New Cuban Technological Observatory of the Ministry of Energy and Mines

Matanzas, Sep 20.- "For an efficient mining" continue the sessions of the V International Congress of Mining and Metallurgy, MINEMETAL 2024 that takes place in the Plaza America Convention Center in Varadero.

One of the innovations of the event was the presentation of the new Cuban Technological Observatory of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, a scientific tool that will facilitate decision-making and contribute to the development of the national industry in the mining, geological and energy sectors.

At the opening, it transpired that this project was carried out through collaboration between the Research Centre for the Mining - Metallurgical Industry (CIPIMM), the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) and the Central University of Las Villas "Martha Abreu" (UCLV).

Its scope is directed to the analysis, monitoring and real-time communication of research and innovation results for the energy and mining sector, Cuban industry and all national and international society.

Engineer Mayté Mazorra, director of Science, Technology, Innovation and the Environment at the Ministry of Energy and Mines, stressed that "we manage to find a wealth of important topics and areas of knowledge that are covered by our strategic lines, making this observatory part of the tools used by our leaders to make decisions. It is a further step in the innovative scenario that the Ministry of Energy and Mines is experiencing today, where we are helping to consolidate the whole issue of science, technology management".

Since CIPIMM and its knowledge management group, this project of the Technological Observatory has been developed for several years by the priority of an information and research system for the evaluation and validation of scientific production.

"It has a repository where all the master’s theses, pre-degree and doctorates of the entire guild of the country’s geomineras will be stored," said Ismari Salgado Machin, principal specialist of the CIPIMM knowledge management group.

"It is an ecosystem of three applications. The main areas of research and development will be energy efficiency, sustainable mining and renewable energies. In the case of energy efficiency, it includes the optimization of energy systems, the improvement of the efficiency of electrical appliances and the implementation of energy saving solutions. Sustainable mining, for its part, is directed towards practices such as waste reduction, material recycling and the rehabilitation of mining areas. Finally, renewable energy limits the promotion of clean and sustainable energy use to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and minimize environmental impact".

University Alliance - Research Centre

The partnership with UCLV was vital for the establishment of the MINEM Technological Observatory. The experts from the Computer Science Research Centre of this higher education institution in the central part of the country mapped out the process of raising requirements to make an observatory where researchers and technologists could handle different sources of data and information flows.

The Professor and PhD at the Central University of Las Villas, Amed Leiva said that "a design was made with international database with scient metric studies, with geoportals, elements of artificial intelligence. This resulted in a different observatory, which allows for an integrated system with many data sources and links the observatory to the research issue".

Main impacts of the MINEM Technological Observatory.

Visualize science at different levels or subsystems, fostering opportunities for inter-institutional and international cooperation.

Better management in the construction of cooperative networks, science maps, research projects, which directly impacts on better management and levels of excellence.

Alert to any scientific or technological innovation that may create opportunities or threats.

Generates information relevant to the productive sector, particularly the business sector, which allows for foresight and decision-making.

Increases the visibility and prestige of the institutions involved, broadens dissemination and stimulates innovation, once it creates new products with added value and new sources of financing. (Text: Inés María Castro/ Cubadebate) (Abel Padrón Padilla/Cubadebate)