Create projects to implement in the Caribbean

By: Neylin Calderón

The Directorate of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is one of the recently approved technical areas of the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast (RACCAN), to foster spaces for dialogue of knowledge and doing from creativity and innovation for the empowerment of youth and the different institutions that require the implementation of vital processes for the strengthening of regional autonomy.

This area contributes to the consolidation of the processes that the Intercultural Community University implements, such is the case that in the city of Bilwi, there is a Center for Intercultural Community Innovation, guided by the Coordinator of Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the URACCAN Bilwi Campus, Heydi Forbes.

Contributing to teaching-learning processes from innovation

URACCAN over these 25 years of educational career has managed to intensify the processes of continuous training by creating spaces where the university community strengthens their skills and presents new ideas of intercultural exchanges and that contribute to the good life of the peoples of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua.

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Area of the URACCAN, have trained young people with talents to undertake to create possible solutions to social problems, according to Dr. Enrique Cordón, vice-chancellor of the Bilwi Campus, "the center of innovation is the space that allows us to develop our talents, our ideas and different methods of how we can identify problems but also solve problems for the good of the costly society" Stressed.

For his part, Master Victor Zúñiga, director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Area, stressed that each entrepreneurial project is built under an educational system articulated with the institutions, he also recalled that throughout this 25-year walk of the URACCAN, he has committed himself to peoples through intercultural community processes "we are clear, first of all that innovation is not only for transnationals also in the peoples , in communities there is a lot of innovation... by 2030 education is going to change that means they will be focused on innovation processes, training professionals will be strongly focused on skills."

Social articulation

Among the great achievements that the Intercultural Community University has had through the Innovation Center is the formation of partnerships with institutions, this has allowed to create a model of articulation that focuses on achieving significant changes in the coastal society, for Professor Snayder Brautigan, pedagogical advisor of the Ministry of Education in Bilwi, each presentation made by the students of URACCAN and BICU solve the problems of indigenous peoples , further emphasized that URACCAN has been making progress in improving the quality and relevance of higher education.

In this regard, the teacher Tessia Torres regional delegate of the Ministry of Education in Bilwi, stated that through the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center the work of young people are being projected and is allowing an openness of strengthening for the contribution of the capacities of youth that contributes to creating innovative processes where human talents can be developed and thus contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the region.

Innovative fruits

URACCAN through its Innovation Center "Slilma" in Bilwi has trained young people with different thoughts but also with productive ideas in improving the quality of life of the Coastal peoples, from this area have been able to implement training courses where a group of students presented their final ideas with solutions to challenges posed during the 60 hours of study , which as a final fruit on Saturday, July 6, the second season of open innovation was terminated.

That is why the institutions have been involved in the innovative projects created by URACCAN students and are being implemented in the social areas with the aim of solving the problems that burden the people of Puerto Cabezas, in the first season an awareness campaign was presented for the management and distribution of garbage, a proposal that is now implementing the mayor of Puerto Cabezas.

Likewise, the Ministry of Health has taken up the idea of creating a technological application where medical personnel away from Bilwi have easy access to information, another innovative idea created by URACCAN students and that was presented in the first season of Open Innovation that Slilma made.

It should also be noted that the Ministry of Education will start with the implementation of the campaign "Matricúte is already" in order to get teachers to appropriate the use of the MINED website, "at the end of July in the EPI we will start with the first strategy that is proposed in the campaign", said Tessia Torres , regional delegate of the Mined-Bilwi.