Cuba strategy and IUC partner identification mission report

Cuba Country Strategy
and IUC Partner
Identification
Mission Report
November 2011
Julie Carpenter
Carlos Alberto Vigil Taquechel

Cuba Country Strategy and IUC Partner Identification Mission Report
Table of contents
Acronyms iv
1. Mission Context and Background 1
1.1. Introduction 1
1.2. Geography 1
1.3. Socio-economic analysis 1
1.4. Political structure 2
1.5. Economic performance 3
1.6. Development priorities 4
1.6.1. Food security 4
1.6.2. Agricultural sector reform 5
1.6.3. Environment and climate change 5
1.7. The Cuban higher education system 5
2. Mission Objectives and Expected Results 9
2.1. Objectives 9
2.2. Expected results 9
3. Mission Activities 10
3.1. Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID) 10
3.2. MES 10
3.3. Ministry for Foreign Trade, Investment and Cooperation (MINCEX) 12
3.4. Delegation of the European Union (EU) 12
3.5. Universidad de Matanzas (UMCC) 13
3.6. Cuba National Seminar 13
3.7. Universidad de Camaguey (UC) 13
3.8. Universidad de Oriente (UO) 14
3.9. Universidad de Granma (UDG) 15
3.10. Universidad Central de Las Villas (UCLV) 15
3.11. Universidad de Cienfuegos (UCF) 16
3.12. UNDP Representation in Cuba 17
3.13. Universidad de la Habana (UH) 17
3.14. Title level 2 Instituto Superior Politecnico Jose Antonio Echeverría (ISPJAE) 18
3.15. Universidad de Ciencias Informaticas (UCI) 18

3.16. Universidad Agraria de La Habana (UNAH) and the Centro Nacional de Sanidad
Agropecuaria (CENSA) 19
3.17. Officina del Historiador de la Ciudad de La Habana (OHCH) 20
3.18. UNESCO Regional Office for Culture, Havana 20
4. Mission Findings and Accomplishments 22
4.1. Higher education and research: status and policy environment 22
4.1.1. University extension 22
4.1.2. Strategic focus on national development priorities 22
4.1.3. Governance and sustainability in MES HEIs 23
4.1.4. Collaboration and networking in HE and research 23
4.2. Observations resulting from the interaction with local stakeholders 24
4.2.1. MES views on strategic directions for Flemish university cooperation 24
4.2.2. The impact of budget deficiencies on infrastructure and facilities 24
4.2.3. Overall assessment of strengths of HEIs visited 25
4.2.4. Internal and external ICT network access 26
4.2.5. Staff mobility 27
4.2.6. Potential for HEIs to develop income-generating initiatives/partnerships 28
4.2.7. Transferring research into policy and practice 28
4.2.8. International profile of Cuban HE 28
4.2.9. Existing links and contacts with Flemish universities 29
4.3. Strategic niches for VLIR-UOS 31
4.3.1. Regional focus 31
4.3.2. Themes 31
4.3.3. Transversal needs and opportunities 33
4.3.4. Domains 35
4.3.5. Collaboration within networks 39
4.3.6. Partnership modalities (portfolio of intervention types) 39
4.3.7. Non-academic partners and stakeholders 40
4.3.8. Potential IUC partners 41
4.3.9. Contribution and opportunities for Flemish non-university HE institutions 41
4.4. SWOT analysis of a VLIR-UOS strategy with Cuba 41
5. Lessons Learned 43
5.1. Strong national experts 43
5.2. Lack of experience in strategic planning among HEIs 43
5.3. The length of the mission 43
Annex 1: Programme outline 45
Annex 2: Main stakeholders and contacts 51
Annex 3: Cuba strategy summary status report 57

Annex 4: Local seminar report (participants, programme) 64
Annex 5: Completed VLIR-UOS institution fact sheets 70
Annex 6: Country strategy framework from Flemish (north) seminar) 141

Acronyms
AECID Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional al Desarrollo
ALBA Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América
CAELTIC Centre for Advanced English Language Training for International Collaboration
CAPES Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Brazil)
CENSA Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria
CIDA Canadian International Development Agency
CIDEM Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de Estructuras y Materiales
CIGB Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología
CIM Centro de Inmunología Molecular
CIMAGT Centro de Investigación para el Mejoramiento Animal de la Ganadería Tropical
CITMA Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente
CNIC Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas
CNPq Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (Brazil)
COSUDE Agencia Suiza para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación
CTG Close the Gap
CUC Cuban convertible pesos
CUJAE Ciudad Universitaria José Antonio Echeverría (see also ISPJAE)
CUP Cuban non-convertible pesos
EEPFIH Estación Experimental de Pastos y Forrajes "Indio Hatuey"
EU European Union
FAO Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
GIS Geographical information system
HE Higher education
HEI Higher education institution
HRD Human resources development
ICA Instituto de Ciencia Animal
ICT Information and Communication Technology
IFAL Instituto de Farmacia y Alimentos
IFS International Foundation for Science
INCA Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas
IPK Instituto de Medicina Tropical Pedro Kouri
ISPJAE Instituto Superior Politécnico José Antonio Echeverría (see also CUJAE)

IUC (VLIR-UOS) Institutional University Cooperation
JAN Junta de Acreditación Nacional
K.U.Leuven Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
MDG Millennium Development Goals
MES Ministerio de Educación Superior
MINCEX Ministerio de Comercio Exterior, Inversión Extranjera y Cooperación
MINED Ministerio de Educación
MINSAP Ministerio de Salud Pública
NGO Non-governmental organisation
OHCH Oficina del Historiador de la Ciudad de La Habana
PCM Project Cycle Management
UC Universidad de Camagüey
UCF Universidad de Cienfuegos
UCMH Universidad de Ciencias Medicas de La Habana
UCI Universidad de Ciencias Informáticas
UCLV Universidad Central de Las Villas
UDG Universidad de Granma
UG Universidad de Guantánamo
UGent University of Gent
UH Universidad de La Habana
UHOLM Universidad de Holguín Oscar Lucero Moya
ULT Universidad de las Tunas
UMCC Universidad de Matanzas Camilo Cienfuegos
UNAH Universidad Agraria de La Habana
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNICA Universidad de Ciego de Ávila
UNISS Universidad de Sancti Spíritus
UO Universidad de Oriente
UPR Universidad Pinar del Rio
USD United States dollar
VLIR Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad (Flemish Interuniversity Council)
VLIR-UOS VLIR University Development Cooperation

VUB Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Table of figures
Figure 1: Distribution of Cuban HEIs by Province 6
Figure 2: Total academic staff in MES HEIs in academic year 2010-2011 7
Figure 3: Enrolled full-time students MES HEIs in academic year 2010-2011 7
Figure 4: Total staff in MES HEIs with postgraduate qualifications: academic year 2010-2011 8
Figure 5: Identified research themes and sub-themes prioritised by Cuban HEIs 32
Figure 6: Summary of Flemish academic priority themes and research interests 33

1.Mission Context and Background
1.1. Introduction
This mission is part of a process of country strategy identification and IUC selection rolled out by
VLIR-UOS in the context of the implementation of the political agreement signed in 2010. This
agreement necessitates VLIR-UOS to formulate a strategy for each of its 20 VLIR-UOS partner
countries. This will be done in a phased manner, Cuba being one of the first six countries for which a
strategy will be formulated by the end of 2011. Missions are conducted by country teams consisting of
two experts (one international and one local expert), a member of the Bureau UOS and the VLIR-
UOS country desk officer.
1.2. Geography
The Republic of Cuba is a free socialist, sovereign, and collective State. Cuba is an archipelago
located in the western- most part of the Caribbean Sea, comprising the island of Cuba, the Isla de la
Juventud, and some 1,600 smaller islands and keys, for a total land area of 110,860 km2. Cuba is the
largest island of the grouping of the Caribbean, situated west of Hispaniola island (Haiti and the
Dominican Republic), and 145 km south of Key West, Florida (US).
Cuba is divided into 15 provinces and 1 special municipality (Isla de la Juventud). The former province
of La Habana was recently (2010) divided into 2 new provinces: Mayabeque and Artemisa. 75.8% of
Cubans live in urban areas. In recent years, population growth has slowed significantly. Cuba is
characterized by uniformity in the geographical distribution of its population and the variables that
comprise it. The central provinces and the capital have older populations.
1.3. Socio-economic analysis
Cuba's population stood at 11.24 million at the end of 2009. The population has largely stabilised, with
average annual growth of less than 0.5 percent per year over the past decade, a level which is well
below the Latin American average of 1.6 percent. According to official figures, in 2008-09 the
population increased slightly, with annual net emigration since 2000 averaging around 30,000 (around
0.3 percent of the population), of whom 20,000 legally migrate every year to the US under a bilateral
migration agreement. Both birth and death rates are low compared with the regional average. The
demographic profile is one of a rapidly ageing population due to low death rates and emigration, and
therefore a rising old age dependency ratio. According to the UN Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the percentage of the population over 65 years rose from 8.4
percent in 1990 to 9.6 percent in 2000, and will rise to 15.8 percent in 2020. The Cuban authorities
are concerned with the ageing of the population as well as with the exodus from rural to urban areas.
The government is in the process of analysing scenarios of population shifts for the next 15 years.
Cuba’s population replacement rate has not been guaranteed since 1978. In 1975, the number of
children born per woman was only 1.5. Approximately 79% of deaths occur among the population
aged 60 and older. In Cuba, infant mortality and mortality among child under 5 have markedly

decreased. The increase in life expectancy at birth is a faithful reflection of the country’s significant
reduction in mortality. At the beginning of the20th century, life expectancy was 40 years. In 2005, life
expectancy was more than 77 years.
Since the beginning of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, particular emphasis has been placed on
support policies in the social sector, including education, health and social security, as an essential
element of the 'social contract' between the Communist government and the Cuban people.
The Human Development Index (HDI) for Cuba is high, at 0.86315, which means that the country
ranks 51st out of 182 countries for which data are available. While Cuba ranks second in adult literacy,
it comes only 95th in the GDP per capita poverty measure. However, its Human Poverty Index (HPI-1)
ranking is 17th among the 135 developing countries for which the index has been calculated.
The emphasis placed by the government on the universal provision of basic health care has made
Cuba's health statistics comparable to those of industrialised nations. In 2009, life expectancy at birth
was 77.97 years (the highest in Latin America and Caribbean region after Chile and Costa Rica) and
the infant-mortality rate was 4.7 per 1,000 live births (the lowest in the region). A preventive health
care system, based on family doctors serving small patient groups, was developed in the 1980s.
Cuba has the highest ratio of doctors to population in the world (633 per 100,000 in 2007). Since
around 20,000 physicians out of a total of 71,000 work abroad, the number available on the island is
significantly less, but still high by international standards.
The state is Cuba's main employer, but the share of state employment has fallen since 1990, when it
accounted for 95 percent of total employment. By 2000 it had slipped to 77 percent, but since then it
has crept back up to over 80 percent. The main non-state jobs are in the agricultural sector, where
traditional private small farmers were joined by members of newly created farm co-operatives, which
replaced many of the large state landholdings. New categories of self-employment and family
businesses that have been legalised since 1993 have had to operate under tight regulation and high
taxes.
There are huge disparities in wages between different employment sectors, and especially between
those working in tourism with access to Cuban convertible currency (CUC) or other hard-currency,
and the rest of the population, which relies on salaries in non-convertible pesos (CUP). A senior
specialised physician earns a salary equivalent to €40 per month in CUP, while a parking keeper can
earn five times more with tips in CUC. The average monthly salary of a state employee is around the
equivalent in United States dollars (USD) of $1533.
1.4. Political structure
The Communist Party of Cuba has been the only legal political party since 1965. The Asamblea
Nacional del Poder Popular (the National Assembly of People’s Power) is the paramount state
institution, “representing and expressing the sovereign will of the Cuban people”. Elections to the
Assembly take place every five years; the most recent ones were held in 2008. Under the current
legislature, the Assembly includes 611 members of which 43 percent are women.
Fidel Castro was Head of State and Government from 1959 (marking the date of the revolution that
overthrew the regime of General Batista) to February 2008. Raul Castro was elected President of the
Council of State by the National Assembly on 24 February 2008. Following his appointment as
President of the Council of State, Raul Castro announced a series of reform measures ranging from

largely symbolic reforms, such as allowing Cubans to own mobile phones, stay in international hotels
or buy DVDs, to farther-reaching reforms such as the lease of agricultural land, the decentralisation of
some decision-making in this sector and the liberalisation of private taxi transport.
The Party Congress had not met for 12 years when it finally took place in April 2011. The Congress
decided on an important number of economic reforms amongst other the liberalisation of limited form
of free enterprise and the reduction of the number of civil servants.
The US sanctions law precludes any major shift in US policy while either Fidel or Raúl Castro is in
power. However, in March 2009, Washington lifted Bush-era restrictions on travel and remittances,
and relaxed limits on the sale of food and medicine. Washington announced another round of easing
restrictions on remittances and travel in late 2010/early 2011. Any more substantive US opening is
likely to come very slowly. In 2006 Cuba signed a “'Peoples' Trade Agreement” with Venezuela and
Bolivia, and the resultant access to Venezuelan oil on favourable terms is now a critical part of Cuba’s
economy. Other countries have also forged closer ties with Cuba in recent years, including Russia,
Brazil, China and other Asian countries like Vietnam. Cuba is very wary of heavy dependence on any
one relationship.
1.5. Economic performance
Cuba has a dual monetary system. Two currencies are in circulation: the CUC is equivalent to 1.08
USD and to 24 Cuban pesos (CUP). Although there are plans to formulate a strategy to move
towards a single currency, which is expected to remove a major barrier to economic growth, the
slowing down of the economy in 2009 delayed efforts to bring the two national currencies (CUC and
CUP) into closer alignment.
The economy has a rather competitive external component (nickel, tourism, biotechnology, services)
for which the CUC is used, and a protected and not very efficient domestic component managed in
CUP, as well as a parallel economy.
In view of its geographical and economic characteristics – small economy, overall poorly developed
industrial base, low productivity of the agricultural sector – Cuba depends mostly on imports for its
current operation. In 2008, asset imports rose by 43.8 percent and exports by 2.1 percent. The result
is a negative trade balance of 10.7 billion CUC (11.5 billion USD), which increased by 4 billion
compared to 2007, i.e. a progression equivalent to almost 70 percent of the deficit.
Three key trade partners have emerged since the beginning of the decade: a) Venezuela, under the
Caracas and Petro Caribe agreements, b) China, with priority being given by the authorities to
purchases of consumer and industrial goods of Chinese origin, and c) the United States, which
became Cuba’s 5th largest partner in 2007 in spite of the embargo (one way – Cuba can not export to
the US). Imports from the US, which had been prohibited by US law since 1961, resumed in 2002, but
trade with the US is restricted to imports of food and agricultural and pharmaceutical products.
Canada and Spain also carry considerable weight.
In 2008, Cuba spent 50 percent of its current budget on agricultural and energy imports. Cuba has the
world’s third largest reserves of nickel and cobalt; it exports high quality cigars and rum, and has a
service industries, high-tech biotechnology and a high level of performance in ICT and health.
Offshore oil drilling operations in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), initially planned for 2009, have
been postponed. The Cuban government estimates that there could be 20 billion barrels of oil

reserves in its offshore fields. Cuba currently imports 50 percent of its oil from Venezuela on highly
preferential terms.
Tourism is another important source of income for Cuba, with over 2 million visitors every year
bringing gross revenues of 2 billion USD. If the US Congress decided to lift its ban on US citizens
travelling to Cuba, this could represent a potential further flow of 2 to 3 billion USD annually.
The living conditions of Cuban people are not easy. Overall, the current economic situation of Cuba is
serious. Adding to the structural weaknesses of the economic system, coupled with the long-standing
impact of the US embargo, the Cuban economy was seriously affected by the combined effect of the
2008 hurricanes (500,000 houses destroyed or damaged, temporary evacuation of some three million
Cubans, and overall damage and losses estimated at almost ten billion dollars, i.e. over 20 per cent of
Cuban GDP), rising food prices (Cuba imports 80 percent of its food).
The whole economy is controlled by the state, which acts not only as a provider of both commercial
and non-commercial services, but also as a controller of trade in services. In 1990, the agriculture
sector accounted for 10.8 percent of GDP; today, it is estimated at less than 4 percent, even though it
employs 18.57 percent of the population. The decline of the sugar industry, a lack of finance for
agricultural imports and the weak incentives for farmers have all resulted in a fall in the share of
agriculture in the Cuban economy.
Until 2002, sugar accounted for around one half of the land area under cultivation, but a radical
restructuring programme initiated during that year has halved this area. Today, there are 700,000
hectares devoted to sugar cane in the country, of which close to 50 percent are harvested each year.
Eventually, this is expected to facilitate an expansion of other export crops (mainly citrus and tropical
fruits), as well as food crops and forestry.
Industry accounted for an estimated 25 percent of GDP in 2007, down from 32 percent in 1990. After
a sharp decline in industrial production in the early 1990s, new investments have brought a recovery
in some industries. These include: nickel mining, steel production, light industries supplying the
tourism sector and -since the launch of a new housing programme in the second half of 2005 - the
construction materials industry.
1.6. Development priorities
1.6.1. Food security
Food security has been declared an issue of national security. The effects of the 2008 hurricanes, the
rapid and sustained increase in international food prices, the lack of foreign currency both for imports
and for food production inputs, and energy constraints have contributed to ensure that increasing
national food production, especially by using endogenous resources and appropriate (low-input)
technologies, is a national overarching priority. In this context, a series of measures are gradually
being put in place to increase food production by small-holders, as well as improving its efficiency and
quality.

1.6.2. Agricultural sector reform
As such a reform of the agricultural sector is crucial in order to ensure the sustainability of the
process. Main challenges are modernisation, diversification and increase of production. A further
difficulty is the economic sustainability of food production in a double currency system. Whereas 60%
of inputs are obtained in CUC, by state decree, 90% of sales are in (non-convertible) CUP, thus
providing little economic incentive to farmers and cooperatives. Given the above, the sustainable
expansion of food production in the Cuban smallholder agricultural sector will primarily depend on the
capacity of the Government to facilitate access to inputs (for production and processing) and credit.
1.6.3. Environment and climate change
Economic growth and the promotion of a sustainable and equitable social development, while
safeguarding the environment and rationalising the use of natural resources, are at the very heart of
Cuba's national policies. However, although Cuba has the knowledge, the human capacity and a clear
understanding of its needs and priorities, it lacks the financial resources to expand its efforts and to
undertake further environment-related studies and investments in key sectors.
1.7. The Cuban higher education system
The Cuban higher education (HE) system comprises 68 HEIs (not including military universities):
these include 47 universities, 9 higher institutes, 8 schools/academies and 4 independent faculties. All
HEIs are public. The Ministry of Higher Education (MES) is responsible for policy in matters of
undergraduate and postgraduate education. It controls teaching, methodology, courses and
programmes and the allocation of student places. MES is also responsible for the evaluation and
accreditation of the whole university system but only 17 institutions are directly under the control of
this Ministry.

Figure 1: Distribution of Cuban HEIs by Province
A significant number of HEIs are under the control of other state bodies, such as the pedagogical
institutions that belong to the Ministry of Education (MINED), in charge of primary, secondary,
technical and vocational education, or the medical sciences institutions belonging to the Ministry of
Public Health (MINSAP).
Accreditation
A University System Accreditation Programme (SUPRA) was established in 1999, implemented by a
National Accreditation Board - Junta de Acreditación Nacional (JAN). The Board grants the different
categories of accreditation to evaluated academic programmes and institutions.
SUPRA includes the Evaluation and Accreditation System for undergraduate programmes (SEA-CU),
the Evaluation and Accreditation System for Master’s Degree programmes (SEA-M), the Evaluation
and Accreditation System for Doctoral programmes (SEA-DR) and the System for the Evaluation of
Institutions (SEI).
The accreditation categories granted to post-graduate programmes are as follows: authorised,
ratified, certified and excellence for programmes at masters level; and authorised, certified and
excellence for programmes at doctoral level.
Student and staff numbers
According to official figures from the MES, more than 150,000 professionals are involved in academic
and /or research work in HEIs: 62,500 of these are full time professors. The same source indicates
that since 1959 the Cuban HE system has graduated 1,081,815 professionals (91,902 during the
academic year 2009-2010) of which 31,528 were foreign.

Figure 2: Total academic staff in MES HEIs in academic year 2010-2011
At the beginning of the academic year 2010-2011 a total of 473,309 students (286.761 women
representing 60.5% of the total) were enrolled in some of the 94 undergraduate programmes offered
by the Cuban HEIs. A percentage analysis of the number of undergraduate students by areas of
science reflects that a significant number of the students were enrolled in the following areas: medical
sciences (31.4%), social and human sciences (23.9%) and pedagogical sciences (14.2%).
Figure 3: Enrolled full-time students MES HEIs in academic year 2010-2011
With regard to postgraduate studies more than 150,000 students are enrolled in Masters and
specialist courses and around 4,000 are registered on doctoral programmes. On average, about 500
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PhD theses have been defended per year in the last few years and the total of PhD graduates since
1969 is about 10,000. Analysis of PhD theses defended until 2009 shows PhD studies in the following
proportions: technical sciences (24%), natural sciences (21%), agricultural sciences (16%) and social
and human sciences (14%).
Postgraduate studies
Postgraduate education include masters programmes (of two or three years), doctoral programmes
(varying between three and five years), and short ‘diploma’ courses of between six to 18 months
duration).
A total of 439 Master programmes are being developed with the approval of the JAN of the MES. The
distribution by areas of sciences is as follows: technical sciences (84), pedagogical sciences (78),
biomedical sciences (75), social and human sciences (61), economical sciences (60), agricultural
sciences (41) and natural and exact sciences (40). Only 39 Master Programmes have been evaluated
with the highest level category of accreditation (excellence) including the Universidad de La Habana
(UH) with 14 excellency Master programmes, the Instituto Superior Politécnico José Antonio
Echeverria (ISPJAE) with nine and the Universidad Central de Las Villas (UCLV) with four.
Figure 4: Total staff in MES HEIs with postgraduate qualifications: academic year 2010-2011
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2.Mission Objectives and Expected Results
2.1. Objectives
Undertake an assessment of national priorities in terms of HE and poverty reduction, as also the
possible strategic niches for cooperation between Cuban and Flemish higher education institutes;
Consult, through visits, interviews and the hosting of a local seminar, with a wide spectrum of local
stakeholders in terms of strategically chosen areas where (1) ‘matching’ of needs and interests should
be possible and (2) a VLIR-UOS intervention could yield an optimal result;
Undertake an assessment of pre-defined local academic institutions in terms of their IUC potential,
per institution and overall;
Based on the above, formulate recommendations in terms of a VLIR-UOS strategy, including the
relevance and appropriateness of the various VLIR-UOS intervention types.
2.2. Expected results
Overview of strategic niche for cooperation taking into consideration the local needs and the Flemish
supply;
Shortlist of potential in terms of IUC and other initiatives; strengths and weaknesses of each visited
institute; link with national priorities, etc.
Recommendations formulated in terms of:
 potential for transversal support initiatives;
 the best possible portfolio (combination of intervention types) for VLIR-UOS cooperation in the
country
 generic opportunities and constraints for university cooperation for development with the country

3.Mission Activities
The following paragraphs summarise the main findings from meetings and discussions with Cuban
and non-Cuban stakeholders during the mission. The full mission programme is provided in Annex 1
and the list of persons met in Annex 2.
3.1. Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for
Development (AECID)
Historically the most active HEIs working with AECID have been UH, ISPJAE, UCLV, UNAH and UO.
Other universities in the East such as UDG and UHOLM have increased their participation in AECID
projects in the last few years.
In the last four years 175 projects have been approved with a financial value of more than €6,6
million. The objective of these projects has been to contribute to development of institutional and
scientific capacity in Cuban HEIs.
Considering the geographical priorities defined by the government the 2011 call for project proposals
was focused on the Eastern region: only HEIs from the East will be able to coordinate interuniversity
cooperation projects funded by AECID. The main priorities in this cooperation are local development,
environment, quality of water, food production, energy and the improvement of the hospital
infrastructure. One of the most important assessment criteria is the prioritising of gender components
in the implementation of the projects. Spanish cooperation has also given special attention to
rehabilitating Cuban architectural heritage.
Joint cooperation projects between Cuba and other Latin American countries with joint funding from
AECID and VLIR-UOS could be considered as a possibility and may be of interest to the Flemish
institutions [projects 2x1 or 2x2].
Constraints on the implementation of AECID funded projects in the last two years include:
the lack of flexibility in Cuba to access funds from international cooperation projects if these external
financial sources are not already included in the annual budget of the institution;
the lack of availability in the national market of products and services that may be required during the
project implementation. As a consequence of this, in most of the AECID projects funds have been
held only in Spain, with the Spanish partners assuming the role of buyers and suppliers to the Cuban
institutions.
3.2. MES
MES highlighted the special role of higher education (HE) in the implementation of the economic
changes defined during the recent Congress of the Cuban Communist Party (2010). One of the main
missions of the HEIs will be human resource development for properly implementing the new
economic and social development policies until 2015. Another important mission in this period will be
assistance to local governments in the management and implementation of their policies on local
development.

The main thematic priorities indicated by the MES are: agro industry and food security, environment,
water and soil management, natural and public health disaster prevention, industry and energy,
biotechnology, pharmaceutical industry, local development and housing development.
Concerning a new potential IUC Programme, the officials of the MES defined their preferred
programme on the Eastern region coordinated by the Universidad de Oriente (UO). In their vision, a
new programme should have a similar impact to the IUC Programme implemented in the UCLV with
more than 50% of the funds allocated to UO for improving its institutional capacity - essentially PhD
and MSc programmes and the quality and dimension of its research capacity (see Figure 4 above).
From the MES viewpoint the remaining funds should be allocated to foster the development of the
Eastern region through the implementation of national networks on priority scientific fields such as:
food production and food security which should include participation by the Universidad Agraria de La
Habana (UNAH), and the Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria (CENSA), Instituto de Ciencia
Animal (ICA), Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas (INCA), as well as the Estación Experimental
de Pastos y Forrajes "Indio Hatuey" (EEPFIH) in Matanzas, UCLV, Universidad de Camagüey (UC),
Universidad de Granma (UDG) and UO. MES also envisages a network on applied computer
sciences as well as telecommunications with the participation of UO, UCLV, Instituto Superior
Politécnico José Antonio Echeverría (ISPJAE) and the Universidad de La Habana (UH) and the
participation of other HEIs.
It was emphasised that HE is responsible for 50% of the scientific results and 20% of the innovation of
the country. For the improvement of these indicators, the officials mentioned the necessity of
prioritising PhD Programmes (with an MSc incorporated in the first phase) that reinforce the research
activity in the universities as well as their innovation and technology transfer capacity.
The improvement of research Infrastructure and ICT in the HEI networks were also indicated as the
main priorities for raising standards and quality in HE. These are considered as the major
technological problems of Cuban HEIs and, in general, they are addressed by all international
cooperation projects that include a budget line for equipment.
It was recognised that a major constraint on the sustainability of the HE system is the salaries of the
teaching staff which are not competitive in the labour market. There is a significant age gap in the
teaching staff of the Cuban HEIs, in which more than 55% of the staff are younger than 35 years old
or older than 60.
Regarding international cooperation, VLIR-UOS was acknowledged to be the largest single
international cooperation donor in HE, in terms of both funding and length of engagement with Cuban
HEIs. The following countries/institutions were mentioned among the other donors to the Cuban HEIs:
AECID (Spain), COSUDE (Switzerland), CIDA (Canada), CAPES and CNPq (Brazil) and bilateral
cooperation with the higher education systems of Mexico and Venezuela as well as other member
states of the Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (ALBA). In general, most of the
international projects implemented by Cuban institutions have as main outputs the fostering of
academic and scientist mobility.

3.3. Ministry for Foreign Trade, Investment and
Cooperation (MINCEX)
It was confirmed that the biggest national thematic priority is food production. As Cuba imported
around the 80% of the food consumed by its population, the government considered essential the
fostering and consolidation of its national agricultural system, including the emerging private sector
(cooperatives and individual producers). It was also confirmed that the Eastern region is the national
geographical priority because of its relative poverty.
It was acknowledged that among constraints on the implementation of international projects include
the lack of availability in the national market of products and services that may be required during the
project implementation;
the inconvenience of currency exchange; and
the lack of flexibility of the Cuban financial system considering it is necessary to include international
funds in the annual budgets of the institutions if they are to be accessed for project implementation.
MINCEX confirmed its intention to facilitate the implementation of new VLIR-UOS projects in Cuba
and suggested the possibility of creating a Committee comprising representatives from VLIR-UOS,
MES and MINCEX for the periodic follow-up of projects and trouble-shooting solutions to minimize
these identified constraints and problems.
3.4. Delegation of the European Union (EU)
The main sector for EU cooperation is food security, providing equipment and supporting small scale
agriculture (cooperatives and individual farmers) and decentralised management of food production.
The response to hurricanes and other natural disasters is also a focus of special attention. Some
funds have been allocated to infrastructure rehabilitation and the reconstruction and conservation of
the Cuban architectural heritage.
The EU funds have been channelled through United Nations (UN) agencies and European non-
governmental organisations (NGOs) active in agriculture, food security, environment and climate
change, social cohesion and cultural cooperation. It was recognised, however, that there are some
constraints on attracting European private sector and NGOs to Cuba because of high operation costs.
The EU Delegation pays special attention to the improvement of the local institutions as a way to
reinforce the economical potential of the municipalities.
The EU Delegation does not have much contact with MES and Cuban HEIs. MINCEX, as the national
focal point for international cooperation, is its main and only national counterpart. This protocol can
pose obstacles to the dissemination of information on EU Programmes and initiatives, as well as the
involvement of HEI in some projects supported by the EU. From the viewpoint of the Delegation there
is a lack of international cooperation culture and project management competences in most Cuban
institutions, including HEIs.
The participation of Cuban universities in regional programmes of the EU such as ALFA or AL-
INVEST, in international student mobility programmes such as Erasmus Mundus or Erasmus Mundus
External Cooperation Windows and the EU´s 7th Framework Programme for Research and

Development is extremely limited. The potential for Cuban HEIs to increase their participation in all
these platforms of academic and scientific cooperation was recognised.
3.5. Universidad de Matanzas (UMCC)
UMCC is a local university of medium size in the context of the Cuban HE system. Its activity is mainly
focused on contributing to provincial economic and social development. UMCC lacks potential for an
Institutional University Cooperation (IUC) programme, but it has relevant experience in some key
areas with the potential for the university’s involvement in other VLIR-UOS projects and programmes:
for example:
In line with the main economic development areas in Matanzas province, UMCC has significant
capacity in the agricultural sector (sugar industry, the production of potatoes, rice and citrus fruit), in
the chemical and oil industry (mainly in heavy oil refining), and in environment and tourism.
a very important role could be developed by the EEPFIH, a research centre with a large experience in
the thematic area of food security and agricultural production;
UMCC also has some limited potential for international cooperation in its main research areas: food
production, plant biotechnology, pastures and forage, obtaining probiotics, supramolecular chemistry,
renewable energy, tourism and heritage planning and conservation.
3.6. Cuba National Seminar
See the seminar report in Annex 4.
3.7. Universidad de Camaguey (UC)
UC is located in the province of Camaguey, one of the largest of the country and with Camaguey city
the third largest in Cuba with 311,000 inhabitants. The province is one of the strategic territories for
food production in Cuba (25% of cattle production; 30% of freshwater fish and 50% of shrimp
production). Consequently, one of the main research lines of the university is aimed at supporting
agricultural development in the Central and Eastern zones of the country.
The UC is one of the most multidisciplinary universities of the country with 9 faculties. Its strongest
areas are: agricultural sciences, natural sciences, technical sciences and economic and social
sciences. In all these areas the university demonstrates good cooperation with other Cuban HEIs. UC
also has a number of dynamic research centres with potential for international cooperation,
particularly Centro de Estudios Multidisciplinarios de Turismo (CEMTUR) [Cultural Tourism
Development and Management], Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo de la Producción Animal
(CEDEPA) [Food Security and Agricultural Production] and Centro de Estudios de Dirección
Empresarial (CEDET) [Local and Rural Development]. Although the university has few existing
contacts with Flemish universities there is potential for development of contacts in fields such as
biotechnology in agriculture, livestock management, dairy production and transport

The UC shows a reasonable involvement in international cooperation with some postgraduate
courses taught in various Latin America countries (Venezuela, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru and Dominican
Republic) and postgraduate students from UC have studied in VUB (informatics). Although UC would
not yet have the capacity to implement a full IUC programme it has potential, and could now be an
active stakeholder in other cooperation initiatives with Flemish universities, such as joint research
projects (currently termed Own Initiatives or OIs) and inclusion in a national food security network with
UCLV. UCLV is important for UC and they have good relations.
3.8. Universidad de Oriente (UO)
UO meets almost all the criteria required by VLIR-UOS for a full IUC programme. It is one of the
longest-established and most complete universities in Cuba. It is located in the city of Santiago de
Cuba (the country’s second most important city), in the Eastern region. During the visit, the university
presented a very well structured policy and strategy for the development and management of science
and innovation, with a functional structure of all the strategic areas headed by the Vice Rector of
Research and Postgraduate Studies. These policies, strategies also demonstrated a clear awareness
of the potential of working across academic structures on multidisciplinary research themes and in
cross-disciplinary research teams.
The UO has a range of research/study centres of great scientific and technological relevance that
offer opportunities of cooperation in various scientific fields. Among the most significant are: Centro de
Estudios de Educación Superior (CEES) [Quality of Higher Education], Grupo de Energías
Renovables Aplicadas (GERA) [Renewable Energies], Centro de Biofísica Médica (CBM)
[Bioengineering and Biomedicine], Centro Nacional de Electromagnetismo Aplicado (CNEA) [Applied
Sciences to Industry, Medicine, Biotechnology, Agriculture and Environment], Centro de Estudios de
Biotecnología Industrial (CEBI) [Environment, Industrial Biotechnology and Biopharmaceutical
Products], Centro de Estudios de Neurociencias, Procesamiento de Imágenes y Señales (CENPIS)
[Biomedical Research and Bioengineering], Centro de Estudios de Eficiencia Energética (CEEFE)
[Clean and Efficient Energy], Centro de Estudios Turísticos (CETUR) [Socio-cultural and Tourism
Development], Centro de Estudios Multidisciplinarios de Zonas Costeras (CEMZOC) [Environment
and Coastal Zone Management], Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo Integral de la Cultura (CEDIC)
[Local Development] and Centro de Estudios Cuba - Caribe (CECUCA) [Socio-Cultural Development
and Regional Integration].
The university participates actively in several national scientific networks, especially those in which
the institution has significant capacity, such as: biotechnology, energy, environment, food production,
medical equipment and technology, business management, integrated water management, and
integrated coastal zone management. UO also seems to have good level of collaboration with
enterprises, industries and the provincial governments in the Eastern Region for the implementation
of actions in the field of innovation and technology transfer.
UO is one of the most active Cuban universities in the field of international cooperation, and is a
member of several international university associations, such as Unión de Universidades de. América
Latina y el Caribe (UDUAL), Inter-American Organisation for Higher Education (OUI) and Ibero-
American Association for University Postgraduate (AUIP) and implements various international
projects financed by CAPES (Brazil), AECID (Spain), COSUDE (Switzerland) and CIDA (Canada).
The university has good connections with universities in Spain, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela as well

as the Caribbean region. However, the institution has not developed many contacts or any
cooperative partnerships with academics in Flemish institutions.
Among the main constraints on international research cooperation with UO are the general lack and
obsolescence of infrastructure and facilities for research and postgraduate activities and the absence
of general support services to research.
3.9. Universidad de Granma (UDG)
UDG originated as an agricultural institution of higher education, and its main institutional strengths
are still concentrated in the faculties of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, to match the
main productive sectors of Granma province: agriculture (40% of the rice production in the country
and a one of the major producers of coffee) and livestock. UDG is responsible for the coordination of
undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine in the Eastern region.
The university has shown very good results in training and advising local farmers, working with
cooperatives and independent farmers in the territory in order to improve their production capacities
and increase the commercialisation of agricultural products.
UDG has a reasonable international cooperation record relevant to its academic and scientific
potential: teaching and scientific staff participate in mobility actions and some research projects in
cooperation with institutions in Germany, Belgium (one VLIR-UOS OI in saline crop research), Spain,
Canada, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, although in the
last few years, most collaboration has been focused on Venezuela and Angola. UDG also
collaborates extensively at the national level with institutions in the agricultural development networks
such as UNAH, CENSA, ICA, UCLV, UC and UO.
The campus is located far from the nearest city (Bayamo) with poor transport infrastructure. During
the visit, more infrastructure and institutional management shortcomings and problems were evident
than in other Cuban universities visited: for instance, buildings and campus facilities showing
significant external signs of lack of maintenance and upkeep, buildings and departments were poorly
signposted. However, the central library environment and facilities appeared to be attractive, openly
accessible and well managed.
The institutional strategic vision presented by the administrative board, in terms of academic and
scientific development, was the weakest and less structured of all the universities visited. UDG is too
weak for the implementation of an IUC programme. Its involvement in cooperation with Flemish
universities should remain essentially in the thematic areas of food security, agricultural production
and rural development in which the university has experience and good institutional capacity.
3.10.Universidad Central de Las Villas (UCLV)
The visit to UCLV allowed the Country Team to verify the great impact that the VLIR-UOS IUC
Programme has had on the institution, in terms of infrastructure development and the capacity and
human resource development.

The university proposed a role for itself in providing specialised assistance and a range of support
services to Cuban HEIs in the context of future international cooperation with Flemish universities: this
new cooperation framework could include:
Functioning as the central node of a technological network for the improvement of distance education
within Cuban HE; including training academic staff in the use of ICT and the creation and
development of laboratories for the production of educational materials;
Providing a platform for the development of joint doctoral programmes based on the scientific links
already established between academics in UCLV and Flanders as well as the laboratory infrastructure
already installed in the UCLV under the IUC programme;
Transferring to other universities the pedagogical model adopted in the Centre for Advanced English
Language Training for International Collaboration (CAELTIC) for improving quality in English
language communication and writing for academic and scientific purposes, including the training of
English teachers from other HEIs;
Training of academic and administrative staff from other HEI on Project Cycle Management (PCM);
Human resource development in the area of ICT systems and administration and informatics;
Hosting ICT services and applications (for example, Web Hosting, Virtualization-VPS cluster
computing, etc.) to many universities and centres of the national HE network.
In addition to UCLV’s own proposals there is clearly a role, building upon VLIR-UOS supported
interventions to date, for UCLV as active coordinator of a national food security network to meet the
goals of MES (see paragraphs 0 and 0).
3.11.Universidad de Cienfuegos (UCF)
UCF is a small, local university in Cienfuegos province in Central Cuba and its activities are mainly
focused on contributing to provincial economical and social development. The university plays an
active role in training and advising the main enterprises and industries of the territory (thermoelectric
industry, electrical energy production, oil refining, sugar industry, fishing, coffee, citrus, cement and
fertilisers).
In the context of the current identification mission, the main strength of the university lies in the Centro
de Estudios de Energía y Medio Ambiente (CEEMA) which was until recently participating in a VLIR-
UOS OI. This research centre develops research in energy efficiency, and it has as a primary
objective human resource development in rational energy use and conservation of the environment,
training personnel from energy organisations across Cuba. The CEEMA coordinates the energy
efficiency network of the Cuban HE system.
UCF has developed good cooperation links with other Cuban universities, especially with institutions
in the Central and Eastern regions and the institution has cooperation links with universities and
institutions in Canada and Spain and participates in several Latin American networks and projects.
CEEMA coordinates the Ibero-American network on the management of efficient energy (GEESOS -
Gestión y Eficiencia Energética para un Desarrollo Sostenible). CEEMA was also involved between
2008-2010 in the development and finalisation of the International Standard on Energy management
Systems (ISO 50001) for the International Standards Organisation.

Other areas in which the UCF has scientific potential are the integrated management of coastal
zones, the sustainable management of cultural heritage and cultural tourism development.
Despite its small size, UCF seems to be well structured and organised, and the rector gave in his
presentation evidence of the solid strategic vision of the institution in terms of academic and scientific
development. Although UCF does not currently meet the criteria required by the VLIR for an IUC
partnership, the university would be a valid stakeholder in cooperation initiatives with Flemish
universities in its specialist areas.
3.12.UNDP Representation in Cuba
UNDP in Cuba has five main areas of intervention: local human development, food security,
prevention of natural disasters and mitigation of risks, environment and energy for sustainable
development, and Prevention of HIV/AIDS. Some universities participate in local projects funded by
UNDP but in general participation of HEIs in the initiatives promoted by the different bodies of the UN
in Cuba is still limited.
The Resident Coordinator expressed her interest in fostering the greater involvement of universities in
UNDP projects, considering them as key stakeholders for the implementation of sustainable projects.
She also expressed her interest for maintaining links with the VLIR-UOS with the objective of
identifying potential areas of joint cooperation in the future.
3.13.Universidad de la Habana (UH)
Founded in 1728 the UH is undoubtedly the strongest of the Cuban HEIs from any perspective. Its
size and national scope and the recognised quality and professionalism of its academics and
researchers in Cuba and abroad are its best credentials, though it suffers from poorly resourced and
poorly maintained facilities and infrastructure in common with other HEIs. UH already receives
considerable external funds through its many international cooperation initiatives (including three
VLIR-UOS OIs). UH is made up of many different and quite autonomous faculties, centres and units,
and there was little evidence of clear governance and management, including whole institutional
policies and strategic vision.
UH could not be considered as a candidate for an IUC programme, because of its location and
existing strengths in international and national investment. However, the diversity of research lines
developed in a multi-disciplinary approach by its 18 faculties and 15 research centres would allow the
university to be a key stakeholder in many cooperation themes identified. In the context of the current
identification mission, UH’s potential involvement could be considered in departmental/research
centre level projects in the following areas:
Environment: climate change, biodiversity, renewal energy and coastal zone management through
the involvement of the Faculties of Chemistry and Biology, the Centro de Investigaciones Marinas
(CIM), the Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Materiales (IMRE), the Centro de Biomateriales
(BIOMAT) and the Centro de Estudios de Medio Ambiente (CEMA).

Public Health: preventative medicine through the involvement of the Faculty of Biology and the
Instituto de Farmacia y Alimentos (IFAL) and the Centro de Estudios de Salud y Bienestar Humano
(CESBH).
ICT and applications: artificial intelligence and computer sciences, bioinformatics, statistics and
biostatistics through the involvement of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Sciences.
3.14.Title level 2 Instituto Superior Politecnico Jose
Antonio Echeverría (ISPJAE)
ISPJAE is the largest technical university in Cuba and coordinates national collaboration in this field
within the HE System. It has six faculties and 10 research centres. While there are evident problems
of renewal and maintenance of equipment and facilities on the ISPJAE campus, the institution is
recognised for the quality of its teaching and research staff as well as for its active and diverse links
with the productive sector, providing assistance to a wide network of enterprises and industries
throughout the country. The institution has an active policy of internationalisation which is evidenced
through its participation in international projects and networks with many institutions in Europe and
Latin America (including two VLIR-UOS OIs and three South Initiatives).
While ISPJAE is not a candidate for an IUC programme because of the regional priority and strength
of its existing international and national programmes , in the context of the current identification
mission, the potential involvement of the ISPJAE should be considered in projects in the following
areas:
Environment: clean technology and production, clean and efficient energy and renewable energy
through the involvement of the Technology Department of the Architecture Faculty, the Geosciences
Department of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and the Centro de Estudios de Tecnologias
Energeticas Renovables (CETER).
ICT and applications: artificial intelligence and computer sciences, bioinformatics, bioengineering,
through the involvement of the Bioengineering Department of the Faculty of Electric Engineering and
the Centro de Estudios de Ingeniería de Sistemas (CEIS).
3.15.Universidad de Ciencias Informaticas (UCI)
UCI was created on the site of a former Russian military base in 2002 as an initiative of Fidel Castro
with the twin objectives of training Informatics Science professionals, highly committed to the
development of the country, and the production of software and informatics services based on the
study-work pedagogical model, serving as a support for the development of the Cuban software
industry. UCI was developed under the control of the Ministry of Communications, but its transfer to
the MES is currently underway.
This institution has been provided with excellent facilities and the technological infrastructure and
equipment reach far higher standards than most other HEIs in Cuba. Considering that this is a
national and governmental priority institution it is remarkable that only national students have been
enrolled in its courses since its foundation. Most of the software and services produced by its students
have been developed for Cuban and Venezuelan organisations.

Despite its impressive infrastructure, UCI remains a weak institution in terms of its academic and
scientific potential. The number of PhD among its teaching staff is very low in comparison with other
technical universities of the country and most of the members of the academic staff are former
students of the institution. Nonetheless, the university seems to have a good strategy for resolving
this weakness in the coming years.
It has potential as a stakeholder in future cooperation projects and has offered its facilities as a host of
a national centre for postgraduate training on informatics and computer sciences, possibly in
collaboration with UCLV (see Error! Reference source not found.). At this stage, this seems to be
an excellent way of involving UCI in the future VLIR-UOS programmes in Cuba.
3.16.Universidad Agraria de La Habana (UNAH) and the
Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria (CENSA)
UNAH, CENSA, ICA and INCA integrate a specialist academic and scientific national centre of
excellence. This group of institutions has a leading role in the implementation of national policies in
the agricultural sector, and these institutions coordinate most of the academic and scientific networks
within the HE system. At the same time, the institutions work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture as
well as with other research and production institutions related to this economical sector.
The university and three research centres have built a good cooperation network with academic and
scientific institutions in Latin America and Europe and collaborate with international organisations and
NGOs in the implementation of different projects in fields like the rural development and food
production.
Of particular significance is a pilot project on local management and development of agricultural
production that UNAH began to implement recently in the new provinces of Mayabeque and Artemisa
(territories of the former Province of Habana). This pilot project is a result of the new economic policy
implemented by the national government to empower the private sector and decentralised the
national economy. Through this project the UNAH is experimenting new models for the organisation of
the agricultural sector. The project includes training and advice to local governments (municipalities),
cooperatives and local producers on agricultural business management.
Among the main lines of research developed in a coordinated scheme by the 4 centres are:
 Sustainable rural development
 Sustainable agricultural production
 Plant health
 Animal health
 Animal and plant biotechnology
 Animal reproduction
 Genetics and animal breeding
 Nutrition and bio-fertilisation plant
 Production and quality of milk and meat

 Soil management
 Conservation of soil, water and genetic resources
 Development and production of diagnostic kits and drugs for veterinary and agriculture use
 Development of technologies for pest management
 Applied bioinformatics
Considering the definition of food security and agricultural production as the biggest national priority,
the involvement of the four institutions that make up UNAH in any projects implemented in this area
would be relevant and a significant strength. UNAH has a long history of collaboration and
cooperation with Flemish universities including several OIs.
3.17.Officina del Historiador de la Ciudad de La Habana
(OHCH)
OHCH is the coordinating institution of a unique project in Cuba, for its implementation the National
Government gave facilities to the OHCH: under the auspices of the government an entire business
system has been established that has allowed the architectural and cultural rehabilitation of the Old
Colonial Havana (declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982). Consequently, for the
implementation of this socio-cultural project, the OHCH has been gradually creating a wide network of
infrastructures (hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, shops, real estate facilities, museums, art galleries,
concert halls, etc) that generate significant revenue for the country, which funds further restoration
and about 35% of which is invested in housing and other social programmes for the benefit of the
resident population Old Havana City. Many of the inhabitants of the old city have also been employed
by OHCH. These elements make this project an interesting model of sustainable local development
with the potential for transfer to other regions in Cuba and abroad.
OHCH has excellent cooperative links with UNESCO, UNDP, EU, and AECID among other
international institutions with which it has been working on the implementation of various heritage and
social projects. Considering its experience and institutional capacity in such projects, the OHCH has
the potential to be a key stakeholder for the implementation of any project focused on the Socio-
Cultural and Tourism Development. The existence of a national network of history and conservation
offices in all the Cuban world heritage cities (Old Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Trinidad, Cienfuegos
and Camaguey) may be of great assistance for the development of sustainable projects in this field.
3.18.UNESCO Regional Office for Culture, Havana
The UNESCO Office in Havana implements diverse programmes in Cuba and other Latin America
countries in the global programme areas of UNESCO, including culture, education and natural
sciences. The Havana office is the Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its
work seeks to directly address the countries development priorities. The office implements its projects
in close coordination with the National Commissions for UNESCO, governmental agencies and
numerous institutions at regional, national and local level as well as with a large number of NGOs.

HE is not a priority programme area for UNESCO (globally). Nonetheless, reasonable contacts exist
with MES and UH, which coordinates three of the six UNESCO Chairs in Cuba, (University
Management, Information Management in Organisations and Biomaterials). Other important UNESCO
Chairs are being established in Cuba on Integrated Conservation Sciences for Cultural and Natural
Property, coordinated by the National Centre for Conservation, Restoration and Museology
(CENCREM), and on Culture and Development coordinated by the National Training Centre for
Culture (both centres belong to the Ministry of Culture).
During the meeting it was agreed that potential exists for cooperation with Flemish and Cuban
universities in a VLIR-UOS programme or projects in the area of sustainable management of cultural
heritage, particularly in a joint programme of training of human resources on the management of
cultural heritage, for which UNESCO will develop a preliminary proposal and ideas.

4.Mission Findings and Accomplishments
4.1. Higher education and research: status and policy
environment
4.1.1. University extension
Four basic principles underpin HE in Cuba, namely:
1) a broad profile curricula, with two leading ideas:
 the combination of instruction and education,
 a close link between studies and work;
2) continuing education in all fields of knowledge;
3) research as an integral part of the university mission;
4) university extension (that is, into the local communities) as the integrating process of
university work.
Since the year 2000 significant moves have been made to broaden access to HE for the least
favoured social sectors. These initiatives include HEIs opening a number of university extension
‘campuses’ throughout all municipalities to increase access and reduce the dropout rate among
working and part-time students, accompanied by investment in distance education methods and
modalities. A close relationship is maintained between HE and all of Cuban society, particularly with
local communities, for whom undergraduate and postgraduate programmes are offered to meet the
needs of a specific productive sector or of a given region.
4.1.2. Strategic focus on national development priorities
Research in HEIs and university research centres is required to contribute directly to Cuban socio-
economic development, characterised by MES1 as requirements to produce
 Strategic results for high value-added and high-impact exportable production
 Technological developments and results that apply technology for more competitive traditional
production
 Innovative technological results to develop and revitalise local and industrial economies.
In MES strategic planning to 20152 the priority areas for institutional international cooperation match
the broad national development priorities (see Error! Reference source not found. above) and are:
 Higher education and ICT
 Biotechnology and medical equipment
 Agribusiness and the environment
1 La educacion superior en Cuba. Presentation by MES at the VLIR-UOS Seminar, Havana 17th
October 2011
2 ibid

 Industry and energy
 Basic and social sciences
Also in line with national development priorities, MES places emphasis on the development of
institutional capacity, doctoral programmes and research and innovation in institutions in the Eastern
region of Cuba, although activities supported by international cooperation in Eastern institutions would
also benefit other MES HEIs in the national network (see paragraph 4.1.4).
4.1.3. Governance and sustainability in MES HEIs
University and other HEI rectors are responsible directly to the MES (and Vice Ministers). They are
appointed by a Ministerial resolution. Within the decision-making structure of the MES, rectors are at
the same level of the Directors of Divisions of the Ministry. There are no formal governance or
decision-making structures at provincial level, but typically HEI rectors maintain active and close
contacts with the General Secretaries of the Provincial Communist Party and the Presidents of the
Provincial Governments. In many cases, these officials are members of the HEI Governmental
Executive Boards.
4.1.4. Collaboration and networking in HE and research
Academic and research collaboration, including joint curriculum development for masters course,
information sharing and skills transfer, is one of the strengths of the Cuban HE system, and indeed is
a mandatory requirement for MES institutions. MES HEIs are all part of a MES university network
(“Reduniv”) and there are also thematic networks maintained by individual HEIs on behalf of the
academic and research community, such as the “RedMa: Portal de Medio Ambiente” (an Environment
portal) maintained by ISPJAE3.
Collaborative activities, beyond information sharing through intranet and web-based networks, email
and occasional meetings are seriously constrained by lack of funds to cover travel costs and poor
national and local transport infrastructure. For example, in the past Cuba HEIs collaborated in an
effective inter-library loan and publications exchange system, which no longer functions.
Apparently recent changes in the regulations have been initiated that should make it possible for HEIs
and staff to be remunerated (in cash or in kind) for their work supporting network activities and on
behalf of institutions other than their own.
3 http://redma.cujae.edu.cu/articles.php?article_id=2

4.2. Observations resulting from the interaction with local
stakeholders
4.2.1. MES views on strategic directions for Flemish university
cooperation
In the preliminary meetings with the Team (see Error! Reference source not found.), Directors from
MES set out and reinforced the Ministry’s favoured strategic directions: these included
 Reiterating the national development role of HEIs in Cuba and the particular developmental
priority of institutions in the Eastern region (see paragraph 4.1.2 - 0).
 Emphasising the main thematic priorities of a) reducing food security risks and dependencies on
importing food; and b) the environment, in particular introducing renewable energy sources, and
biotechnology, with a particular local role for universities to address specific and locally relevant
environmental issues, such as water.
 Reinforcing the human resource development aspects of international cooperation and the need
for a programme to make a significant impact on raising both capacity (numbers of doctorates in
key fields - see Figure 4) and capability (teaching and technical) in key areas. Mobility for
academic staff is the priority, especially for those young academics with Master qualifications but
few opportunities to study for their PhD.
 Stressing the need for any programme of activities to take advantage of, and spread benefits
through the national HE and research network infrastructure (see paragraph 4.1.4). It was
acknowledged, however, that network connectivity (both intranet and internet access) is not
evenly or equally distributed among HEIs, and that institutions in the Eastern half of the country
face greater connectivity challenges than those in, for instance, Havana.
 Improving skills, competences and facilities for the application of ICT within key thematic areas,
such education, environmental sciences and medicine, is also a MES priority. It was suggested
that this could be supported through a national programme of doctoral and / or masters
scholarships in applied computer studies.
4.2.2. The impact of budget deficiencies on infrastructure and
facilities
MES provides HEIs with budget allocations for staff salaries, running costs (electricity, water etc) and
maintenance of buildings. These budgets have been declining in real terms for a number of years at
the same time as the number of university sites has been expanding (for example, the development of
outreach campuses and sites within municipalities). Most of those HEIs visited by the Country Team
face significant challenges, such as:
 The maintenance and repair of campuses and buildings (many built during the 1970s): wear and
tear from the weather is evident everywhere and aging furniture and facilities in constant use
cannot be easily replaced or upgraded.

 Reliance on outdated and/or inadequate equipment and materials, for instance, in technical
workshops and science laboratories, in library books and other materials for students, in
computing hardware for administration, study and research.
Capital or special project investment funding is rarely available for those HEIs controlled by MES (and
almost certainly other ministries such as MINSAP), unless it comes in the form of international
cooperation or through other international donor initiatives.
The inescapable conclusion is that Cuba has too many HEIs, more than the country needs
considering its size, population and economic capacity. Available government funds for HE (under
MES and other Ministries) and institutional allocations are now spread very thinly indeed across the
range of institutions and campus locations. The creation of campuses in all the municipalities has
exacerbated the situation, with inevitable and negative implications for quality in education and
research.
4.2.3. Overall assessment of strengths of HEIs visited
The HEIs visited (with the exception of UCLV) by the Country Team during the mission (see Annex 1
for full programme) were assessed by the International and National Experts against a number of
criteria relevant to VLIR-UOS programming and strategic institutional development. In a subjective
qualitative assessment (low/poor, fair, good or excellent) was assigned to each institution for each of
the following criteria:
 Contribution of university to national development
 Contribution of university to local /regional development
 Active engagement in collaboration within Cuban HE
 Active engagement in international cooperation
 Institutional management and policy-making
 Existing collaboration with Flanders
 Accreditation of postgraduate courses
 Percentage of academic staff with Doctorates
 ICT infrastructure and systems
Table 1 shows the results of this assessment. It should be emphasised that this is a comparative and
non scientific assessment intended as a tool to assist in future planning and not as a sole basis for
decision-making.
UCLV was not included in this assessment as its potential in research and other cooperation with
Flemish institutions under the new Country Strategy is assured and not open to question.

Table 1: Overall assessment of strengths of HEIs visited by Country Team
Contributionofuniversityto
nationaldevelopment
Contributionofuniversitytolocal
/regionaldevelopment
Activeengagementin
collaborationwithinCubanHE
Activeengagementininternational
cooperation
Institutionalmanagementand
policy-making
Existingcollaborationwith
Flanders
Accreditationofpostgraduate
courses
%ofacademicswithDoctorates
ICTinfrastructureandsystems
UH Excellent Excellent Excellent Good Good Good Excellent Good Fair
ISPJAE Excellent Excellent Excellent Fair Good Fair Good Fair Fair
UNAH Excellent Excellent Excellent Fair Good Fair Fair Fair Fair
UO Good Excellent Good Fair Excellent Poor Fair Fair Fair
UCF Fair Good Fair Fair Good Fair Fair Poor Fair
UC Fair Good Fair Low Fair Low Fair Low Fair
UMCC Low Fair Fair Low Fair Low Fair Low Poor
UDG Low Fair Fair Low Poor Low Low Low Poor
UCI Low Low Low Low Fair Low Low Excellent
4.2.4. Internal and external ICT network access
The MES HEIs (and other research centres) are connected to a HE intranet, which facilitates
communication and sharing of research information and resources between institutions, and offers
access to the various thematic and research portals and networks, maintained by MES and other
specialist institutions. While the intranet connectivity appears to be relatively robust in most of the
HEIs visited, it is not clear whether the internal networking infrastructure is the same standard in all
institutions and on all campuses of individual institutions including outreach campuses within
municipalities. Those far from Havana are likely to face particular infrastructure challenges.4
Local management of the intranet, and of individual institutional resources available on it, appear to
vary considerably between institutions (for example, some HEIs such as UO have developed
4 "Not all universities have the same conditions or the same services, or the same levels of technology, and although
the MES has tried to equalize this it has not been possible. There are universities that have more external Internet
capacity than others, and the truth is that it has not been possible to correct this situation, although we have been
able to help some less developed centres "Quote from Francisco Lee Tenorio, Director of Informatization, MES,
translated from Juventud Rebelde at http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2011-10-08/extrana-desconexion-en-
las-universidades/

comprehensive institutional portals on the intranet through which a range of resources and sites can
be accessed; others are less well-developed). It was not possible in the time available for the Team to
make a proper assessment of research information and resource sharing policies and practice.
National limitations on the existing telecommunications network and infrastructure (progress on
establishing the Venezuela/Cuba undersea cable link appears to have stalled for technical and
funding reasons) have a severe impact on internet access for all HEIs. Bandwidth capacity for an
individual institution rarely exceeds 3GB (UCLV) and very often capacity is considerably lower than
this and unreliable. Systems management practices, which differ from institution to institution, have
an impact on internet access for staff and students. UCLV, benefiting from the VLIR-UOS IUC work
done on systems administration, probably represents the optimal standard for effective management
among the MES HEIs.
UCI is the exception in bandwidth capacity among HEIs, benefiting from significant government
investment in connectivity and infrastructure on its central campus, which allow up to 10GB capacity.
4.2.5. Staff mobility
There are many limitations on international mobility for academic staff in Cuban HEIs. Financial
constraints and lack of access to hard currency mean that staff cannot attend conferences or engage
in academic exchange visits. Except in the context of an international cooperation project or through
foreign funding grants few HEIs have the ability to pay the costs of this kind of academic mobility. This
is the reason for the MES emphasis on using international cooperation as principally a channel for
opening up opportunities for staff mobility (see 0).
The Country Team also noted the general lack of national mobility among academic staff: very few
staff members, on gaining on gaining Masters or PhDs, move from their home university to take up
vacant or new posts in other Cuban HEIs. Four factors inhibit this kind of transfer of skills and
expertise around the national HEI network:
 Cuban society is characterised by a strong sense of community and institutional loyalties and
strong family ties to one’s place of birth, implicitly encouraged by government policies.
Nonetheless, this has not prevented the drift of population from the provinces to the capital city,
Havana;
 Until very recently there has been little or no possibility for people to sell or buy houses, thus
facilitating movement within Cuba, though this may be set to change 5;
 Mobility within the academic hierarchy – from junior positions up through the ranks to more senior
posts – is constrained across all HEIs under these circumstances; aging professors do not opt for
retirement, so posts rarely become vacant;
 Under existing governance structures and regulations it would be very hard for a Rector of a
university to deliberately seek or identify a particular academic from another institution in a
different province to take up a new or vacant post; something which is extremely common in most
countries’ HE systems and which contributes to the renewal and refreshment of academic study
and research within the system.
5 See for example http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/06/cubans-can-sell-homes-home-raul-fidel-castro

4.2.6. Potential for HEIs to develop income-generating
initiatives/partnerships
HEIs in Cuba are financed entirely by the government and at present universities do not have any
institutional mechanisms for fostering research or training associations with industries/enterprises for
commercial or revenue-generating purposes, in the way that these kinds of links are encouraged in
other countries. UCI, under the Ministry of Communications, is the exception in this case, as the
university has been developing products and services for Cuban and Venezuelan clients (including for
instance hospitals, government agencies etc). Though the UCI model of remuneration is not clear the
university has in some way been receiving benefits from the services they have been offering. The
model will undoubtedly be modified within the MES structure.
4.2.7. Transferring research into policy and practice
The Country Team noted that HEIs all appear to have mechanisms to work with local stakeholders, in
agriculture, energy and environmental conservation, for example, through provision of part-time
distance and on site education and training in municipal campuses, and through full-time programmes
of work-related social and community development.
However, what appeared to be missing in most of the HEIs visited (with the possible exception of
CEEMA at UCF, UH and UNAH) was capacity and programmes to address the transfer of research
findings, outputs and best practice to higher level policy-makers and planners within Cuban national
and provincial government, enterprises and industry. Given that the main challenges in assuring
food security are modernisation, diversification and increase of production, and the new national
economic policy is to empower the private sector and decentralise the national economy, the need to
improve human resource capacity and transfer management know-how at the highest levels would
appear to a priority area for HEIs.
4.2.8. International profile of Cuban HE
Despite quite a wide range of international donors and stakeholders in Cuban HE (see 0), operating in
the country for most of the last decade, the impact on human resource and research development in
HEIs has not been great. The combined resources available for international cooperation projects in
HE are not large (VLIR-UOS’s contribution through the IUC with UCLV and over a decade of OIs far
outstrips that of any other single donor or country) and the scale of individual projects is normally
quite small – between €20,000-€50,000. The impact has been weakened by the continued expansion
of HE in numbers of institutions and campus locations.
Although Cuban HE and research are widely regarded as being of remarkably high quality
considering the infrastructure and research facilities available in the country, Cuban HEIs do not score
highly in terms of international published research outputs in the form of research articles and papers
(see Table 2). Constraints are recognised as being language barriers (considering that international
research dissemination channels are dominated by English language publications) among Cuban
academics, relative lack of opportunities to collaborate in international research projects and teams,
and limitations on Cuban internet connectivity which constrain academic and research access to
information and research resources.

Table 2: SCOPUS abstract and citation database 2004-2009: ranking (number published
articles) of some Cuban HEIs among 1200 Latin American and Caribbean universities6
HEI Ranking HEI Ranking
UH 55 UNAH 402
UCLV 137 UNHOLM 411
UO 183 UCI 422
UMCC 244 UCF 483
ISPJAE 248 UDG 514
UPR 369 UNISS 650
UNICA 387 UG 805
UC 401 ULT 810
4.2.9. Existing links and contacts with Flemish universities
Flemish universities and individual academics have been engaged in collaboration and human
resource development initiatives in Cuba since 1996. With the start of the UCLV IUC programme in
2003 the level of activity has significantly increased.
6 Extracted from La educacion superior en Cuba. Presentation by MES at the VLIR-UOS Seminar, Havana 17th
October 2011

Table 3: Summary of existing Flemish cooperation in HE and research7
SUB-
THEMES/AREAS
Regions Partners
CONTENT BASED THEMES
Food security &
agriculture
Rural development and
soil systems
Western Cuba - Pinar
del Rio, Havana and
Matanzas Province,
Eastern Cuba
UNAH, UDG
Food production and
food chain
Plant and animal
sciences
Vila Clara, Sancti
Spiritus
UCLV, UNICA,
CIMAGT
Environment
Clean Technologies,
Biofuels, Renewable
and efficient energy
Cienfuegos and Sancti
Spiritus
UCF, UNISS, ISPJAE
Climate Change,
Water and basic
sanitation
Pinar del Rio/Havana
Province
UNAH
Environmental issues
Cienfuegos and Vila
Clara
UCF, UCLV
Economic and social
development, cultural
issues
Cultural heritage -
revitalization of
botanical garden
Vila Clara UCLV
Health
HIV/Aids Havana and Cuba IPK
Pharmacology, drug
testing , medicinal
plants
Havana and Vila Clara
IFAL (UH), UCLV,
CIDEM
Medical statistics Havana UH
SERVICE/SUPPORT BASED INSTITUTIONAL THEMES
Institutional
strengthening
Research policy and
culture (incl. statistics
for research)
Havana and Vila Clara UH, UCLV
Educational policies
(QA, accreditation,
language and
Vila Clara UCLV
7 From PDL’s presentation at National Seminar, 17th
October, Havana

SUB-
THEMES/AREAS
Regions Partners
communication)
Information culture
and management
Library and information
culture development
Santa Clara (+ national
for library automation)
UCLV
ICT
ICT in education (E-
learning & other)
Vila Clara (+ national
for free software)
UCLV
Computer sciences &
ICT infrastructure
Santa Clara UCLV
4.3. Strategic niches for VLIR-UOS
4.3.1. Regional focus
The Country Team was given the strong steer from government (MINCEX and MES) that the priority
for development through future international cooperation should be among HEIs in the Eastern
provinces of the country – that is, Camagüey, Las Tunas, Holguin, Granma, Santiago de Cuba,
Guantanamo. Given also the highly collaborative nature of HE within Cuba, however, this regional
focus on the East does not rule out the inclusion of strong specialist partners from among HEIs and
research centres in other parts of Cuba in projects and cross-cutting programmes of cooperation with
Flemish institutions.
The needs of HEIs in the Eastern region for greater internationalisation and human resource
development through international cooperation programmes are evident even without the strong
governmental steer. HEIs in Havana City and the (former) province of Havana are disproportionately
advantaged in comparison with more distant institutions, in terms of many of the factors that attract
international interest and engagement; for instance, transport and telecommunications infrastructure,
links with Ministries and other government agencies in the capital.
4.3.2. Themes
As HEIs in Cuba are required to focus their activities on the national development priorities (see
Error! Reference source not found.) the Country Team noted broad similarities in research and
development priorities among the individual institutions visited, tempered by their specialist capacities
and provincial location. Five themes for international cooperation in research and human resource
capacity development were identified and validated during the visits to HEIs:
 Food security and agricultural production
 Environment
 Public Health

 Socio-cultural and tourism development
 ICT and applications
There is considerable scope for multidisciplinary research approaches to these themes: Figure 5
shows potential synergies between the themes and sub-themes identified by the Country Team.
Flemish priorities and interests
Figure 6 (below) summarises the thematic priorities and research interests (and potential synergies
between these) of those Flemish academics who expressed interest in working with Cuba and
communicated with the Expert Team through interviews or correspondence. These interests were
either based upon
 existing or past OI projects with Cuba,
 experience of working in the UCLV IUC programme,
 contacts or collaboration with Cuban institutions outside of a VLIR-UOS context, or
Figure 5: Identified research themes and sub-themes prioritised by Cuban HEIs
ICT and education
Bioinformatics
Artificial intelligence and
computer sciences
ICT and applications
Rural development and
agricultural management
Plant and animal
biotechnology
Veterinary sciences
Food and livestock production
Food security and
agricultural
production
Coastal zone management
Clean and efficient energy
Clean technology and
production
Soil and water systems
Impact of climate change
Environment
Cultural tourism development
and management
Sustainable management of
cultural heritage
Socio-cultural and
tourism development
Epidemiology / ICT and
health
Community health
Preventive medicine
Public health

 no specific contacts with Cuba but interest in developing these based on research collaboration
experience in other countries.
As can be seen there is a good match between the identified strategic priorities of Cuban HEIs
(Figure 5) and the interests of Flemish academics as expressed thus far (Figure 6).
4.3.3. Transversal needs and opportunities
The Country Team also confirmed among the Cuban HEIs significant interest and need for action in
three cross-cutting or transversal themes, in which the priority would be institutional capacity
development rather than research, in transversal actions open to any Cuban HEI in the national
network. Three themes were first identified through the activities and results of the UCLV IUC
programme and validated during the mission:
1. ICT and applications
 ICT Systems and administration
 Statistics and bio-statistics
 Learning platforms development
Figure 6: Summary of Flemish academic priority themes and research interests
Urban architecture, city planning
and conservation
Cultural identity in the
humanities and social sciences
Preventive conservation of built
environment, community-based
conservation models
Rural, urban and regional
development; food security and
agroeconomics
Culture and development
Drug discovery using anti-
microbials
Dairy cattle genetics
Nematology: marine and plant-
parasitic nematodes
Clean production in industry
Microbiology and ecophysiology,
food security such as drought or
salinity stress
plants
Biodiversity
Speech and voice disorders;
acoustic tools for assessment
and treatment
Medical biostatistics,
epidemiology
Virology, molecular biology,
diagnostics
Pharmaceutical care, drug
therapies
Microbiology: infectious
diseases; new antibiotics
Public health
Software engineering,
databases, ontology
Cloud computing; electrical
engineering; machine learning
Bioinformatics, computer
simulation, artificial
intelligence
Computer science

2. Language and communications
 English language learning and communication
 Writing & presentation for academic purposes
3. Information management
 Library & information services management
 Access to research information and resources
ICT and applications
VLIR-UOS and the Flemish universities and university colleges have built up significant experience
and capacity to deliver transversal training programmes in ICT systems and administration aimed at
institutional management and administrative personnel, both in Cuba, drawing on the experience of
UCLV (see 0 below), and in Flanders. Several Cuban HEIs have already benefited from training
courses and advice delivered under the UCLV IUC programme.
Statistics and biostatistics capacity is an essential part of basic and advanced research knowledge
among postgraduate students, independent of their scientific field. Capacity development in this area
would build on existing experience among Flemish universities (particularly UHasselt) to provide
training and independent learning opportunities for academic staff and teachers by students (building
on the CROSS_STAT project) in a transversal action, as well as supporting the establishment of
masters level courses within specific HEIs (possibly as part of an IUC partnership or departmental OI).
Most Cuban HEIs are developing administrative and academic services using institutional learning
platforms (sometimes called virtual learning environments), mainly using open source applications
such as Moodle. The extension and growth of distance education makes this a priority area for
capacity development both in the development of customised learning platform applications and
services and materials development. Transversal capacity development projects would ideally be
aimed at systems developers as well as academic staff using the platforms for course delivery.
Language and communications
The UCLV IUC project 4A - Capacity building for communication in English for academic purposes in
international collaboration – established the highly transferable model of CAELTIC. This could form
the basis of both transversal actions such as training courses and independent learning opportunities
open to all Cuban HEIs (in for example, writing and presentation for academic purposes), as well as
institutional actions to develop English language and communication in-house capacity in modified
versions of the UCLV CAELTIC (as part of an IUC programme or OI).
Information management
Cuban HEIs face many challenges in the maintenance and development of library services to their
undergraduate and postgraduate communities. While VLIR-UOS support could not prioritise support
to university library per se, Flemish universities have built up considerable expertise and experience in
supporting improvement of library and information services through transversal initiatives (such as
STIMIUC Training at VUB). In Cuba such actions should focus on training staff in library and
information services management related to information and services for postgraduate and research
students and staff, which might include (for example) ICT applications, information retrieval and
database searching, information architecture and the development of digital libraries, information

resource sharing within the HEI network, and the development and management of institutional
repositories.
Access to research information and resources is also a great challenge for Cuban HEIs due to the low
connectivity speeds experienced by most institutions, and the high subscription cost of key
international journals and information databases, and exacerbated in the case of some publications
by the restrictions of the US embargo. Transversal activities in this area could include supporting
library and information staff to improve their own knowledge and understanding of the range of
potential sources (both subscription-based and toll-free or open access) in key scientific and technical
areas, and in improving their support to academic staff and research students to become more
efficient and effective in information search and retrieval using internet and database sources.
4.3.4. Domains
Table 4: Country Strategy Framework summarises the potential domains in which these themes
and sub-themes could be pursued in a programme of VLIR-UOS supported cooperation. It also takes
into account where the Flemish interests lie, as articulated in the North seminar on Cuba and
subsequent interviews (see Annex 6 for the original country framework as proposed at the North
seminar). There is potential for constructive and valuable cooperation at masters and PhD levels,
though doctorate level should be considered the more important of these two, given the problems
Cuban HEIs currently face in student mobility, the relative lack of professors with doctoral
qualifications in many institutions.
There is also considerable potential for VLIR-UOS support to academic staff capacity development
and updating – in relation, for example, to basic research methods using ICT such as statistical
analysis, in laboratory methods and techniques, and in pedagogical approaches, particularly relating
to distance education. This potential area of need could be addressed through either transversal and
institutional programme or project interventions, such as training courses, opportunities for staff
exchanges and placements in Flemish universities, etc.

Cuba Country Strategy and IUC Partner Identification Mission Report 33
Table 4: Country Strategy Framework
DOMAINS
THEMES EDUCATION RESEARCH EXTENSION MANAGEMENT
MAIN
THEMES
SUB-THEMES
/AREAS
Regions
/
Provinc
es
Possible
partners
Maste
rs
PHD
Short
cours
es
Multi-
disciplina
ry
research
Resea
rch
outpu
t
Collabor
ative
training
Commu
nity
service
s
HR
D
Internatio
nal
networki
ng and
linkages
EFFECT
CONTENT BASED THEMES
Food
security &
agricultural
production
Food and
livestock
production
National
UNAH,
UMCC,
UCLV,
UC, UDG
* * * * * *
THEMATIC
CAPACITY
Veterinary
sciences
National
UNAH,
UMCC,
UCLV,
UC, UDG
* * * * *
Plant and
animal
biotechnolog
y
National
UNAH,
UH,
UMCC,
UCLV,UNI
CA, UC,
UO
* * *

DOMAINS
MAIN
THEMES
SUB-THEMES
/AREAS
Regions
/
Provinc
es
Possible
partners
Maste
rs
PHD
Short
cours
es
Multi-
disciplina
ry
research
Resea
rch
outpu
t
Collabor
ative
training
Commu
nity
service
s
HR
D
Internatio
nal
networki
ng and
linkages
EFFECT
Rural
development
and
agricultural
management
National
UH,
UNAH,
UMCC,
UCLV,
UC, UDG,
UO
* * * * *
Environmen
t
Impact of
climate
change
Central
and
East
UO, UCF * * * *
THEMATIC
CAPACITY
Soil and
water
systems
Havana,
Central
and
East
UNAH,
UC, UDG,
UO
* * * * *
Clean
technology
and
production
Havana,
Central
and
East
ISPJAE,
UCF, UO
* * * * *
Clean and
efficient
Central
and
ISPJAE,
UMCC,
* * * * *

DOMAINS
MAIN
THEMES
SUB-THEMES
/AREAS
Regions
/
Provinc
es
Possible
partners
Maste
rs
PHD
Short
cours
es
Multi-
disciplina
ry
research
Resea
rch
outpu
t
Collabor
ative
training
Commu
nity
service
s
HR
D
Internatio
nal
networki
ng and
linkages
EFFECT
energy East UCF,
UNISS,
UO
Coastal zone
management
National
UH, UO,
UCF
* * * * *
Socio-
cultural and
tourism
developmen
t
Sustainable
management
of cultural
heritage
Havana,
Central
and
East
UH, UO,
UC, UCF,
UMCC
* * * * *
THEMATIC
CAPACITYCultural
tourism
development
and
management
Havana,
Central
and
East
UH, UO,
UC, UCF,
UMCC
* * * *
Public
health
Preventive
medicine
Havana,
Central
and
East
IPK, UH,
UO
* * * * *
THEMATIC
CAPACITY

DOMAINS
MAIN
THEMES
SUB-THEMES
/AREAS
Regions
/
Provinc
es
Possible
partners
Maste
rs
PHD
Short
cours
es
Multi-
disciplina
ry
research
Resea
rch
outpu
t
Collabor
ative
training
Commu
nity
service
s
HR
D
Internatio
nal
networki
ng and
linkages
EFFECT
Community
health
Central
and
East
IPK,
UCLV
* * * * *
Epidemiology
/ ICT and
health
Havana,
Central
and
East
IPK,
UCLV
* * * *
ICT and
applications
Artificial
intelligence
and computer
sciences
Havana,
Central
and
East
UH,
ISPJAE,
UCLV,
UCI, UO
* * * *
THEMATIC
CAPACITY
Bio-
informatics
National
UH,
ISPJAE,
UCLV,
UO,
UNAH,
IPK,
UNISS
* * * *

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