Leicester, United Kingdom, 16 September:— On 15 and 16 September, De Montfort University (DMU) hosted an academic exchange event dedicated to research and education, as part of the activities of the project “Universities in the Communities (Cuba): Developing the Capacity for Change’, an academic collaboration initiative between Cuba and the United Kingdom focusing on the role of Municipal University Centres (CUMs) and their links with communities.
As part of the programme, Professor Dr Reynaldo Jiménez Guethón, academic coordinator of FLACSO-Cuba at the University of Havana, delivered a lecture entitled ‘Place-based research in Cuba and the “diagnóstico”’, in which he shared experiences of research conducted in Cuban territories and communities, as well as aspects relating to the “diagnóstico” as a tool for understanding local realities.
The presentation also addressed the experience of the Municipal University Centres (CUM) in Cuba, highlighting the link between higher education institutions and communities, as well as the role of research in processes of social transformation. This initiative forms part of a research project being carried out in collaboration with four Cuban universities in the provinces of Las Tunas, Holguín, Pinar del Río and Guantánamo, led by Dr Rosie Smith from the Department of Applied Social Sciences at Montfort University.
(Pictured: Dr Rosi Smith and Dr Philp McTernan, Vice-Chancellor for Research at DMU, in conversation with Professor Dr Reynaldo Jiménez.
Since 2024, Dr Smith has also led the ‘Toma mi mano’ network, dedicated to research on disability in Cuba, an initiative she is developing in collaboration with the University of Granma and communities in the province; the network also includes academics from the University of Liverpool and Sheffield.
As part of Professor Jiménez Guethón’s programme, he held a meeting with academics and senior staff at the DMU and delivered an online seminar with the network of the Cuban Research Centre on the topic of ‘Cuba today: declining demographics and daily life under the blockade’.
The exchange provided an opportunity to share perspectives on educational research and experiences of academic work relating to Cuba, helping to strengthen dialogue and collaboration between researchers and universities in both countries.
Adislenes Ruenes César, the specialist in academic and cultural affairs at the Cuban Embassy, took part in the meeting.
