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This paper aims to evaluate and discuss the digital competence of academics at universities, to identify challenges and define recommendations for policy. This study was conducted through collaboration between the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission and Metared of the Universia Foundation, surveying 30,407 participants who present the perceptions of their own digital competence levels. These self-reflections took place in universities in seven countries, namely Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Mexico and Portugal, and used the Check-In tool, which consists of 22 questions based on the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators--or 'DigCompEdu' framework. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed, followed by a qualitative evaluation. Almost 70% of the academics have an average intermediate level of competence when the data is aggregated, with results varying in each DigCompEdu area according to the specific question asked. There is no significant difference between young and senior academics, as well as between men and women. The results present a discussion of whether the age and gender of educators and their work environment have an impact on their digital competence level, and at the same time highlights the areas in which educators perceive themselves to be most and least competent. It shows how the amount of institutional support that is offered affects the academics' perceptions of their level of digital competence. On the basis of the results, recommendations are presented for higher-education institutions, with the aim of supporting the professional development of their academics.

The classical Kermack-Mckendric SIR model for infectious disease transmission was used for studying the dynamics of HIV-AIDS in the city of Cali; individuals were classified as being susceptible, infected or recovered (SIR) on the assumption that sexual transmission would be the only means of transmission and that individuals would not recover or die. The model's parameters and basic reproductive numbers were estimated using information supplied by the Santiago de Cali Municipal Secretariat of Health, the Colombian Statistics Bureau (DANE) and the Municipal Planning department. Some scenarios were simulated to establish long-term disease trends. The system's equilibrium points were estimated and stability conditions analyzed finding that the current system had two equilibrium points: unstable, disease-free (E1) and stable, endemically asymptotic (E2). Taking information from 2008 as initial conditions, it was observed that the disease would tend towards equilibrium after a 100 year endemic. Simulations suggested that the disease would tend towards endemic equilibrium more slowly by reducing the probability of contact between susceptible and infected individuals and that the maximum number of infected and recovered could also become reduced.