Author: SG CSUCA

XLVII Ordinary Session of the Regional Council for Student Life

Central America, March 30, 2022

 With the purpose of organizing the active participation of student life of the member universities of CSUCA, the XLVII ordinary session of the Regional Council of Student Life is held.

The Secretary General of CSUCA, Carlos Alvarado, called for solidarity and collaborative work, emphasizing that the students are the reason for the existence of universities. Following the Secretary General's remarks, a quorum was verified and the agenda was approved. This agenda consisted of presentations from the CONREVE presidency, the Student Affairs Secretariat, the FEUCA presidency, and the position of Costa Rican universities regarding the dynamics of CONREVE.

Also announced were the logistical progress of the IV Meeting of Health Promoting Universities, organized by the universities of Honduras to be held in June 2022, in a hybrid format, as well as the VI Central American and Caribbean Meeting on Volunteering, which will be organized by the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo of the Dominican Republic, to be held in October in a hybrid format, the XLVIII session of CONREVE and the XVII edition of the Rubén Darío Regional Award for Academic Excellence, to be organized on that occasion by the universities of Panama in a hybrid format.

Regional networks for scientific exchange and collaboration

As part of the actions promoted by the regional project “Strengthening the capacities of science and innovation policy in the member countries of the Central American Integration System (SICA), a presentation of results from the regional networks of scientific exchange and collaboration is being made, which are close to culminating with the expected results in the project.
Within the project, 9 scientific collaboration networks have been formed and strengthened, namely:

• REBAMAR, with the purpose of assessing marine plastic waste in Central America through the formation of a regional research network.
• RED-CIED, formation of the Central American and Caribbean Network for Research in Economics and Development.
• HidroREDCA, creation of a hydrogeological research network to strengthen the preparedness and resilience of the populations of the Central American Dry Corridor to extreme weather events.
• RT-LAMP, an interdisciplinary network for strengthening capacities in Central American countries for the development of a diagnostic test for proactive screening in SARS-CoV-2 virus infection hotspots using technology.
• RECIEC, Central American network for research in critical extension.
• RedCMD, Central American network for the management of epidemiological data.
• RCN, network of researchers for the development of natural sciences.
• Red Free Network, articulation of actors from academia-industry-state for the generation of initiatives for economic reactivation after the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthening of the innovation ecosystem in Central America.
• RIESI, a regional academic network to support higher education inclusion for people with disabilities and social disadvantage in the countries of the Central American and Caribbean region.

The project has been promoted by the General Secretariat of SICA, in conjunction with the Central American Higher University Council (CSUCA) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) based in Canada, the National Secretariat of Science and Technology (SENACYT) of Guatemala as the Permanent Secretariat of the Commission for Scientific and Technological Development of Central America and Panama (CTCAP), and the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation of Panama (SENACYT). The networks have been created and strengthened, and their sustainability is being assessed, with short-, medium-, and long-term goals presented.

BIREDIAL-ISTEC International Conference on Libraries and Digital Repositories in Latin America

The BIREDIAL-ISTEC International Conference on Libraries and Digital Repositories of Latin America commemorates its 11th edition this year and will be hosted by Costa Rica under the auspices of the National Council of Rectors (CONARE).

It will take place during the week of October 3-7, 2022 in a virtual format and access will be free.

The Organizing Committee invites teachers, researchers, students, administrative staff, librarians, technicians, publishing managers and the general public interested in promoting open access to scientific knowledge to submit papers or posters, according to the following thematic areas:
Axis 1: Open academic, scientific and cultural communication
Axis 2: Open data
Axis 3: Evaluation and alternative metrics
Axis 4: Technological infrastructure

The deadline for receiving papers and posters is May 5, 2022.
For more information, please visit: https://biredial.istec.org/call-for-papers-2022/