PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS

Communication Management in [Cuban] Universities

As institutions, universities require communication to materialize the processes that constitute their raison d’etre. But this relationship is resized as they are entities whose meaning and purpose is linked to the formation and qualification of human beings, to the construction and socialization of knowledge, so that communication then, as a transversal vector present in the functional processes of any institution, becomes an essential starting point for this particular type of organization.
For Cuban universities, the transformations inspired by the process of institutionalization of the country enrich the participation of students, teachers and workers in social life and become an opportunity to achieve unity between the diverse, the registration of identity, the development and extension of knowledge, scientific culture and the application of ethics; these challenges imply the improvement of communication strategies in these institutions, and the management of communicative processes from the action of all the subjects that make up the university community.

Dr. Marianela Dávila Lorenzo, Ph.D.,University of Cienfuegos
Dr. Dávila Lorenzo is currently a researcher in the National Project “Academic training in integral management of historical heritage for local development social actors and stakeholders” from where she has directed a significant number of undergraduate and postgraduate studies. She has been recognized on several occasions by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) and other organizations. Dr. Dávila Lorenzo is the master’s degree in Communication Sciences coordinator for the University of Cienfuegos. She has a Ph.D. in Social Communication Sciences.

Regulations for International Collaboration in Cuba

This workshop will provide participants with a background in the Cuban regulatory processes and existing norms for academic international programs. Participants will walk away with a Cuban understanding of design, execution, monitoring and evaluation of research and innovation projects and collaboration.

Dr. Víctor Millo Carmenate, Ph.D., University of Cienfuegos
Dr. Millo Carmenate is the Director of International Relations for the University of Cienfuegos. He was a visiting professor at Universidad Metropolitana (UMET) in Ecuador where he was also senior advisor to the Sucre Mission in Venezuela. Dr. Millo Carmenate holds a Ph.D. in Technical Sciences and received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from José Antonio Echeverría Higher Polytechnic Institute (CUJAE).

The Comprehensive Management of Cultural, Historic and Natural Heritage for Sustainable Local Development

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Dr. Odalys Medina Hernández, Ph.D.
Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences
University of Cienfuegos

Dr. Esther Hernandez Moreno, Ph.D.
University of Cienfuegos

Salvador David Soler Marchán, MA
University of Cienfuegos

Inclusive Education: Everyone’s Right to Quality Education

The course proposes to reflect on the theoretical, methodological and practical foundations that support inclusive education as content for activity in undergraduate studies and continuation of education professionals.

Dr. Xiomara Garcia Navarro, Ph.D.
Dr. Garcia Navarro is Vice-Rector for Academic and Professional Development for the University of Cienfuegos, Cuba. She holds several committee chairs including the National Commission for Special Education Studies, the National Academic Committee of the Doctorate in Education Sciences (CEDDES), and the World Council of University Academics (COMAU). Dr. Garcia Navarro is a professor and holds her PhD. In the Pedagogical Sciences.

Dr. Vania del Carmen Guirado, Ph.D.
Dr. del Carmen Guirado is President of the National Commission of Special Education Studies in Cuba. She is a member of the National Commission of Scientific Degree of the Republic of Cuba. Dr. del Carmen is an expert of Cuba’s National Accreditation Board and holds memberships in the Association of Pedagogues of Cuba (Ciego de Ávila Branch), the Cuban Society of Psychology, Cuban Society of Mathematics and Computing, Ibero-American Network of Pedagogy, Network of Researchers of Science and Technology and Network of Educators DIM (Didactics, Innovation and Multimedia). She is a professor at the University of Ciego de Ávila, a doctor in Pedagogical Sciences and a specialist in Speech Therapy.

Educational Innovation: A Challenge in Local Development

The course presents socio-pedagogical proposals aimed at promoting, from the initiative of teachers and institutions, educational innovation and, therefore, its impact on the training of stakeholders that promote local development in our countries.

Dr. Bárbara Bermúdez Monteagudo, Ph.D.
University of Cienfuegos

Advances in Neurodevelopmental Research

The course contributes to the knowledge of the main neuropsychological domains involved and the variables that have a greater influence on the neurodevelopment process of children.

Dr. Manuel Fernández Alcántara , Ph.D., University of Granada, Spain
Dr. Fernández Alcántara is an Assistant Professor and Doctor of the Department of Health Psychology of the University of Alicante, Spain. He holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Granada. Dr. Fernández Alcántara is the Coordinator of the Master’s program in Active Aging and Health. He is a member of the CTS-436 Research Group “Psychosocial and cross-cultural aspects of health and disease.”

Best Practices in the Implementation of Energy Management Systems according to ISO 50000

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Dr. Mario Alvarez Guerra Plasencia, Ph.D., et. al.
University of Cienfuegos

Plant Nutrition Alternatives

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Olimpia Nilda Rajadel Acosta, MS
University of Cienfuegos

Álvaro Calzada Díaz de Villegas, MS
University of Cienfuegos

Participatory Management of Protect Areas

This course aims to provide theoretical and methodological tools for the socio-environmental conception of management and management plans in protected areas. It deepens the reflection on the social-conservation problem in protected areas from sociological conceptions, while valuing the need to integrate sociological analysis into the study of environmental problems, as well as the discovery of meanings in the various relationships established between society and the environment, assuming a social vision of conservation processes, in a way that favors the real participation of the communities in the management of these natural spaces. Among the main contents to be discussed are: The interaction between society and nature in contemporary sociological thought. Environmental sociology. The sociological approach to community and community participation. Legal Framework for the Management of Protected Areas in Cuba, as well as practical examples of participatory management in Cuba.

Dr. Yoanelys Mirabal Pérez, Ph.D.
University of Cienfuegos

Certification in Foreign Languages Trends and International Statistics An Approach to the TOEFL-iBT International Tests in Cuba

This course proposes an approach to the administration of the international TOEFL-iBT tests designed by ETS to measure language proficiency in academic contexts. The course presents the characteristics and modalities of the exam in the Cuban environment, showing not only the possibility of taking an exam of this category in the island but also the qualification, the preparation of the personnel dedicated to its administration and the commitment of the University of Cienfuegos in this work.

Dr. Eduardo Pérez Novo
Director, Language Center
University of Cienfuegos

Onelio Castillo Barrios, MA
University of Cienfuegos

Sorani Marin, MA
Associate Director, TOEFL and GRE
Educational Testing Service

Learning Strategies and the Development of Speaking Skills

This workshops aims to deepen language learning strategies and their value in the development of speaking skills.

Ioani García Fernández, MA
Specialist, Academic International Relations
University of Cienfuegos

Dr. Pedro Bernal Díaz, Ph.D.
Universidad Central “Marta Abreu” de Las Villa

Dr. Claudia Harsh
Director, Language Center
University of Bremen, Germany

Active Methodologies in Physical Culture: Challenges and Opportunities

Objectives: (1) Reflect on the methodological possibilities that allow teaching innovation in different curricular contexts. (2) Discuss different means of implementing active methodologies, challenges and opportunities.

Course contents: (1) Active methodologies in Higher Education. (2) Active methodologies in Physical Education according to educational level. (3) Work experience through projects and inverted class.

Dr. Carlos Javier Lopez Gutierrez
University of Granada, Spain

Long Term Formation of Sports Training

Objectives: (1) Share praxiological foundations, on disciplines of cooperation/opposition, necessary for the training of the athlete in the long term. (2) Assess the process of initiation and sports identification, during the training of the athlete in the long term.

Course contents: (1)Praxiological foundations in the training of the athlete in the long term, for sports disciplines of cooperation / opposition. (2) Stage of Sports Initiation in the training of the athlete in the long term. (3) Sports identification in the training of the athlete in the long term.

Dr. Richart Felipe Almaguer López
The Salomé Ureña Superior Institute for Teacher Training, Dominican Republic

Sociocultural Studies: Challenges and Perspectives in the Face of the 2030 Agenda

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Dr. Roberto Yasiel García Dueñas, Ph.D.
University of Cienfuegos

Dr. Fernando Agüero Contreras, Ph.D.
University of Cienfuegos

Pentecostalism in Cuba and Cienfuegos: Aspects of Its History and Evolution

COURSE CONTEXT: Within the great diversity of forms in which religion manifests itself, Protestantism, specifically in Cuba, constitutes a religious aspect that has brought with it many variations and has brought together a large number of people. In this sense, Caridad Massón, expresses:

The Cuban religious field exhibits a diversity that is very difficult to overlook. But there is no doubt that Protestantism, through all its denominational heterogeneity, today constitutes one of the three great religious ensembles of the country. In recent years, the growth of Pentecostalism and other Protestant movements has led numerical estimates to show a superiority of Protestantism, seen as a whole, over Catholicism, in the religious demography of Cuba. (Massón, 2004:7)

The growth of Pentecostalism has increasingly become the subject of social research. Determining its causes, characteristics and derivations in society, culture and the individual, as well as the specific transformations that occur within the Protestant field, motivate the interest of a large number of studies and publications in the different regional (Latin American) and international contexts and in the contemporary Cuban context. Mainly from the 90s of the last century, religion shows a boom in terms of its social activity and the increase in the parishioners. The studies carried out in the Cienfuegos field on the Pentecostal denomination were aimed at describing the role of this from the popular religiosity or focused on the religious community itself. In this sense, in Cienfuegos, from the sociological perspective, several studies have been carried out, although it is necessary to continue to achieve a comprehensive view of this religious aspect.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE: Pentecostalism in the Cuban religious picture and in the historical region of Cienfuegos.

Specific objectives: (1) To argue the elements that allow the study of Pentecostalism from philosophical and sociological perspectives; (2) Characterize the historical region of Cienfuegos that enabled the arrival, reception and development of Pentecostalism; (3) Identify the particularities assumed by Pentecostalism in the different localities of the historical region of Cienfuegos.

COURSE STRUCTURE

The course is organized into 2 topics corresponding to the organization in the Virtual Classroom, it can be found in https://eventos.ucf.edu.cu

Theme 1: Pentecostalism in the Cuban religious picture. Its insertion and characteristics in the Cuban context.

Theme 2: The particularities assumed by Pentecostalism in the historical region of Cienfuegos, from its study in different localities.

The course aims to promote responsibility and critical sense in the analysis of a particular phenomenon of social life, such as the religious phenomenon. Participation of students and socialization activities will be focused primarily in the virtual spaces of forums and chatrooms.

C. Nereyda Moya Padilla
University of Cienfuegos

Yinely Ruiz Portela, MA
University of Cienfuegos

Adisbey Ibáñez Hernández, MA
University of Cienfuegos

Didactics and Curriculum in the Transformation of Educational Processes

The pre-event course, Didactics and the Curriculum in the Transformation of Educational Processes aims to analyze the relationship between didactics and curriculum that occurs at different levels in the university environment for the transformation of educational processes. The main themes address didactics, the didactic problems present for the transformation of educational processes, and teaching-learning strategies for the transformation of educational processes. To facilitate familiarization with the content, this course was conceived so that learning can be carried out independently. See the course platform to download content after registering.

Dr. Katia Sánchez González, Ph.D.
University of Cienfuegos

The Professionalization of the University Teacher in the Face of Challenges to Higher Education

Improvement in the quality of the teaching-learning process in Higher Education is closely linked achieving relevance and a university institution’s proactive and effective response to Society.

This, among other challenges, necessitates participation of teacher leadership in the academic management of the university. In line with the increasing complexity of their functions, very well-prepared, competent university teachers are required, That is why the professionalization of teachers must have a higher connotation at this time. The course “Professionalization of university teachers in the face of the challenges of higher education”, has as a general objective: The professionalization of the university teacher from a theoretical methodological and practical point of view in the face of higher education challenges.

The topics to be addressed are: 1) Higher education. Challenges and trends; 2) The professionalization of the university teacher.

Dr. Raúl Alpízar Fernández, Ph.D.
University of Cienfuegos