In Cuba, the newly-formed ‘National Commission for the Promotion of the International Year of Basic Sciences’ will strengthen the concept that basic sciences are inalienable parts of the South American country’s national culture.
On December 2, the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2022 as the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development.
The celebration has the purpose of highlighting and disseminating worldwide the vital role of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology, for the application of new research results that promote the development of each sector of economic and social life. of a nation.
No ‘applied science’ without science
Bernardo Houssay, the first Latin American to win a Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1947, once stated that there is no applied science without science to apply.
Other renowned scientists have defended the criterion that investing in basic sciences is equivalent to investing in knowledge that has repercussions throughout society and makes it possible to carry out applied science.
Commission for IYBSSD
In the specific case of our country, the Section of Natural and Exact Sciences of the Cuban Academy of Sciences (ACC), formed the National Commission for the Promotion of the International Year of Basic Sciences.
Consulted by Granma , Doctor of Science Luis Alberto Montero Cabrera, coordinator of the referred section and president of the Scientific Council of the University of Havana, stressed that the Commission intends to promote and strengthen the concept that basic sciences are an inalienable part of national culture and constitute the foundation and essential support of our advances in technology and innovation of the present and, above all, of the future.
He recalled that the design of the first Cuban computer in 1970 was based on the knowledge of basic sciences by its authors, who were university academics.
“Likewise, the development of the applications and the operating system of that jewel of Cuban technology of the time was based on the knowledge of numerical Mathematics.”
Efforts of basic sciences’ authors
As Dr. Luis Alberto Montero highlighted, Cuba’s successes in obtaining, industrial scaling and massive application of our vaccines against COVID-19, the design and updating of treatment protocols and the effective handling of the pandemic, could not have achieved without the solid training and performance of its authors in the basic sciences.
The knowledge achieved by national science throughout its history in basic research on the terrestrial, aquifer and marine environment of Cuba, marked the starting point for the implementation of all environmental policies implemented to date, he pointed out.
Diagnosing state of basic sciences
Professor Montero Cabrera asserted that the Commission plans to make a diagnosis of the current state of basic sciences in the country, propose actions to reverse the notable deterioration of human resources and infrastructure linked to these disciplines, and draw up a national action plan. , focused on achieving its permanent progress.
It will also stimulate among young students, mainly pre-university students, interest in the study of these careers, and communication strategies will be developed aimed at making the work of basic sciences much more visible, emphasizing doctoral and postgraduate training. the rigorous application of the scientific method in solving problems and the strategic importance of encouraging innovation.
This post was culled from Granma.
