Matanzas is famous for many reasons: the beautiful Varadero beach, Playa Girón, site of imperialism’s first defeat in the Americas; Ciénaga de Zapata, the Yumurí Valley; and for being the birthplace of important figures within Cuban culture, such as Miguel Failde, creator of danzón (the island’s national dance); José Jacinto Milanés, a significant author, poet and playwright; and renowned poet Carilda Oliver Labra.
Recently all eyes have been looking toward this western Cuban province as a stronghold for training and developing students with a talent for chemistry.
Matanzas saw its best results in the national competition of this subject in 2015, when it won one gold medal, four silver and two bronze.
If last year’s achievements were noteworthy, this year’s are even better, as José Rafael Rodríguez Rodríguez, a student from the province’s Karl Marx Pre-Professional Institute of Exact Sciences (IPVCE), won gold in the 10th Central American Chemistry Olympiad, held in Havana this July.
We interrupt his daily routine with a phone call, and he immediately tells us how nervous he was during the competition.
“It’s been a long time since a student from Matanzas has participated in a competition of this kind. What’s more, I had the pressure of facing students a grade above me from other countries. Luckily everything went as hoped, and I got first place.”
José also noted that the Central American event included two exams: a practical one, conducted in laboratories in the University of Havana’s Chemistry department, and a theoretical, composed of four different three-question tests.
“I felt more comfortable in the practical exam,” stated the 12th grader, “although it was also the most work, because it's something new for competitors when we face an exam of this kind which requires previous preparation. Luckily our country has laboratories with advanced-technology which allow us to carry out the entire range of practices and analyses.”
In addition to the intense training, personal effort and work with professors and directors for the international event, there is also the unconditional support of the family.
“After winning the national competition, we went to Havana’s Lenin IPVCE where we were trained by national coaches from different Cuban provinces. I’m very grateful to them because my results are due to them and my trainers here.
“My family helped me a lot and played an important role, supporting me with my Chemistry studies at home. I had to study the subject along with the other standard ones in the school curriculum. It was very hard, but my family was there.”
Lack of experience didn’t prove to be an obstacle for José Rafael during the Central American Olympiad, and nor will it toward fulfilling his short-term goals.
“I wasn’t expecting to get the best score, but in the end I did, and it was all thanks to sacrifice and study. Now in 12th grade I want to participate in more international events, and then go on to study ‘pure’ Chemistry at the University of Havana.
“I’d like to work in a field related to organic chemistry to help produce medicines and vaccines, and thus contribute to humanity with my research.”
RAISING THE BAR
An important part of the material which appears in national contests is offered in higher education institutions. Therefore, it’s not enough to pass Chemistry as established in the curriculum program, as more hours of work and preparation, in the form of highly complicated exercises, are needed. This is where provincial Chemistry coach, engineer, and key to the students success, Anyer Luis Calvo Jiménez’s work begins.
“A lot of the national competition subjects require mathematical knowledge, above all advanced math, which is differential and integral calculus which are studied at university,” states the expert.
Although we are barley two weeks into the new academic year, Professor Anyer Luis is already thinking about preparing other students. The bar is set high for new candidates given the results attained by his former students.
“We are very pleased and committed to the IPVCE mission of training men and women of science. When the current academic year began, we picked students for the pre-university school level. A lot of them we were excited. There are about 40 something who want to go, but this number gradually gets reduced,” he stated.
A NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL
A bust of Karl Marx, who pioneered the theory of scientific socialism, greets visitors to the Matanza’s IPVCE, located at kilometer 98 of the central highway.
Since its creation (October 17, 1977) to date, the school has functioned as an arts and sciences institution for different generations of students.
Speaking to Granma International, MSc Olbeida Quintana Scull, director of the facility, noted that there are currently 773 students enrolled in the school, who must pass Math, History and Spanish exams in order to be accepted.
“We are going to make a change, following demands we have received. If it’s a pre-university specializing in the sciences, then the majority of entrance exam subjects should reflect this profile.
“Starting in the 2018 academic year, Math and History will remain. Students will need to choose which of the sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) they want to take, for their entrance exam. Why? So that students, when they start school, are better prepared. While, preferences toward these types of degrees will be better identified,” she stated.
Like all other IPVCE institutions across the country, the Matanza facility has rigorous permanence requirements. Students must maintain an average above 85 points for the entire three years in Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.
Quintana Scull speaks with obvious satisfaction about the accolades his school has received, including the Neighborhood Prize, awarded by the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (the country’s largest mass organization) and its designation as an associated school of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
He also commented on preparations underway for the institution’s 40th anniversary.
“Forty years is like saying 15. We celebrate every anniversary because they are an impetus for the students, workers and everyone who graduated from the school.”
“We organize a range of activities. Former directors, students who passed through here, and cultural figures who continue to support us, come to participate in exchanges between different generations.
“We’ve got big plans for this 40th anniversary. It’s going to be a very beautiful event because the IPVCE is a big family, something we have achieved with every person who has graduated from our classrooms.”
