A total of 226 elementary, middle, and high school students who participated in the Semillero Matemático y del Club Semillero Matemático Euler during the first semester of 2024 were recognized by the UIS School of Mathematics. They successfully completed the training offered in the extension projects led by the Grupo de Investigación en Educación Matemática, EDUMAT.
The first session, held at the Ágora de la Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, gathered 120 students from first to ninth grade who participated in the Seedbed. This initiative provides an introduction to mathematical knowledge through games, puzzles, educational material, origami, problem-solving, and the use of computational technologies.
Professor Marcela Jaimes Muñoz, coordinator of the Semillero Matemático, gave a positive review, stating, “We had a great turnout; the children and their parents were very happy, and it is very gratifying that they want to come to study mathematics at UIS. The seedbed is a complement, and what better way to give children, from their early school years, a love for mathematics and the confidence they need, because mathematics has always been a taboo. So I think this is important.”
Teachers, students, and parents expressed their satisfaction with this experience and the knowledge it offers to new generations at the Universidad Industrial de Santander.
María León accompanied her grandson, Mateo Vargas Contreras, to the Seedbed’s closing ceremony, where each student received a diploma and a participation report. She highlighted, “It’s a wonderful experience because he loves mathematics, and when they teach him at school, he says, ‘Oh mom, I already knew that; they taught me that in the Seedbed on Saturdays.’ That’s why we want him to continue. He knows and is good at all subjects, but he is happy with his mathematics.” Mateo added, “I love mathematics, and I’m really good at it, so I was very happy with my teacher.”
Professor Jorge Enrique Fiallo Leal, director del Grupo de Investigación en Educación Matemática, EDUMAT, stated, “I want to highlight the work of our teachers. Some are mathematics students, some are pursuing a Licenciatura en Matemáticas, and many of them are already graduates of our programs who continue to come to work with the children on Saturdays. The Seedbed is a program that has been running for over 20 years and has been sustained because it provides a different space where children encounter mathematics to play with and learn in a different way. The Seedbed has never aimed to teach mathematical content but to teach children to reason, think, and enjoy mathematics. That is the great satisfaction”.
In the afternoon, the closing ceremony was held for 106 tenth and eleventh-grade students from public schools in Bucaramanga and its metropolitan area who participated in the solidarity project: Club Semillero Matemático Euler. This initiative is developed with the support of the Vicerrectoría Académica and led by the Escuela de Matemáticas UIS a través del Grupo de Educación Matemática, EDUMAT.
The Club is an academic space designed to encourage and kindle an interest in mathematics, aiming to motivate students to continue their academic training at a professional level at UIS.
Regarding this, the director of EDUMAT affirmed, “It is a project developed with UIS’s own resources. It motivates tenth and eleventh graders to see an opportunity to continue their university studies because, for many of these children, sometimes the perspective is to finish eleventh grade and start working due to household needs. Often, parents do not consider their children pursuing a university degree, but coming here, getting to know UIS, seeing that they are good at mathematics motivates them. The great satisfaction and goal of the Seedbed is for these students to see an option to continue their university studies at the Industrial University of Santander because if they learn to reason mathematically, they will succeed in any profession. I am very satisfied with these programs and the support we receive, so our recognition goes to the institution, led by the rector and the Vicerrectoría Académica”.
Finally, Professor Marcela Jaimes expressed, “Those interested in being part of the semilleros can register through the institutional website by filling out the corresponding form. After that, all the information and the payment receipt will be sent via email.
For more information: Edificio Camilo Torres, office 301B (UIS central campus), UIS PBX +57 (607) 634 40 00, Extensión: 1229, email: matematica.semillero@uis.edu.co ; or on the institutional website: https://uis.edu.co/fc-gruinv-edumat-es/