential of this agreement. “Aging and digitalization are key phenomena in today's society. From Chile we can illustrate, with a local perspective, the challenges of this development. There are many opportunities to show what is being done, particularly from the Valparaíso Region,” he said.
The region is home to two iconic cities, Viña del Mar and Valparaíso, and is located some 150 kilometers from Chile’s capital city of Santiago. Petit is working from the Columbia Global Center office in Santiago and has been traveling periodically to work with the professors and students at UDAM.
