Dr. Leticia Jiménez, IOHE Academic Director, was on mission in Cuba, representing the organization at the 14th International Congress of Higher Education University 2024 and at the preparatory meeting of the Regional Conference on Higher Education (CRES+5), events that took place at the Havana Convention Palace from February 5 to 9.
14th International Congress of Higher Education University 2024
The event opened with the welcoming words of Dr. C. Walter Baluja García, Minister of Higher Education of the Republic of Cuba, who highlighted the importance of reflecting on promoting dialogue and reflection on the role of higher education in the social transformation, based on the principles of quality, sustainability and relevance.
Dr. Leticia Jiménez, Academic Director of the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE) participated as a speaker in the Panel “Strategic Alliances and good practices in internationalization of Higher Education”, where she spoke about the main lines of action of the organization: the Diploma in Internationalization of Higher Education (DIES 2024), the Virtual Mobility Space in Higher Education (eMOVIES) and the Conference of the Americas on International Education (CAEI).
Within the congress program, conferences focused on seven axes were held:
- Axis 1. Higher education and the challenges of the future: internationalization, digital transformation, financing and information perspective.
- Axis 2. Higher education management. Quality for sustainable development.
- Axis 3. University extension, commitment and social transformation for sustainable development.
- Axis 4. Train competent professionals from an integrative and equitable perspective, for sustainable development.
- Axis 5. University, knowledge, and innovation for sustainable development.
- Axis 6. Role of student and union organizations in higher education.
- Axis 7. University-Productive and Service Sector Linkage: a strategic vision for sustainable development.
Regional Higher Education Conference (CRES+5)
The UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC), the Ministry of Higher Education of Cuba, and the Latin American and Caribbean Space for Higher Education (ENLACES), held the fourth preparatory meeting towards the Regional Conference on Higher Education (CRES+5), which was held in the City of Havana, Cuba, on February 7 and 8, 2024, within the framework of the University Congress 2024.
At this event, the progress of the working groups around the 12 thematic axes of follow-up to the 2018 Regional Higher Education Conference (CRES+5) was presented.
Dr. Jiménez participated in Workshop 3 on Higher Education in Internationalization and Regional Integration in LAC. The results of the work of the group on this axis were presented so that contributions could be made to what they proposed. The important topics that were added were: a) virtual mobility and the integration of administrative teams to internationalization processes.
Meeting National Center for Agricultural Health (CENSA)
Dr. Leticia Jiménez, and Dr. Nivian Montes de Oca, General Director of the National Center for Agricultural Health (CENSA) in Cuba, signed a letter of intent to formalize an agreement for collaboration between both organizations to work on joint international projects on topics of common interest, including training and application of the COIL system as a tool in the internationalization of the curriculum in CENSA postgraduate courses and participation in seminars on animal and plant health organized by any of the centers.
Finally, a meeting was held to close the project “Development and conservation strategies to strengthen the agricultural sector in priority areas, with impact in the province of Mayabeque”, financed by the Ministry of International Relations and Francophonie of Quebec (MRIF). This project represents the third stage of the intervention program in the agricultural sector in Cuba.
