In November 1995, the Support Committee, the Vice-Chancellor and the Rector met to develop the 1996 plan of activities, which included as new activities the opening of cores in Rosita and Bonanza and also the offer of a gender chair. More teachers were also expected to be recruited according to student demand.

In 1996 URACCAN was included in the Law on autonomy of higher education and institutionality was strengthened with the approval of the Statutes of the Association and the definition of lines of action for subsequent work. These were basically framed in the consolidation of the following areas:

  • Academic Secretariat: curriculum, training and training of teaching staff, improvement of mechanisms for recruiting, registering and monitoring students, mainly to fellows.

• Administrative-financial: the assembly of the accounting system, definition of wage policies, advances in infrastructure and improvement of mechanisms for the implementation, monitoring and monitoring of projects and programmes were carried out.

• Improved organizational structure, academic life and community participation.

In January of that year the rectory appointed Professor Fernando Espinoza in Rosita and Professor José Antonio Mairena as core coordinators, who had experience in the field of education and were members of the Pro-URACCAN Association. Also in order to open the nuclei and determine where the place would be for operation, a tour of the municipalities of Rosita and Bonanza is carried out by the vice-rector and on behalf of the rector Dr. Guillermo McLean.

The cores begin operating in March 1996. The core of Rosita at the Instituto Hermanos Alvarado, inaugurated with the modality of general studies with the subjects of Basic Mathematics I, Basic Spanish I, History of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua I and Natural Resources of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast with a tuition of 55 students attended by two teachers of Rosita: Licdas. Nicolasa Córdoba and Verónica Valdivia, the doctor in social service Evenor Jiménez, and by Bonanza: Licda. Teresa Pérez, selected by Professor Fernando Espinoza.

In Bonanza at the Instituto Nacional Mildred Abaunza, with the year of general studies Sabatina modality four subjects were developed, and were facilitated by: Mr. José Antonio Mairena in the Spanish area; Licda. Maritza Bustillo Chang in Basic Mathematics; Licda. Martha Lagos, History of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua and Licda. Martha Ramirez in the Natural Resources area of Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast. All and all originating in the municipality of Bonanza.

The nuclei were directly served by the vice-chancellor of the Campus, to follow up on academic activities. Recalling the early years of the cores in Rosita and Bonanza, the teaching staff who are now veterans remember with emotion and with some pride, the long hours of travel on impassable roads in military trucks turned into passenger vehicles just by installing some wooden benches in the body.

The roads are currently not good, as there are no paved roads on the Caribbean Coast, but at least bridges have been built and maintenance has been given. But in 1995 and beyond 2005, "glues" such as La Potranca were famous, where for days cargo vehicles and passengers remained "glued" in the mud, until it stopped raining and the road dried up enough to get out and continue the journey. What prompted this group of teachers to leave the comfort of their homes and embark on the ordy journey every weekend? What passion made them face obstacles? When they make these and many other reflections end up reaffirming the will to contribute to a more equitable society, then the difficulties of the past are seen simply as beautiful moments of humanity that have already paid off, the girls and boys who now perform successfully in state and private entities.

In response to multiple requests from civil society, Primary and Secondary Education teachers, after a situational analysis of URACCAN with the accompaniment of Horizont 3000, established a nucleus in Waslala in 2002 under the direction of Mr. Leonel Urbina. In other conditions, the mobilization of teachers to Waslala, now by buses, was repeated on a road of walkable terrace, but with the same passion and dedication.

The extension was born after the execution of the project of professionalization of teachers in Waslala that aimed to improve the pedagogical capacities of the teachers of the municipality; it also supported the opening of a university extension of the URACCAN Siuna Campus, which would open up the possibilities and prospects of professionalization to the population. Thanks to this project, the establishment of the university extension of URACCAN Recinto Las Minas was achieved in 2003, resulting in a great interest of young graduates of the secondary school in having a higher level of education and this demand allowed the opening of new careers throughout the project.

Bismarck Lee Natural Laboratory