The Ministry of Higher Education (MES, in Spanish) has as its main challenge the formation of integral, competent professionals, committed to the Revolution, with innovative spirit and political-ideological firmness.
This was emphasized yesterday, in the balance meeting of the organization, by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who also acknowledged that the two components of the policy of maximum pressure applied by the US Government to overthrow the Revolution, economic asphyxiation and media intoxication, have a strong impact on the institutions subordinated to the MES.
He pointed out that this media intoxication demands more intention in a group of aspects of the ideological formation of students and professors, "above all that they have a critical and not uncritical position in the social networks".
In view of this complex context, the President delved into the competencies - moral and ideological - that should characterize a graduate in the Cuba of 2024. In order for the professional to contribute to the development of the country, through a committed participation, he or she must be revolutionary, prepared to face pedagogical processes and management tasks, as well as possessing the concern to investigate and innovate in the face of problems in his or her field of action, he added.
He also stressed the development of digital, communicational and language skills, otherwise they cannot face the world we live in and cannot contribute to what the Revolution needs.
They have to be researchers and innovators, "and that is what we are lacking," Díaz-Canel ratified. This ministry -he said- has been the greatest promoter of science and research in the country; however, the professionals trained in this booming sector, who are in the public administration and in the business sector, do not have that innovative vocation, nor that passion for science and research.
"We do not want doctors for elitism, it is for what they mean as pulleys of development. In this country in Revolution, in the conditions we are in, what is going to make the difference is innovation".
On other issues, the Cuban President urged to further develop international cooperation and the export of services, in line with the new business models.
He reflected on the validity of the interface companies which, three years after their creation, "broke all the contradictions we had and responded to the yearnings of our researchers on how to participate, how to connect and how to solve problems, including monetary recognition".
Manuel Marrero Cruz, member of the Political Bureau and prime minister, stressed that the organization can be a decisive ally to achieve a correct implementation of the Government's projections to boost the economy and correct distortions.
In addition, he asked the MES authorities to alert about all those research and innovation projects that have been achieved and put in the hands of the business sector, and which have not been implemented.
After presenting a summary on the fulfillment of the strategic objectives in the previous year, the head of Higher Education, Walter Baluja García, addressed the projections for 2024, which include precisely the training of professionals; the preparation and completion of the faculty and cadres, with a high percentage of doctors; the strengthening of the link with companies producing goods and services, extending organizational forms that encourage the application of the results of science, technology and innovation, with an impact on strategic sectors for development.
Jorge Luis Broche Lorenzo, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party and head of its Department of Attention to the Social Sector, and Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella, deputy prime minister, also participated in the working meeting.
