"It is very important that they know that we reverse the balance, it is not that the student sits to receive information but help us build the education of the future."
Dr. María Teresa Nicolás Gavilán, Director of the Institutional Center for Innovation in Education
ZAPOPAN, Jalisco; August 29, 2023.- In a continuous effort to strengthen the educational experience of its students, the Universidad Panamericana is proud to introduce the new SMART Student SMART Student Center. This center, which emerges as a result of the strategic vision The main objective of this center is to enrich the integral formation of students by providing them with a set of essential competencies, also known as "soft skills".
From Vision to Reality: SMART Center Design and Development
The SMART Student Center is born as part of the 2016-2022 strategic planning of Campus Mexico. Dr. María Teresa Nicolás Gavilán, Vice Chancellor for Academics and Educational Innovation, took on the task of creating and developing a space that would strengthen the educational experience of students. To achieve this, an exhaustive design process was carried out, inspired by best practices identified during visits to similar centers at renowned universities in the United Kingdom and North America.
The acronym SMART reflects the areas that make up the center: Success, Meeting Point , Advisory and Reload and Talent . The slogan "Empower your ideas" highlights the center's mission to empower students to be the protagonists of their educational experience.
Launching and Consolidation
At the Guadalajara Campusthe SMART Student Center has roots that date back to 1994, when the Psychopedagogical Department was created under the direction of teacher Matilde Ovando. Over the years, this department evolved and in 2015 it was renamed the Academic Strengthening Department. Its mission has always been the same: to support students and prevent school dropout, offering resources for high academic achievement and addressing learning and personal development issues.
The year 2023 marks a milestone in this evolution, with the integration of the Academic Strengthening Department into the SMART Student Center at the Aguascalientes and Aguascalientes campuses. Aguascalientes and Mexico City and Mexico City campuses, giving rise to the SMART UP Guadalajara Student Center.
This innovative center promotes talent development and provides a service of excellence to enhance students' academic, personal and professional competencies. Through university counseling, academic tutoring, psycho-pedagogical support, vocational guidance and emotional support, the SMART Student Center seeks to enrich each student's university experience.
Structure and Scope: SMART Center Coordinations
With a structure that includes areas of counseling, tutoring, psycho-pedagogical and emotional support, the SMART Student Center is dedicated to serving the needs of all SMART students. Universidad Panamericana. Located on the right side of the main entrance in Building "L", the center offers a comfortable and welcoming space with umbrella areas and a terrace equipped for study and counseling sessions.
"The most important thing about SMART is each and every one of the students who are there. You are the protagonists, do not ask yourself what SMART can do for you, but what you can do for SMART" expressed Dr. María Teresa Nicolás Gavilán, Director of the Institutional Center for Educational Innovation.
"Now we are not inaugurating a classroom, nor a building for classes or sessions. We are inaugurating a gymnasium, a gymnasium for the brain (...), an enhancer for those who have the capacity to give more than what they have, that is, a real gymnasium in which everyone can take advantage of it according to their personal conditions and can always go further with the help of professionals from different areas" were some of the moving words that the rector of the University, Dr. José Antonio Esquivias Romero, said in his speech at the inauguration of the SMART Student Center.
The SMART Student Center invites all students to discover a space for personalized meetings and constant support, which will contribute significantly to their growth and development during their university experience.
