With the participation of the First Lady of the Republic of Panama and a panel of experts who discussed the “Key ideas for the development of Latin American human talent in STEM skills”, the event was held to inaugurate the headquarters of Harrisburg University for Latin America.
This educational institution of North American origin is considered the best STEM in the United States, according to Corporate LiveWire. Starting now, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU) will offer its master’s degrees in Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, and Project Management to provide the tools and opportunities students need to fully develop their skills and help build confidence and competence necessary to enter their professional fields and thus make a positive difference in society.
Also present during the event were the highest authorities of the university, Mark Singel, Chairman of the Board of Trustees; Eric Darr, president of HU and Kevin Huggins, rector of Harrisburg University Latin America (HULATAM), who expressed their satisfaction with the materialization of the support plan that the university has for the development of Panama and the Latin American region.
In this sense, Harrisburg University´s president, Eric Darr commented that “Harrisburg University is looking forward to partnering with governments and employers across Latin America to educate science, technology and analytics professionals who will lead business growth, develop new intellectual property and improve lives across the region. We will work hard to make our students successful as they gain hands-on experience with the latest technologies. Several initial areas of research, including advanced agriculture and health care have been identified through early conversations. And we expect to expand our programs and research as we get to better know the workforce needs and improvement opportunities.”
For her part, the First Lady of the Republic of Panama, Yazmin de Cortizo, announced the STEM vision under which the Office of the First Lady has been working: “As Ambassador of STEM education for the Americas, I am excited to know that Panama continues to take important steps in the training of young people under this pedagogical model and that now, with the establishment of the best STEM university in the United States in our country, they will be able to continue expanding their knowledge and opting for careers that open the doors to new and better job opportunities,” said the First Lady.
Development of human talent: the key to advancing in STEM skills
With a panel of experts made up of Gabrielle Britton, researcher at the Institute of Scientific Research and High Technology Service (Indicasat); Doriana Hun, general manager of Chevron Panama and President of AmCham, and Oris Sanjur, deputy director of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), discussed the need to improve human resources in STEM skills, both in the public sector and in the private, so that Latin America moves towards true development.
Practical learning that allows human talent to get involved in special research projects, carry out carefully selected internships to work in the various fields of specialization, contact with enriching experiences in the STEM field and joint work with government organizations and companies, are some of the the key ideas that the experts addressed in their dissertation, which concluded that there are many opportunities for the region if we prepare ourselves to find solutions to real-world challenges in a collaborative way.
Priorities in STEM preparation
The STEM approach has allowed Harrisburg University to generate important alliances and conversations around the world through science, analytics, data, project management, cybersecurity and innovation. In the United States, the university works with companies such as Accenture, Deloitte, KPMG, IBM, Unisys, Amazon Web Services, Cisco, ePlus, Microsoft, among others.
In Panama, “for more than a year, we have been projecting public-private alliances, with organizations such as: Panamcham; Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama; Senacyt, Indicasat, Institute of Agricultural Innovation of Panama; Panamanian Chamber of Information Technologies, Innovation and Telecommunications; Smithsonian, IFARHU, the office of the First Lady; and there are ongoing processes with other organizations/entities”, commented the rector of HULatam, Kevin Huggins.
As explained by the rector, Harrisburg University brings to the region, in a first stage, three master’s degrees that respond to the needs that have been identified in this relationship process. Classes are be taught in a hybrid format of online and face-to-face sessions. For the face-to-face sessions the students attends the City of Knowledge campus where they meet the faculty member who will come from the United States.
Getting a scholarship at HULATAM is easy. All students accepted to this location will automatically be considered when applying for this benefit online at https://www.harrisburgu.edu/apply-at-hu/. Scholarships are available to Latin American students who enroll at the Panama campus.
About HULATAM
The HU Panama location will be nestled in the City of Knowledge, Panama, a center of education, research, and development. The site will offer Latin American students the same cutting-edge technology and resources available at the highly regarded Harrisburg University campus in Pennsylvania, USA. More information is found online at https://www.harrisburgu.edu/hulatam/
ABOUT HARRISBURG UNIVERSITY
Accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Harrisburg University is a private nonprofit university offering bachelor and graduate degree programs in science, technology, and math fields. For more information on the University’s affordable demand-driven undergraduate and graduate programs, call 717-901-5146 or email, Connect@HarrisburgU.edu. Follow on Twitter (@HarrisburgU) and Facebook (Facebook.com/HarrisburgU).
