August 29, 2022.- At Universidad Panamericana we know that traditions are important. That is why, for the first time, the first Course OpeningCeremony was held on each of the campuses of our university (Mexico City, Aguascalientes and Guadalajara).
Course Opening Ceremony
At this event, which will be held at the beginning of each academic year, new students were welcomed to join the student community. The opening of courses symbolizes such renewal, sets the tone and goals for the months ahead, and injects encouragement into all who participate.
The celebration was attended by the entire academic staff, students and members of the university community, including Dr. Fernanda Llergo Bay, Rector General of the UP-IPADE System.
Each campus also had its respective rector: Dr. Santiago García Álvarez, on the Mexico campus; Dr. Gabriel Domínguez García Villalobos, on the Aguascalientes campus; and Dr. José Antonio Esquivias Romero, on the Guadalajara campus.
Personal and academic growth
In her speech, Dr. Fernanda Llergo told the students present: "You will see that in life you will live many lives and have many challenges, but this is a truly unique period, for at this stage you will gestate the greatest and most compressed transformation of life."
He also called on young people: "We need you as a student to learn the basics, history and circumstances of your discipline so that you can detect needs and opportunities and thus be an agent of change and impact that contributes to the creation of a better world.
He also added: "You are not alone, you can count on us. And we are not alone, we count on you, on you dear student and dear professor. You are the best of Panamericana".
The challenges of the UP
In his welcome message, Dr. Santiago Garcia referred to Panamericana's mandate for the training of professionals: "We seek to demand a lot, without a doubt, because we trust in the capabilities of each student, but we will always do so with respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual because we want to develop the best of each student," he explained.
On the ideology of the university he mentioned: "To be a university with a Catholic ideology is to dialogue from the rigorous study of the different areas of knowledge, far from dogmatism and with respect for all, with a transcendent vision that opens both optimistic and realistic horizons".
He added: "I am proud to be part of the academic staff of this university that values traditions, elegance and university symbols (...) An academic staff that is passionate and optimistic about the challenges posed by the contemporary world, and excited about building a hopeful future".
Calls for awareness
Dr. Gabriel Domínguez said: "Being a university student is undoubtedly a gift, and being from Panamericana is a very special privilege, always undeserved".
He also made an appeal to those present: "dear students, teachers and collaborators: let us be aware of the historic moment we live in. Let us be aware of the role that society is clamoring for us to play.Let us be aware of what we can do to improve the conditions in which we live in our society".
"Aware of the responsibility that comes with knowing that in the near future they will be under my care: people's patrimony, family or freedom, their ability to relate or manage their emotions and the development of their personality; the undertaking of a business or the company on which the livelihood of hundreds of workers depends; or the development of an algorithm that is useful to society, etc. The whole world will be as you build it!" he concluded.
New era and opportunities
Dr. José Antonio Esquivias mentioned the first course opening ceremony in the history of the Pan-American School in 1981.
"Higher education around the world has changed considerably since then, the massification, distance learning, lifelong education, the redefinition of teaching-learning relationships, as well as research, make it necessary to refresh the how in the university without losing its essence, the search for truth, the commitment to it, with a vocation of service to others.
He also added: "I hope that this new academic year 2022-2023 will give us the opportunity to continue growing in science, teaching and service, with the ability to adapt and reinvent ourselves to face the conditions of the times, without losing our founding mission.
The Christian identity of the university
During the event at each campus, Dr. Héctor Zagal, philosopher and research professor of our university, gave the keynote lecture The Christian Identity of the UniversityIn his talk, he spoke about the relationship between Christian thought and its influence on university education.
"What does it mean for a university to have a Christian identity? Christianity has at its core a message of justice and charity. Christianity seeks to achieve a more just world, where the elderly, the sick, the migrant, the poor are not discarded. Therefore, a university of Christian inspiration must be concerned with promoting a more equitable society".
He emphasized: "Christian academics, always hand in hand with those who are not -authentic Christianity must be inclusive, must be concerned that medicine, finance, law, have respect for the human person at the center of their actions-, in that sense, freedom of conscience is a presupposition of Christianity, therefore a university of Christian inspiration always bets on freedom, plurality and inclusion".
"Therefore, what is proper for the professors of a university with a Christian identity is to train professionals in all fields, where technical skills and scientific excellence make possible a better world, a more just and loving world," he concluded.
University tradition
The opening ceremony follows a tradition of more than 700 years of some prestigious European university institutions, which Panamericana has taken up on each of its campuses.
In the ceremony, all the symbols proper to its solemnity are used: academic dress, medals awarded, the coat of arms, the university anthem and the university hymns. Finally, it is the rector who decrees the beginning of the new academic year and, with it, a new year conducive to educate people who seek the truth and commit themselves to it, promoting Christian humanism that contributes to the construction of a better world.
As part of the protocol for the celebration of the Opening Ceremony of Courses 2022, the Symphony of the Universidad Panamericana, accompanied by the choir of this house of studies interpreted the hymn of our university, as well as the parade of the university academic staff and students of the student community, who were part of the procession.
