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Rector%20del%20INTEC%20resalta%20necesidad%20de%20flexibilidad%20y%20pertinencia%20en%20las%20carreras%20academicas-f59c8b02 Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo - INTEC Rector highlights the need for flexibility and relevance in academic careers

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Publication date:

25 October 2024

INTEC Rector highlights the need for flexibility and relevance in academic careers


During his remarks at the beginning of the Curricular Reflection Day, he emphasized that “education must be dynamic, formative and oriented towards the development of learning capacity.”

SANTO DOMINGO. – During the Curriculum reflection day of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), the rector Julio Sánchez Maríñez, highlighted the need for a curricular reform that responds to current challenges and allows students to adapt to a world in constant transformation.

In delivering the keynote speech at the event that brought together deans, coordinators and teachers from the areas of Engineering, Health Sciences, Economics and Business, Basic and Environmental Sciences, and Social Sciences and Humanities, Sánchez Maríñez presented a series of principles and reflections that will guide the future process of curricular reform of INTEC's courses.

The rector stressed the importance of curricular flexibility as a key element in the reform. He stated that study programs must be flexible enough to allow students to adapt their learning to the demands of the labor market and to their own interests and talents. “Education must be dynamic, formative and oriented toward the development of learning capacity,” he said.

The First Curricular Reflection Day marks the beginning of work aimed at a review of all the programs offered by INTEC, with the aim of ensuring their relevance to the needs of the labor sector. The university has a long history of curricular review processes dating back to its origins.

Regarding teaching methodology, Sánchez Maríñez highlighted the need to move towards an inverted teaching model, known as flip learning in English, in which the student is the active protagonist of his or her learning, as well as the Learning Factory programs of the Engineering and Social Medicine Area of ​​the Health Sciences Area.

Studying the literature of INTEC's origins, the rector pointed out the importance of linking the curriculum to the social reality of the country. “We don't want astronauts in terms of thinking; we want people committed to the social reality of their country. Who know how a Tesla is made, but who also know how to solve mobility and traffic problems in the Dominican Republic,” said Sánchez Maríñez.

Another key point of his speech was his emphasis on the need to promote “lifelong learning,” another of the visionary principles established by the founders of INTEC, in which he recognized the need to prepare students for a world in which learning does not end with obtaining a degree.

Throughout his speech, Sánchez Maríñez highlighted five fundamental principles that should guide the curricular reform process at INTEC that has just begun. Among them, he mentioned that it should be “centered on learning,” in which the student must be responsible for his or her own learning; “selectivity of applicants” by ensuring that the students who enter have the necessary conditions to make the most of their education. Likewise, he mentioned “Continuous updating of references,” “Production by students” and “Collegial evaluation” of students and teachers with a more collaborative, and less individualistic approach.

The future of higher education

In delivering the lecture “The future of higher education in changing times” as the second part of the event’s program, Dr. Otto Granados, former president of the board of directors of the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI), highlighted that, although important progress has been made in Latin America in terms of coverage and access to Higher Education, there are still significant challenges in terms of quality and relevance.

Granados mentioned that one of the main challenges is the disconnect between the skills that employers demand and the training that universities provide. “The future of employment or entrepreneurship will be shaped more by skills and competencies than by degrees,” said Granados.

During his presentation, Granados also warned about the growing skills gap in more complex economies as the demand for specialized talent increases, generating high competition for human capital. “74% of employers globally say they cannot find the talent they need; in Latin America, 99%,” he said, and urged universities to be agents of change and align their curricular structures to meet the demands of the modern labor market.

Curriculum Reflection Day

In a panel moderated by Luisa Taveras, director of the Academic Development Division, and integrated by Altagracia López and Leandra Tapia, former rector and vice-rector of Academic Affairs of INTEC, respectively, they presented their experiences and perspectives on the curricular reforms implemented over the years at INTEC.

In his reflections, López mentioned the importance of involving the business sector in the development of academic curricula. “In addition to teachers and students, we must involve businessmen because they can feed not only the design stage, but also the next stage, which is fundamental, which is development. Because we can make a very nice curriculum design document and it can be approved by the Academic Council and the Board of Regents, but have a very poor execution in practice,” he said.

Leandra Tapia spoke about the evolution of INTEC's curricular reforms and mentioned that one of the great innovations was the inclusion of cross-cutting themes in the curriculum, such as creativity, critical thinking, entrepreneurship and internationalization. “The curriculum defined working fundamentally with the student as the center, which was comprehensive training. Naturally, this was understood as a process in which the goal was to enrich, strengthen and develop the potential and dimensions of that human being, the student, as a whole,” explained Tapia.

During the activity, work tables were developed in which the participants of the Conference worked on specific topics in view of the future curricular reform of INTEC courses. Table #1, moderated by Susell Gómez, and #2, moderated by Dalul Ordehi, worked on the topic of “General Studies”. Table #3, moderated by Nilenys Nina and #4, moderated by Ingrid González, addressed the topic “Flexibility and Curricular Adaptation”. Tables #5 and #6 focused on “Graduation Profiles and Competencies”, moderated by teachers Lelys Canalda and Aranzazu Toribio. Tables #7 and #8 worked on “Design of curricula”, with Jeannette Chaljub and Deylsen Mariano as the leaders. Meanwhile, tables #9 and #10, moderated by Luis Toirac and Luis Rodríguez, focused on “Links with the productive sector”.