Northeastern to establish co-op programs in Cuba

Northeastern to establish co-op programs in Cuba
By Mina Corpuz GLOBE CORRESPONDENT MAY 13, 2016

As the United States and Cuba work to repair strained relations,
Northeastern University will collaborate with a Cuban foundation and
college to establish co-op programs in the country by 2017, school
officials said.

Students will have the chance to research marine science and the
environment at the nongovernmental organization called Fundación Antonio
Núñez Jiménez, or study at the University of Havana School of
Communications.

“It’s a significant new step that goes beyond the standard study abroad
by US universities,” said José Buscaglia, a Northeastern professor who
helped establish the partnerships. “It really opens the doors to really
substantial relations, people to people contacts, and cooperation to
develop a more open society in Cuba.”

Delegates from the school and foundation in Cuba met with officials from
Northeastern this week to sign agreements for the partnership, Buscaglia
said. The foundation program will start as early as spring 2017 and the
one at the communication school will begin in fall 2017, he said.

Students will spend a semester — about four months — living with a host
family and working in the private sector or on research projects.

For one of the programs, a team of students from different academic
areas will collaborate on a project at Zapata Swamp in a large mangrove
forest. At the School of Communications, students will study the media
and other areas such as government that encompasses the aspects of Cuban
society, Buscaglia said.

Buscaglia said a handful of students may sign up for the inaugural
co-op. The program has the potential to grow because of the desire to
study in Cuba and demand for people to work there, he said.

Mina Corpuz can be reached at . Follow her on
Twitter @mlcorpuz.

Source: Northeastern to establish co-op programs in Cuba – The Boston
Globe –
www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/05/13/northeastern-establish-programs-cuba/5oW3ztwCrbWfAQaU2NmNuL/story.html