Update on Our Work in Puerto Rico

We have been partnering with the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, a land-grant institution interested in our work in agile strategy.  Given the challenges they face, the Lab is organizing a trip to provide some free training to a group of professionals selected by the University.  We are exploring whether the system Chancellor will be able to sponsor this training in San Juan.

Yesterday, we finally got through to our colleagues.  We reaffirmed our commitment to work with the University to become a gateway to our work in Latin America.

Here’s an update:

  • The University started classes two weeks ago, even though the facility sustain some significant damage.
  •  95% of the students were in class, which surprised the faculty because of all the difficulties in transportation and the fact that some students had received offers from universities on the mainland.
  • The University has electricity, and the cities in Puerto Rico are starting to function; the places still in crisis or outside the cities.
  •  The University has two major concerns at the moment:
    • Research equipment was damaged and will take a long time to replace given insurance and FEMA hassles.  the Science Trust, similar to the National Science Foundation but local to Puerto Rico, has stepped in and is offering some money for equipment and to try to keep researchers in Puerto Rico;
    •  Graduate student applications are way down. This reduction in graduate enrollment obviously has long-term implications for the University.