La labor extensionista como vínculo entre las universidades de la provincia Villa Clara

Karel Llopiz Guerra

Extension work as a link between the universities of Villa Clara province

EDITORIAL

Extension work as a link between the universities of Villa Clara province

La labor extensionista como vínculo entre las universidades de la provincia Villa Clara

Karel Llopiz Guerra^1*

¹Universidad Central "Marta Abreu" de las Villas. Villa Clara. Cuba.

^*Author for correspondence. E-mail: kllopiz@uclv.cu

Submitted: 07/05/2019
Accepted:26/06/2019

It is a transcendent issue at the global level to guarantee the continuity of economic, social and human development, taking into account not only its foundation, but also implementing ways to improve it. The search for truth and the process of consolidating significant values in man are achieved through the creation, assimilation and dissemination of knowledge, which implies in itself research, teaching and university extension.⁽¹⁾

The Cuban university institutions harmonize with the living conditions that frame the 21st century, in which culture becomes one of the main drivers of social development, and at the same time, a potential danger in the hands of forces that generate neoliberal policies.⁽²⁾

After the revolutionary triumph of 1959, the real objective and subjective conditions of a radical university reform were created in Cuba, to place at the service of society the most advanced achievements of human creation in all branches of knowledge. It was applied in 1962, and among its objectives it defined the essential role of the university in raising the cultural level. In this context, university extension commissions begin to be formed in each higher education center in order to develop varied activities, both in their properties and in dissimilar sectors of the population.⁽³⁾

Cuban higher education centers are social institutions that have the function of maintaining and developing culture, and without being the only ones responsible for this work, they have a fundamental impact on these processes. In them, the future professionals responsible for contributing to protect and consolidate the values of society are formed, so they systematically develop a constant educational work aimed at encouraging young people in values that correspond to their social function once they have graduated.^(4,5)

Among the work objectives of the universities is to raise the cultural development of the university community and the population in general through sociocultural work, stimulating the dissemination of scientific and technological, artistic and literary culture, among others.

Since 1991, the Ministry of Higher Education (MES) has consolidated and defined the university extension as one of the main aspects of work to achieve qualitatively superior results in the academic management and cultural development of society, thus incorporating activities related to community work.⁽²⁾

The university extension is also a formative, dynamic, integrating, multifaceted process in the community and for the community, which is supported by training, training, stimulation, communication and assurance that allows this work to be more effective.

The eminently social nature of education and its relationship with the cultural preparation of people, and the necessary consideration of the environment in the professional preparation of teachers to attend quality education, requires to guide work in that direction with a view to solving concrete problems linked to social practice. Therefore, the extensionist conception adjoins and is linked to the curricular and investigative aspects, typifies the management of the educator and leads to the achievement of the profile that is proposed, which is necessary to achieve a more qualified professional, and therefore, ready to face the hard socio-educational tasks of contemporaneity.

The University of Medical Sciences of Villa Clara and the Central University "Marta Abreu" of Las Villas, as guiding centers for the training of professionals in the central region of Cuba, have conceived and systematized, for decades, the integration of different work dimensions, among the which highlights the curricular, extension and investigative actions, in which a group of factors that are intertwined in common objectives converge.

EDUMECENTRO, a journal of medical education in Villa Clara, from this issue and the next issue in October, socializes some scientific articles based on extension experiences. Investigations are published, in the form of original articles, that respond to studies of masters, doctorates, results of research projects and introduction of scientific results, linked to the scientific work of their authors, which are of interest to readers interested in the disclosure of knowledge that allows an integrative examination of the diverse functions of the university: teaching, research and university extension.

Due to the social nature of education, living needs related to the environment and the professional activity of the authors must be met, in order to raise their theoretical-methodological level and resolve, more effectively, the problems of professional pedagogical practice related to the participation of the university in the formation and development of an integral general culture.

The accumulated experience in the application of interuniversity policies has allowed to assimilate trends, strategies and educational projections that converge from both ministries, which has led to conceive and integrate the extension work as a strength in both institutions.

REFERENCIAS BIBLIOGRÁFICAS

1. Barrios Rangel SC. Nuevo perfil de la extensión universitaria en la Universidad de Los Andes para el siglo XXI. Visión Gerencial. 2017(2):243-60.

2. García Torres DS, Díaz Suárez R, Sánchez Hechavarría ME, Mendoza Ruíz M. Concepción de extensión universitaria desde las ciencias médicas en Santiago de Cuba. Humanidades Médicas [Internet]. 2018 [citado 18/02/2019];18(3):[aprox. 12 p.]. Disponible en: http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1727-81202018000300566

3. del Huerto Marimón ME. La extensión universitaria desde una perspectiva estratégica en la gestión integral de la universidad médica contemporánea. Educ Med Super [Internet]. 2012 [citado 12/02/2018];26 (4):[aprox. 10 p.]. Disponible en: http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?pid=S0864-21412012000400006&script=sci_arttext&tlng=en

4. Rodríguez Fernández MC, Cruz Rodríguez J. La necesaria relación intersectorial educación-salud en la lucha contra las drogodependencias. EDUMECENTRO [Internet]. 2015 [citado 10/02/2018];7(4):[aprox. 6 p.]. Disponible en: http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-28742015000400017

5. Alfonso Hidalgo A, Arias Gallardo AI, Navarro Piloto M. Labor de prevención antidroga en la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara. EDUMECENTRO [Internet]. 2015 [citado 25/02/2018];7(2):[aprox. 16 p.]. Disponible en: http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-28742015000200008

Declaration of interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Esta obra está bajo una licencia de Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional.