Ladies and Gentlemen

As we all know, this is a very special day in which two great feelings are mixed: satisfaction for the path that has already been traveled and excitement for the path that is expected from now on. I therefore take this moment to warmly congratulate each of the graduates and, of course, my congratulations go out to all the people who have supported them throughout this life cycle. I am referring to mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, wives and husbands, daughters and sons, uncles and aunts, among many others, in whose tribute I ask the graduates to stand up and give a grateful applause.

Many of you know the saying that "nobility obliges," which is a way of saying that privileges are accompanied by responsibilities to others. In this new stage in which he will be a graduate of INTEC, each graduate has the moral obligation to give the best of himself in his professional and social field. Allow me to share with you some brief examples of the gigantic challenges facing our country and the world, and in which the contribution of international talent is expected.

In recent months, different economists have expressed concern about the government debt, with some saying that its evolution is clearly unsustainable while others say that there is no cause for alarm. Therefore, it would be interesting to know the opinion of Manuel Alejandro Yermenos Santos, who today graduates Summa Cum Laude from the Bachelor of Economics. On the other hand, we all have apprehensions with our pension system, as it is clear that many people do not achieve a decent income in retirement. What would graduate Karla Victoria Domínguez Melo tell us about that, who today will be awarded Summa Cum Laude in the Bachelor of Mathematics with a concentration in Actuarial Sciences?

In another area, the risks of large seismic events make it essential to identify ingenious methods to improve our constructions without incurring excessive costs. What will be the contribution of Joel Perez Santana, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the Civil Engineering Degree? In what way can we count on the knowledge of Luz Aniela Rodríguez Sánchez, SCL in Psychology, to help us understand and combat domestic violence? And as a last example, I ask you to recall the recent news according to which it has been possible for mice of the same sex to procreate, which leads us to ask Juan Bello Duvergé, graduating from SCL in Medicine, or Idalgisa Deyanira Andújar Garrido, graduanda of the Master of Bioethics, what implications would this have if such technology were applied to human beings?

These are just a few examples of the challenges that you, male and female graduates, have in your hands, because being graduates of INTEC each one will have to wonder how to proceed to leave a lasting mark. This corresponds to the nature of this university, whose objective is to contribute to improving the living conditions of Dominicans, as we have been doing through continuous innovations. That is why long ago we obtained the first university patent in our country; a little later we started the first doctoral program in science; and a few months ago we became the first and only Medicine program with international accreditation. In the same spirit, today I am pleased to highlight that in this graduation we have the first three graduates of the first Dominican Biotechnology Bachelor program, whom I ask to stand up to receive applause from all present.

In closing, I now present our guest speaker. Catalina Andujar is Permanent Representative in the Dominican Republic of the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) in the Dominican Republic since 2008. Previously, she served as General Director of Special Education of the Secretary of State for Education. She has also been an international consultant for educational reforms and a university professor in various fields. During his professional career, he has promoted, led and promoted numerous programs, projects and initiatives related to the strengthening of educational quality, inclusive education, teacher training, education for citizenship, among others, some of these with an important impact on national educational policies. It is truly a source of pride that a Dominican woman has had such an outstanding career, and INTEC is honored to have her today as our guest speaker. Let's receive it with a loud applause.