Antecedents

In February of 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Mexico, which led to the implementation of precautionary measures against the spreading of this disease. Secretaría de Educación Pública (Secretariat of Public Education) established that the Easter holidays (Semana Santa) would be taken earlier throughout the country, starting on March 20th and ending on April 20^th, assuming that this measure would allow for a return to academic activities in the short term. However, the continued epidemic process motivated the Universidad Intercultural del Estado de Puebla (Intercultural University of the State of Puebla - UIEP) to resume activities for Bachelors’ and postgraduate studies in a virtual and distance mode, which is undoubtedly a challenge, given the social, cultural and economic characteristics of Sierra Norte de Puebla, where the UIEP is found and where most of its students are from. In this context, both students and professors, as well as administrative staff have faced several challenges, which we discuss below.

Challenges of the postgraduate studies in the light of COVID-19

Adoption of a teaching-learning process in a virtual and distance mode. This was the first challenge, since the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 unexpectedly forced professors and students to continue their activities with e-learnig process, video calls using Zoom or Google Meet, as well as via email, Microsoft Teams, Moodle (e-learning platform) and WhatsApp, relying on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). This strategy helped professors keep in contact with students and work on the content of course materials together.

Digital gap and the limited access to technologies. The locations belonging to Sierra Norte de Puebla are catalogued by Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (National Statistics and Geography Institute - INEGI) as communities with a high marginalization rate or marginalized. On top of this situation, there are very few Internet providers, therefore access to this service is limited and, in many cases, inaccessible to families. It is worth mentioning that this area has high levels of rainfall - nearly 3000 mm a year - with thunderstorms, which causes the intermittency or temporary suspension of the electric energy and telecommunications services for up to several days. This situation limited the progress of activities in virtual environments.

Research. The follow-up on research projects, the revision of manuscript for publishing, and consultancies were also carried out using video calls on Zoom and Google Meet, email exchanges, WhatsApp and occasional in-person meetings with the adequate health and safety measures. However, the progress of field and lab work became difficult, since the providers of reactants, equipment and materials suspended their activities partially or entirely. In addition, this situation delayed administrative processes to make purchases in the time needed for each project. On the other hand, due to sanitary measures, visits to communities in which research was being carried out had to be postponed, since the entry to these communities required the permission of municipal and/or local authorities. Activities were gradually resumed following the indications by health and education authorities, both nationally and statewide. Consequently, the social and technological bonds with the community, one of the reasons for the creation of the university in the rural environment, was affected.

Virtual mobility. In the context of the readjustment of educational activities, postgraduate students that had programmed an in-person stay to study English in the Lakehead University, Canada, had to adapt their training do a virtual method. This experience, which helped students interact with professors of the Department of Languages of the Canadian university showed that virtual mobility can be a feasible option in the face of scenarios that hinder transportation to other countries, not only due to sanitary reasons, but also for reasons related to cost, migratory restrictions, etc. This type of mobility can be complemented with in-person stays.

Conclusions

The use of digital and ICT environments had already been implemented in the UIEP. However, they had no institutionalized use as a strategy of the educational model. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the adoption of new educational tools by a systemic and accelerated transformation which opened a realm of opportunities applicable to the teaching-learning process. However, its implementation in a highly marginalized rural environment was complicated due to problems in local and regional infrastructure to ensure efficient Internet and telecommunication services. A high quality in audio and video transmissions must be guaranteed to generate the dynamics that the teaching-learning process requires in a virtual and distance form. COVID-19 displayed the social and digital gap found in the rural areas of Mexico, such as in Sierra Norte de Puebla, where the UIEP is enclaved; however, it also displayed the ability of response and adaptation in the face of the contingency scenario caused by SARS-CoV-2.