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The term “geospatial technologies” encompasses a large area of fields involving cartography, spatial analysis, geographic information system, remote sensing, global positioning systems and many others. These technologies should be expected to be available (as “natural tools”) for a country with a large surface and a variety of climates, such as Argentina. The present paper offers a brief description of the geographical features of Argentina, its facilities and resources related to geospatial technologies, and consequently examines the extent to which these techniques are being taught at higher education in this country. Hence, the aim of this paper is to stimulate the teaching of geospatial technologies in the universities, in order to improve the welfare of the Argentinan society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The university volunteer programs in Argentina encourage entrepreneurship culture through the development of innovative socio-environmental projects that promote a joint effort between the different administrations of the State, the universities and regional social organizations. One, called “environment and social inclusion” has been undertaken since 2011 in Stella Maris, a coastal suburb of the city of Comodoro Rivadavia – Chubut. The program includes a training phase for the university volunteers, an action plan addressed to the social agents and an evaluation of the results. This project has contributed to the reduction of vulnerabilities from the proposed action research planned by volunteer university students, teachers and social agents. Neighborhood institutional leaders who actively participated also contributed. Through a participatory diagnosis, the different actors in the community became aware of the environmental problems of their area and established strategic priorities for action in the short, medium and long term. The diagnosis itself was a learning process clarifying attitudes and environmental awareness that predisposed the participants to collective action. In our opinion, the next step would be to increase the social–political pressure on the local authorities to change the problem tackled into one of its priority actions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]