Empower teachers in their academic work through International Certifications in Digital Competencies

This work has the aim to demonstrate the importance of the development of the digital competitions in the university teachers to empower his academic work with the support of the Technologies of the Information and Communication (ICT). In this sense, the University of Tamaulipas (UAT) Mexico has trained a total of 124 teachers from the different UAT schools in the International Certification Program in Digital Competencies-ICDL, of which up to now 76 teachers have accredited the Basic Certification-ICDL related with Computer Fundamentals, Online Course Fundamentals, Word Processor and Spreadsheets. To do this, teachers had to perform level tests, study lessons and develop, in a self-taught manner, different types of exercises and practices, until submitting their certification exam. This paper also presents the advances that teachers had in the development of their digital competences, comparing the results of the beginning and the end of the certification. Universities should invest in the training of their teachers, in order to respond to the challenges of the 21st century higher education, mainly because they require a specialized teaching profile, sufficient background in pedagogical methods, expertise in contents and certifications in digital competencies recognized by international organizations that guarantee their quality.