Representatives of the national and provincial governments, as well as the Iberoamerican University Foundation (FUNIBER), inaugurate the construction works of the Universidad de La Romana (University of La Romana) (UNIROMANA).
The Dominican Republic has celebrated the inaugural ceremony —”breaking first ground”— of the construction of UNIROMANA, promoted in the Caribbean country by FUNIBER and the Universidad Europea del Atlántico (European University of the Atlantic) (UNEATLANTICO). The ceremony was led by the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader; the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (MESCYT), Dr. Franklin García Fermín; the governor of the province of La Romana, Jacqueline Fernández; the president of FUNIBER, PhD and Engineer, Santos Gracia Villar; and the president of the Fundación Campus La Romana (La Romana Campus Foundation), Massiel Castro.
During the celebration, Dominican authorities highlighted the importance of the launch of UNIROMANA. Minister García Fermín stated that the institution “will have a positive impact on the academic, economic, and social growth of the entire eastern part of the country.” Inaddition, the MESCYT Minister emphasized the joint work of FUNIBER and UNEATLANTICO to develop an Ibero-American vision that promotes the mobility of students, professors, and researchers, especially through double degree programs that link the old and the new continent.
For her part, the provincial governor thanked FUNIBER for believing in La Romana for this project: “UNIROMANA is a reality, this will create a change in our youth,” she concluded.
Thus, an infrastructure is initiated that, according to the president of FUNIBER, will have 4 floors, 23 classrooms, 14 teachers’ rooms, 11 laboratories, 23 meeting rooms, 2 computer rooms, as well as an auditorium, library, and production control area, among other facilities with the highest quality standards and equipped with optimal tools for learning. The construction project is directed by Juan Carlos Gutiérrez Díaz-Velarde, professor of Projects at UNEATLANTICO, who was also present at the ceremony.
In this sense, the attendees were pleased that, through UNIROMANA, the Dominican education system will benefit from a university network that has demonstrated the spirit and capacity to develop a successful model and a consolidated technological infrastructure in America, Europe, and Africa; in addition to having consolidated educational resources and a diversified platform of professionals around the world.
A new institutional recognition on the highest level
The presidential participation in the ceremony of UNIROMANA is a new milestone in the reiterated international recognition of FUNIBER’s work. In this sense, the President of the Republic of Angola, João Lourenço, inaugurated in 2021 the Universidade Internacional do Cuanza (International University of Cuanza) (UNIC), promoted by FUNIBER and UNEATLANTICO in that African country.
Likewise, last February, during their state visit to Angola, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain attended a presentation of UNIC and the inauguration of an exhibition with two collections of the Spanish genius Joan Miró, belonging to the joint Cultural Work of FUNIBER and UNEATLANTICO. Two other exhibitions of this Cultural Work, this time in Canada, have attracted the presence of the presidents of the Spanish Congress and Senate, Meritxell Batet and Ander Gil. The Ibero-American Intergovernmental System has also supported FUNIBER’s work by inviting it to participate, as a special guest, in the recent XXVIII Ibero-American Summit that brought together Heads of State and Government in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, which has been an outstanding recognition of the educational, cultural, social, and scientific work of the Foundation, especially in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries.
