University of Havana and ARTex sign collaboration agreement

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 27 (ACN) A collaboration agreement to promote academic exchange and improvement of students and professionals in the tourism sector was signed on Wednesday, by senior representatives of the agency ARTex and the University of Havana (UH).

Eladio Marrero, president of ARTex, commented to the Cuban News Agency that it is the first agreement of this type signed by the institution, and that they started with the UH because of the links already established at other times, but that may extend the collaboration to other universities.
Among the benefits involved are the training of the staff of the company on issues such as the realization and development of cultural tourism and knowledge of market techniques, he said.
It will also serve to link students to the activities that we do in the network of shops, cultural centers, tourism bureaus, and various events, both national and international, he said.
Marrero mentioned that the agreement has been in the making for a year, fruit of the interest and actions of the Faculty of Tourism, and that it is thought that from there can come part of the relief of the work force that the specialized agency will have.
We started with Tourism, but within the agreement we also talk about the Faculty of Arts and Letters, Psychology, Law, Economics, Accounting, Communication, according to the profiles of professionals we have to excel in some of these specialties, he said.
During the signing of the agreement, Gustavo Cobreiro, rector of the UH, stressed that it will encourage greater participation of students in the cultural processes handled by ARTex, that professionals from the agency give classes in classrooms and that university professors consult with it.
He congratulated the idea and said that this will be a fundamental step for the development and growth of the sector that becomes the engine of the Cuban economy.
Meanwhile, in statements to the ACN, Alejandro Delgado, Dean of the Faculty of Tourism of the UH, expressed that the agreement responds to the institutional mandate to favor the university-industry link, and that it will contribute to the realization of the work experience of its students and to the process of placement.
It will also be vital for the expansion of knowledge about the cultural tourism modality; students will be able to have more direct contact with the management of purchases for tourism, travel agencies and leisure activities, which are part of the career curriculum, he said.