On 26 February 2025, representatives of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research paid an official visit to the University of Havana, the Republic of Cuba. The delegation met with the university’s leadership and researchers to discuss the prospects for the development of joint research projects and the issues of training young specialists. As a result of the visit, the parties renewed the General Cooperation Agreement aimed at expanding Cuba’s participation in JINR.

The Second International School on Nuclear Methods and Applied Research in Environmental, Material, and Life Sciences (NUMAR-2025), organized by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and the Agency for Nuclear Energy and Advanced Technologies (AENTA), took place in Havana from 24 to 27 February. One of the country’s leading universities invited the JINR representatives for the visit on the penultimate day of the school.

An important event was the signing of an updated General Cooperation Agreement between JINR and the University of Havana. The document, signed by the University’s Rector Miriam Nicado García and JINR Chief Scientific Secretary Sergey Nedelko, establishes the main strategic directions of joint work: the development of interdisciplinary research in life sciences, materials science, environmental research using modern nuclear technologies, and the creation of special academic mobility programmes for the training of young Cuban specialists. The parties expressed confidence that the new agreement will bring their scientific cooperation to a new level.

The event started with welcome speeches on behalf of the University of Havana and the Joint Institute. Vice-Rector for Research Maday Alonso del Rivero Antigua, Director of the Department of International Relations Silvia González Legarde, and Honorary Professors Carlos de Jesús Rodríguez Castellanos and Edwin Pedrero González represented the Havana University. They noted the significance of long-term cooperation with JINR, highlighting the Institute’s contribution to developing Cuban science and education. JINR Chief Scientific Secretary Sergey Nedelko greeted the participants on behalf of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, emphasising the strategic importance of strengthening partnership in innovative research and qualified personnel training not only with Cuba, but also with other Latin American countries.

In his speech, Professor Carlos de Jesús Rodríguez Castellanos, the first Cuban scientist to defend his doctoral dissertation at JINR, brought attention to the historical significance of the partnership with JINR and noted further cooperation prospects:

“I am one of the many people who learned a lot in Dubna, thus growing and developing not only professionally, but also culturally. We participated in world-class research, learned from great scientists, and felt the spirit of international fellowship. I am happy that today, after 50 years of Cuba’s membership in JINR, cooperation is gaining momentum again. In addition to its usual fields such as high energy and condensed matter physics, the Institute is increasingly focusing on interdisciplinary projects ranging from nanotechnology to molecular biology. I hope that the new generation of Cuban scientists will seize this unique opportunity of cooperating with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research”.

The second part of the visit included a scientific seminar on the key areas of JINR’s research. Presentations were delivered by the Institute’s leading specialists: Sergey Nedelko, Aleksander Bugay (LRB), Norbert Kucerka (FLNP), Ayagoz Baimukhanova (DLNP), Uliana Pinaeva (FLNR), and Alexander Uzhinsky (MLIT). After the talks, the academic leaders and specialists of the University of Havana discussed promising future cooperation areas with colleagues from Dubna.