Diaz-Canel urges to strengthen ties between universities and strategic sectors

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 7 (ACN) Miguel Diaz-Canel, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and president of the country, urged today to promote the link between universities, productive and service sectors and the public administration, in pursuit of sustainable development of the nation.

At the opening conference of the 13th International Congress on Higher Education, University 2022, the president gave special importance to the knowledge developed in universities to find the best solutions to problems, with a national outlook.

He said that the knowledge born in the academy is key in the implementation of the government management system that Cuba defends, with science and innovation as its main pillars.

The Cuban president added that the productive sector of goods and services must have a strong PhD training program, and the institutional framework of the management system must be strengthened with the implementation of a regulatory framework that facilitates the integration between the different actors involved.

During the conference, held at the Convention Center in Havana, the Cuban leader, who is also a PhD in Science (Technical), recalled that the fight against the current pandemic has shown the importance of the science-government link.

Innovative solutions have arisen from the fight against the pandemic, demonstrating technological autonomy, such as the three Cuban vaccines and the high-performance pulmonary ventilators, the head of state affirmed.

Diaz-Canel highlighted that in 2021 the creation of the National Innovation Council was made official, a consultative body of the State that encourages systematic meetings and the exchange of ideas among the different actors involved.

We promote increased transparency in the work of the government to ensure communication with citizens and favor the protagonism and popular control, with the purpose of developing exchanges with the most diverse sectors of society, he continued.

At the end of his lecture, the president of the country, along with Manuel Marrero, Cuban prime minister, opened an exhibition on the work of Cuba's higher education institutions.

At Universidad 2022, which runs until next Friday, 34 countries are participating and more than 1,780 presentations will be delivered in seven symposiums.