52 Ordinary Graduation

Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC)

Rector's words

Madam President of the Board of Regents, Eng. Claudia de Los Santos
Honorable Director of the Central American Institute of Public Administration, Dr. Alexander López
Ladies and gentlemen, members of the Board of Regents and the Academic Council,
Executives, teachers and collaborators of INTEC
Distinguished guest speaker, Lic. Mercedes Ramos
Graduates and Graduates
Ladies and Gentlemen

This day has finally arrived! Graduation is the most important event in university life and we always look forward to it with the same enthusiasm. Each of us here has a good reason to celebrate. The teachers feel the satisfaction of having fulfilled our educational mission; fathers and mothers, brothers, daughters, husbands, relatives and friends feel the joy of seeing the result of many efforts; and you, male and female graduates, feel the pride of being the protagonists of this story with a happy ending. Therefore, my first words are aimed at congratulating you on your achievement and wishing you a bright future.

Being a graduate of INTEC guarantees the attitudes and skills necessary for successful professional performance, and I am sure that each one will make good use of these tools. For our part, I give you my word that we will continue to do everything necessary so that the diploma you are receiving today is increasingly valued as a symbol of professional quality and social responsibility. And in this regard, I request everyone's permission to briefly share some of the institution's most recent advances in its relentless pursuit of excellence.

At this moment, INTEC is undergoing a process of creative renewal, through a curricular reform from which a large number of new careers and programs have emerged so innovative that until now no university has taken up the challenge of developing them. At the undergraduate level, this year the Cybersecurity Engineering careers, the Bachelor of Biotechnology, the Bachelor of Commercial Engineering, the Bachelor of Film and Audiovisual Communication and the Bachelor of International Business have started (or will be starting), among others. At the postgraduate level, in 2016 a Master's Degree in Project Management, a Master's Degree in Obesology, a Master's Degree in Clinical Nutriology, a Master's Degree in Cyber ​​Security, a specialty in Actuarial Calculations, a Master's Degree in Earthquake Resistance and Engineering have been or will be beginning. of structures, a Master in Hydrology and a Master in Human Talent Management, among others. And finally, at the doctoral level, the area of ​​Basic and Environmental Sciences has already submitted two doctoral programs to the Ministry of Higher Education, which will make us the first Dominican university to offer its own doctorate in the field of science and science. technologies.

This impressive renewal of our academic offerings is accompanied by enormous efforts to guarantee quality. Regarding this aspect, I am pleased to announce to you, for the first time publicly, the international accreditation of four careers and seven postgraduate programs in our Business area, by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE), one of the most prestigious North American agencies. In this context, I want to publicly thank the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Ligia Amada Melo, who two weeks ago accompanied us to the accreditation ceremony held in Memphis, TN. This courtesy of the Minister reflects her vision that this achievement is not only a recognition of INTEC and the citizens of the Inter-American region, but also a step forward for the country and for the Dominicans.

On the other hand, graduates of the Engineering area will be pleased to know that we continue working for the accreditation of all our programs with the most prestigious accrediting agency worldwide, such as ABET. And to the graduates of Health Sciences I inform you that this year the graduates of Medicine from INTEC obtained the highest percentage of approval in the annual exams for entry to Medical Residences, once again surpassing students of all the other universities.

All these advances, and many others that I do not present for the sake of brevity, coincide with an institutional effort to strengthen the role of the university as a space for democratic life. With that end in mind, each academic area has already incorporated student representation to their Area Committees to ensure that students are part of making big decisions. The intention is that the university is not only an example in professional terms, but also the most plural, most inclusive and transparent space of the national university system.

For the same reason, our university has been a pioneer in the implementation of new coexistence policies, as is the case of the Policy Against Sexual Harassment, which recently made us the first university to incorporate regulations in this area. And it is for the same reason that INTEC continues to publish every year, religiously, its financial results, so that the entire community can monitor the use of our resources, as befits a public-purpose university, which has no shareholders and has no owner. Or rather, that it has a single owner, which is the Dominican society formed by all of us.

Personally, I think it is not an exaggeration to say that with these initiatives, the university is in the process of redefining itself and contributing by example to the renewal of the entire Dominican system of higher education. That is why society recognizes us and our collaborative relationships with leading institutions of civil society, the productive sector and the government are becoming stronger. In the last month, for example, INTEC has started joint work with Banreservas, CEMEX and CEI RD, among other companies or institutions.

Among these alliances, I would like to highlight the tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, the Central American Institute of Public Administration and INTEC for the development of a Master's program in Public Investment Management, aimed at training professionals in the areas of planning, development and design of projects of a social nature. This program is graduating its first class today and for that reason we have a visit from an ICAP delegation, led by its Director, whom I thank for his presence.

All these efforts are directed to the fulfillment of our statutory mission, which is to contribute to improving the living conditions of Dominican society. You, as graduates, have an important role in that mission. Being an INTEC graduate is a privilege but it is also a call to take on great challenges, not only for one's own development but also to support the development of others. You are leaving university at an important time when our country faces vital challenges, some of which society is tackling with determination and others that are still awaiting bolder measures to allow us to climb the hill and reach the top.

Education, health, transportation, energy, the environment, and public safety are core aspects in which your contribution is expected. Now, as new professionals or as professionals with postgraduate studies, you have the opportunity to contribute in a new way and we all hope that you will do well. Be part of the solution; don't settle for complaining about problems. Be part of the solution; don't settle for complaining about problems.

In closing, let me now introduce our guest speaker. Mercedes Ramos is Executive President of Grupo Ramos, a leading company in retail sales. She was appointed to this position in 2005, after an ascending career in which she has led important restructuring, acquisitions and expansion processes of various companies. In particular, in 1996 he led a restructuring process that culminated in the merger of a large number of companies under a single company name, the Ramos Group, and in 2006 he led the design process of a company that I am sure many of us visited in this week, the Multicentro La Sirena.

Doña Mercedes has a degree in Economics and a Master of Business Administration. During the period 2005 to 2007 she held the presidency of the National Organization of Commercial Companies (ONEC) and is a member of the Board of Directors of that entity since its foundation in 1998. In the field of her private life, she is married to the engineer Juan Sanoja and he has four daughters. Let us welcome our guest speaker, Mercedes Ramos, with loud applause.