Twenty-six new laptops were delivered to Unicamp students covered by the University's Digital Inclusion Program. The equipment was purchased with extra-budgetary resources from the Student Support Service (SAE) intended for student retention actions. In total, R$141 thousand were invested in the purchase of computers. They contribute to the actions of the Solidarity Equipment programs and the Digital Inclusion Program for Unicamp Freshmen (PIDIU), which loan laptops and tablets to undergraduate and postgraduate students with difficulties accessing digital technologies.
The option to purchase laptops was made with the aim of serving students who require specific technological resources to carry out their academic activities remotely. "We have some courses in which it is very difficult to adapt the software used in classes on tablets, they end up not meeting these needs. This is the case of the multimedia course, for example, engineering also uses very specific programs. We then consult the CCUEC (Computer Center) and the GGTE (Educational Technologies Management Group) to make this decision and we continued with the purchase of laptops", explains Josianne Cerasoli, coordinator of the Human Rights Observatory (ODS) at Unicamp, the body responsible for logistics of the Digital Inclusion Program.
Student of the Geology course at Unicamp's Institute of Geosciences (IG), Eloise Santos depends on technological resources not only to follow classes and maintain contact with colleagues and teachers, but also to develop some specific activities in the area of geology. "In my course, we work with various types of software that we use to process images, data and generate maps that allow us to obtain information to characterize and understand an area. I use the computer to attend classes, meet with student groups, carry out tasks and development of scientific initiation, which requires the use of heavy software and licenses, which I usually accessed from the IG's own laboratory", explains the student.
She says she got in touch with volunteering after her old computer started to have technical problems that prevented her from continuing her activities. As he was unable to repair it or purchase a new one, he resorted to a loan: "They lent me a high-quality notebook, which will help me a lot in this complicated period. I am very grateful for the initiative. At the end of June and August I will present my scientific initiation work at the Brazilian Geology Congress and then at the International Groundwater Congress, both adopted the online format".
Program continues in an institutionalized form
The actions that are part of the Solidarity Equipment and PIDIU programs are a continuation of the mobilization, which began at Unicamp in 2020, so that remote undergraduate and postgraduate activities could be maintained during the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, more than a thousand requests for equipment loans were answered. In 2021, the campaigns were improved and are now undergoing an institutionalization process at the University.
"It was very clear to us that we would need to expand the sources of resources to be able to continue the process of digital inclusion. We saw that it would not just be an action due to the pandemic, but something that accompanies the policies of permanence and inclusion", points out Josianne. According to the professor, the programs are now larger and have the potential to serve more students. Therefore, they will be coordinated directly by the Dean of Undergraduate Studies.
"Volunteering was established to meet needs in times of emergency and the experience of 2020 helped us structure the programs this year. The Dean of Undergraduate Studies then understood that these actions must be part of Unicamp's inclusion policy", he comments .
Requests and deliveries of equipment for Unicamp's Digital Inclusion Program continue. All registrations, tracking of requests, scheduling of withdrawals and returns of equipment must be done via the website inclusaodigital.ic.unicamp.br.
Student demands are met by two programs: PIDIU is aimed at University freshmen covered by SAE scholarships, according to their classification in the selection process, and at students coming from the Higher Interdisciplinary Training Program (ProFIS). The Solidarity Equipment program meets the requests of other undergraduate and postgraduate students.
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Unicamp receives donation of 30 laptops for vulnerable students
Digital Inclusion Program for Unicamp Entrants is created
