Author: mario de leon

CXVIII Ordinary Session of the Central American Higher University Council

City of San Salvador, April 08, 2022

Today, the CXVIII Ordinary Session of the Central American Higher University Council was held in hybrid mode, with headquarters at the University of El Salvador. Presided over by the 24 rectors of the CSUCA member universities and 19 presidents of the Student Federations, representatives of the CSUCA member universities.

Said session began with words of welcome from Mr. Rector Roger Arias of the University of El Salvador, who welcomed the university and recalled the 181st anniversary of the UES, which has experienced different moments of adversity, but Despite this, he fights for Salvadoran society through the university-society-state link.

Likewise, Mrs. Rector Ramona Rodríguez of the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, Managua, president of the CSUCA, gave a cordial welcome to the council session, indicating the importance of this meeting and the opportunities provided by connectivity to be able to develop the event in hybrid mode. After that, the reports of the presidency of CSUCA, SG-CSUCA and FEUCA were released.

It should be noted that at the CXVIII session, the election for the position of Secretary General of the CSUCA was held, period July 2022-June 2026, through the election process, with 38 votes in favor, Mr. Carlos Guillermo has been re-elected Alvarado Cerezo, to continue with the work carried out during the period July 2018- June 2022. 

With one person absent, 3 voting abstentions, 2 votes in favor of Mr. Diego José Montenegro López and 38 votes in favor of Mr. Carlos Alvarado, the 44 votes of the Central American Higher University Council were complemented, corresponding to the election of such an important position.

?I want to thank the members of the council, we are a family, we must work in solidarity and collaboration, to meet the challenges that education has from our region, for me it is a challenge and a challenge the trust that they have deposited in my person, we are going to work hard and we are not going to disappoint the trust? words of Mr. Carlos Alvarado.

In this session, the advances in the implementation of PIRESC V were also presented, as well as the challenges for the university community of Central America and the Caribbean, through Mr. Francisco Alarcón. For his part, Mr. Juan Bosco Bernal, Rector of UDELAS, presented the topic ?Higher education and governance? with the purpose of publicizing the experience that said university has had on the subject. Additionally, Mr. Roger Arias, presented the advances of the University of El Salvador in the digitalization of Higher Education and Mr. Luis Adolfo Guillot, Manager of Government Solutions for Latin America, a Huawei official, culminated with the experience that he will develop the University of El Salvador through the smart campus project, as part of university digitization.

Among the various items on the agenda, the opportunity was given to Mr. Rector Francisco Herrera of the National Autonomous University of Honduras and Mr. Luis Sandoval, president of the Federation of University Students of Honduras, with the purpose of making known the student electoral process, to elect the positions of the Executive Committee of the Federation of University Students of Honduras (FEUH), the Executive Committee of the Association of Faculty students, university center and regional center; the Executive Committee of the Association of Career Students as the election of student representatives before the University Council, of the UNAH, after 17 years.   

Before finishing, a space was given to Ms. Rector Etelvina Medianero de Bonagas of the National Autonomous University of Chiriquí, who requested the solidary support of each one of the members of the council, since the university has suffered accusations and acts of vandalism that they have harmed his person and said house of studies. Likewise, Mr. Rector Wilmer Reyes, from the National University of Agriculture of Honduras, expressed that the university has presented with concern the intervention proposal of the UNAG, before the National Congress of Honduras. In both requests, it was agreed to provide support from the CSUCA, through a pronouncement.

For his part, Mr. Rector Eduardo Flores, from the University of Panama, has expressed his interest in issuing an invitation to the University of Havana, so that it joins the CSUCA, said request has the support of Mr. Rector Francisco Herrera from UNAH and Mr. Rector Enrique Torres Herrera from UDELAS.

Before concluding the session, Mrs. Rector Ramona Rodríguez of UNAN-Managua, two months after handing over the position of the presidency of CSUCA, thanked for the support for her management and expressed the importance of working in harmony.

Finally, it was agreed to hold the CXIX Ordinary Session of CSUCA at the University of Panama, on September 8 and 9.

UNAH students carry out student electoral process

Central America, April 7, 20222

After 17 years, the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) is carrying out an electoral process to fill the positions of the Executive Committee of the Federation of University Students of Honduras (FEUH), the Executive Committee of the Association of Faculty Students, university center and regional center; the Executive Committee of the Association of Career Students as the election of student representatives before the University Council.  

The electoral process was organized to take place in April 2020, due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19, this process had a time delay, but managed to incorporate new resources with the support of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), who supported the implementation of an electronic voting system, which was enabled from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., yesterday, in compliance with the Student Electoral Regulations (REE), of the UNAH.

Áyax Irías, Vice Chancellor of the UNAH, expressed his enthusiasm for the due electoral process, indicating that it is a historic and transcendental event for the university and for Honduras.

Said process was accompanied by Ricardo Reyes, president of the Federation of University Students of Central America and the Caribbean (FEUCA), Jorge Cortez, president of the Regional Council for Student Life (CONREVE) and Miguel Gutiérrez, deputy secretary for student affairs of the CSUCA.

After election day, university student Luis Antonio Sandoval Sauceda, an economics student, candidate of the Great National Student Alliance (GANE), was appointed president of the Federation of University Students of Honduras (FEUH), after his election he proceeded to carry out the accreditation process before FEUCA, with the purpose of participating in the CXVIII ordinary session of the Central American Higher University Council, to be held on April 8, 2022.

Image of UNAH University Presence.

Open Science Network

Central America March 30, 2022

With the purpose of working collaboratively to strengthen open science from the 24 public universities that are part of CSUCA, the Open Science Network of Central America and the Caribbean is formed.

As part of the actions to be carried out in the Fifth Plan for the Integration of Higher Education in Central America and the Dominican Republic -PIRESC V-, the Open Science Network of Central America and the Caribbean has been formed, with the purpose of strengthening the capacities of universities through a movement that promotes the opening of scientific research with topics of interest in open science, citizen science, politics, technology, etc. 

Among the objectives that are intended to be promoted through this network, is the search for training in topics such as ?Trainer of Trainers in Open Science? with the purpose of training the network and thus, ensure that its members become trainers of the regional university community.

Taking into account that LA Reference gives visibility to the scientific production of higher education institutions, an approach has been made with the purpose of generating training on the subject and at the same time ensuring that the countries of the SICA region, through their universities, integrate to be part of LA Reference.

This is the initial initiative of the network, complying with the impulse of the principles, concepts and strategies of open science in Central America and the Dominican Republic, according to the advances that are generated during the year 2022, a planning will be created in the short, medium and long term of the Open Science Network.

DOCINADE Cohort 2023

Call for Doctorate in Natural Sciences for Development (DOCINADE), Interuniversity Doctoral Program of the Mesoamerican region, under the bimodal pedagogical model, which combines face-to-face, distance and virtual academic activities, reaccredited before the Central American Postgraduate Agency (ACAP) .

The call for admission to the program is extended to all those professionals in the scientific and technological areas, with a related Academic Master's degree and academic experience in research.

Among these areas of knowledge, Agronomy and Agriculture, Zootechnics and Veterinary Medicine, Biology, Forestry, Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Pharmacy and Medicine, Electronics, Computing, Engineering and other areas related to science and technology are recognized.

Know the basics:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dTgH6UQ5RjjMprXYN0BM4VABOgbLUSc_?usp=sharing

 

Curriculum Internationalization Focus Group

Europe and Central America March 29, 2021

With the purpose of generating ideas and information on the institutional needs in the CSUCA universities for the development of skills and competencies in IdC, the first session of focus groups is held with university officials belonging to three regional systems of the Central American University Confederation, SIESCA, SIRCIP and SICEVAES.

Taking into account that internationalization actions have been deeply affected by the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, OBREAL Global and CSUCA join efforts to articulate institutional strengthening initiatives, in order to consolidate curriculum internationalization actions -IdC-.

The collaborative work has been defined in three stages, the first being a participatory analysis of the current situation and future perspectives of the IdC processes, in the academic offer of the universities of Central America and the Dominican Republic through focus groups. Reason why the first focus group session was held today with the participation of university officials from the University of San Carlos de Guatemala -USAC-, National Autonomous University of Honduras -UNAH-, Francisco Morazán National Pedagogical University -UPNFM -, National Agrarian University -UNA-, National Autonomous University of Nicaragua-Managua -UNAN-Managua-, University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast -URACCAN- and University of Costa Rica -UCR-.

Within the good practices that have been worked from the universities of the SICA region, are the Qualifications Framework for Central American Higher Education -MCESCA, the Tuning Latin America Project and the indicators proposed through the Fifth Plan for the Regional Integration of Higher Education in Central America and the Dominican Republic -PIRESC V-, being proposals that have marked and support the deepening of the internationalization of higher education through curricular proposals.

Dr. Julio Theiler from Obreal made a special emphasis on the use of new communication technologies, seen as an opportunity to promote the internationalization of the curriculum through different virtual actions.

Dr. Bartolomé Chinchilla, from UPNFM, mentioned the work that exists in the university through curricular redesign in all careers, incorporating internationalization as a transversal process within the undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum.

While Dr. Belinda Flores from UNAH mentioned the curriculum's focus on sustainable human development, considered from the millennium goals and adapted to the SDGs. At the same time, he pointed out the active exchange of students through Erasmus programs.

For her part, Dr. Letisia Castillo from URACCAN, indicated that the university has a strategic function, a fundamental part of the teaching and extension functions; internationalization is a transversal axis in the other functions, this strategic planning becomes permanent actions of the university, starting from the intercultural coexistence that the university itself has. He also pointed out that one of its main exchange agreements is with Norway.  

Regarding the UCR, Dr. Adrián Vergara, spoke about the interest that exists from the teaching area to promote internationalization, at the same time he mentioned the processes that the university has through student mobility and summer schools, being concrete experiences.

The UNA of Nicaragua, through Dr. Óscar Gómez, expressed that within the university there is an interdependence in human talent and that is due to the need to seek cooperation at the international level. The efforts are aimed at appropriation, currently working on the design of a collaboration in the zootechnics career, adding that the appropriation of languages is another fundamental tool for the development of internationalization actions.

For her part, Dr. Alice Burgos from the USAC, expressed the importance of the USAC 2020-2030 plan, within which the concept of curricular internationalization is incorporated into the university's own management, at the same time she presented examples through the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Humanities.

Starting from this session, it is estimated that it will be possible to work with another focus group on April 29, after which a cycle of webinars of good practice cases in Latin America and Europe will be presented, with experiences of internationalization of the curriculum and, finally, to develop activities of training in COIL (Collaborative International Online Learning).