Cuba exhibited the contributions of its universities in the confrontation with COVID-19

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 30 (ACN) Representatives of Cuban educational and scientific institutions presented on Thursday the contributions of the country's universities in confronting the COVID-19, during a virtual forum on the World Conference on Higher Education of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO).

The coordinating institution of the event, the University of Havana, indicated on its website that in the opening words, Miriam Nicado Garcia, rector of that higher education institution, ratified Cuba's commitment to keep a quality, inclusive and equitable education.

She also expressed that in the country's fight against COVID-19, university students are present in communities, attending the most vulnerable population; in scientific laboratories; in hospitals or isolation centers; creating together with great scientists; or placing in the hands of the Government several solutions for decision making.

Walter Baluja GarciaFor his part, rector of the University of Informatics Sciences (UCI), emphasized that this educational institution, in the context of the pandemic, has become a great hospital with the capacity to attend to patients, and for this the role of workers and students from all the universities of Havana, on a voluntary manner, has been important.

At the same time, the general director of the Finlay Vaccine Institute, Vicente Verez Bencomo, thanked the members of the University Community who have served as coordinators of the clinical trial of the vaccine candidate Soberana 02 in the different municipalities of this capital.
Verez Bencomo emphasized the need to generate new knowledge in a cooperative way in strategic alliance of the universities with the business and productive sector.

Meanwhile, Rogelio Polanco Fuentes, rector of the Institute of International Relations until his recent promotion to member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and head of its Ideological Department, said that the achievements of Cuba, its health workers, its scientists, its university students and its people will amaze the world even more and demonstrate that humanity can face the challenges that the future holds.

On the role of the university in societies, the director of Unesco's International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean, Francesc Pedro, stressed that the role of the university goes beyond the function of teaching content and assisting in the development of abilities, as it must also form committed citizens.