How the Dominican Republic Overcame Educational Challenges of the Pandemic

How the Dominican Republic Overcame Educational Challenges of the Pandemic with guests María Waleska Álvarez from EDUCA and Eladio Jimenez from UNICEF

This episode will discuss the Dominican Republic's innovations in education, specifically focusing on three initiatives that were implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first initiative is the virtual training program for teachers and technical-pedagogical personnel that aims to provide the necessary elements for remote teaching. The second initiative is the Multi-platform Educational Content infrastructure, which provides students and teachers with access to educational resources through various digital platforms. The third initiative is the Presidential Project for Educational Excellence, which uses the methodologies of Theory U and Design Thinking to develop an inventive educational management project to improve student learning outcomes. The episode will cover the successes, challenges, and impact of these innovative programs on the Dominican educational system.

Readings and Resources: Innovations in education in the Dominican Republic

Episode Guests

María Waleska Álvarez is Executive President of NAP del Caribe and President of the board of directors of EDUCA, which is the leading private-sector think tank in education in the Dominican Republic and one of the most influential institutions in the education policy debate in the country. María Waleska is also a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of AMCHAMDR and member of the board of directors of Adofintech. In 2019, due to her leadership at an early age, she was recognized by the UK Government as part of the International Leaders program, becoming one of the 300 leaders worldwide to be part of this program. Due to her experience and expertise in digital transformation and technology, she actively participated in the negotiation process of the World Summit on the Information and Knowledge Society of the United Nations and the International Telecommunication Union.

Dr. Eladio Jiménez, Digital Education Specialist for UNICEF, is an education expert with over 20 years of experience in the sector with a special focus on the intersection of learning and technology integration. Currently serving as digital education specialist for UNICEF in the Dominican Republic, he currently leads the development and implementation of the digital education agenda at UNICEF DR. Previous to his role in UNICEF, Eladio dedicated his time to pre-service and in-service teachers’ professional development and to research focused mainly in the use of technology to bridge STEM learning at elementary school grades. Other areas of research have included MOOCS and teachers’ tech integration skills. Eladio holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, a masters in technology, learning and education and is a doctoral candidate in the same discipline.