USM Partners with Universidad de Oriente Cuba
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(photo contributed)
SINT MAARTEN (POND ISLAND) - On Monday, 15 April, the University of St. Martin signed a Partnership Agreement with the Universidad de Oriente in Santiago de Cuba, to support joint programmes, trainings, and student exchange experiences in the Caribbean region.
Governed by the Cuban Ministry of Higher Education, Universidad de Oriente (UO) is Cuba’s second largest university. For the last 20 years, UO has worked with universities worldwide to upgrade its graduate programmes to the highest international standards, create new undergraduate and doctoral programmes, establish data centres and promote research endeavours in the areas of climate change-related research involving communities, biodiversity and heritage. Meanwhile, since 2021, USM has stepped up its research agenda to include inquiry into the societal impact of climate change challenges, focusing on policies for hurricane preparedness, food security, housing and cultural practices.
In February of this year, USM President Dr. Antonio Carmona Báez visited Santiago de Cuba and met with faculty, students and staff involved in research-led education, as well as with the UO Chancellor Dr. Diana Sedal, who has led the Cuban institution of higher education for the last 7 years. During the visit, Carmona was brought to the natural reserves in the Eastern province of Santiago and got to visit rural and farming communities that have been accompanied by researchers and social workers affiliated or graduated from UO.
The Partnership Agreement serves as a general guideline for collaboration between UO and USM. The first intended projects of collaboration to be carried out include a Caribbean-wide webinar on climate policy and vulnerable communities, to be held during the month of October 2024; a summer school exchange trip for USM students to Santiago de Cuba to study Biodiversity, Cultural Heritage, and Spanish in July 2025, and the development of a concentration in Biodiversity, Society and Heritage at USM with the UO Department of Biology.