Dear friends, dear friends
I want to thank the presence of each one of you in this act through which we commemorate the occurrence of a great miracle: the birth of INTEC. As is customary, this scenario offers us the opportunity to recall the achievements of previous months, visualize the future in a permanent exercise of foresight and renew the vows of commitment to the university.
As far as I am concerned, there is no act that excites me as much as this, nor is there a day that makes me feel so proud to be part of the international hive. In that spirit, and without wishing to cloud the atmosphere of celebration, I must begin my words by paying tribute to the memory of two giant bees that passed into eternal rest throughout this year.
The past rector Rafael Corominas was an invaluable piece in institutional history, which should be remembered for his gesture of courage and nobility when he put his prestige at the service of the university at the time of uncertainty in which he had to exercise the Rectory. He was a kind of King Midas who turned everything he touched into success, whether as an academic, as a minister, as a professional college leader or as a successful entrepreneur. And above all, Don Fello was a humble person, who impressed me not only by what he said but also by what he was silent, since his silences revealed the prudence of a superior character.
In turn, Miguel Gil Mejía was a model inteciano, who served the institution throughout decades, from his position as the first Director of Registry to his functions as Vice President of the Board of Regents. He had a privileged intelligence and an unusual sense of humor, tools that he used at will, like swords, to break any Gordian knot. As an INTEC official, he was part of one of the institution's emblematic histories, when he reported the fact that a good part of the students did not meet the institution's excellence criteria and provided the necessary analysis for the decision to drastically reduce the registration, in a preferential option for quality. And, in addition to his other virtues, Don Miguel was a high school fanatic, which proves indisputably that he was a man who knew baseball.
We know that the binomial of birth and death is a rule of nature that we cannot escape, so that the departure of these giants, although it saddens us, should rather serve as a source of inspiration. That is why I dedicate to them the memory of the progress that INTEC has had in recent months and that I now briefly recall for you.
To put it in a few words, 2016 has been an impressive year, for the intensity with which we have lived and for the number of achievements. In recent months, the curricular reform has been launched in the framework of which more than ten new careers and programs have been designed, in areas so novel that until now no university has taken up the challenge of exploring them. On the other hand, the accreditation of all the business programs was achieved by an agency of international prestige and the improvements are evident in the evaluation and incentive system of teachers, through the Teaching Efficiency Index and other instruments.
Similarly, the university has taken a step forward with the creation of various research groups within the framework of regulations aimed at promoting this activity. In fact, the combination of a large number of researchers of exceptional quality, the timely systematization of instruments to promote research work and the availability of resources that exceed the resources available at any other time in our history, allow us to predict that from here henceforth the results in this matter will be unprecedented.

An aspect of special importance in 2016 was the recent obtaining of the first patent obtained by a Dominican university, thanks to the design of an Automatic Heating Catalyst as a result of the joint work of students and professors from the Engineering Area. In the area of ​​management, I highlight the improvement in the logistics support processes, including areas such as purchasing and maintenance, the improvement of the performance evaluation system and the start of a results-based remuneration process, the creation of a unit of Marketing that will end up transforming our forms of promotion, the implementation of a Budget Module that we had visualized for a long time and the virtualization of various services offered by the university to students. In terms of infrastructure, the completion of the buildings for Health Sciences and postgraduate studies are worth mentioning.
In sum, I firmly believe that there are few areas that have not improved in the last twelve months, and continuing to enumerate progress would be a lengthy task. Therefore, I want you to allow me to end by highlighting only two or three facts that refer to our way of coexistence and governance. Specifically, I highlight that in 2016 the institutionalization of a deans selection scheme was achieved through increasingly open and participatory processes, the formation of Area Committees in strict compliance with the regulations (including student and teacher representation) and effective application of a policy against sexual abuse.
All of this does not come from the air, but from an extraordinary collective effort. Therefore, it is time to acknowledge and congratulate everyone's work. As rector, I am proud to say that there are no idle bees in this hive, because we have a moral commitment ahead of us that can only be fulfilled through work and continuous effort. It is that work, sustained for 44 years, that has allowed us to get here, and it is that work that will make us achieve even greater goals in the future. With that end in mind, I ask the administration to face with a sense of purpose the 2017 POA Planning and Budget process in which we find ourselves, to close the 2013-2017 Strategic Plan with a flourish.
We face the challenge of developing an innovative curriculum, based on the development of competencies and more oriented to the development needs of the country; launch the first doctoral science programs at a Dominican university; to file new patent applications and move towards the transfer to the market and commercial exploitation of the patent already achieved. An equally important challenge is to take our laboratories to a new stage in the provision of services to society.
In 2017 we also expect the launch of a 360-degree evaluation system for managers (…) and a flexible benefits system (…); the development of the INTEC Busca Talento program, which will make it possible to move from a scheme based on primary relationships to give way to a modern system for detecting and attracting talent.
The end result of all this should be a renewed image and the sense of pride that the line of duty produces. As I have said, INTEC has reached maturity with a clear position in society and we have the obligation to preserve and increase this intangible heritage through our work. A few years ago, when we set ourselves the mission of being recognized, that was an aspirational statement, which seemed to be very distant. Today I have no doubts that we are very close to achieving it and I am truly happy to be able to witness this great moment in our institutional history.
Happy rest of the day and thank you very much for your attention.