Colleges in Cuba, US build partnerships as tensions ease

As the United States and Cuba mend ties, colleges in both countries are forming partnerships that once were heavily restricted.

Only months after the US eased travel restrictions, several colleges have struck agreements with Cuban schools to create exchange programs for students and faculty. More US colleges are planning study trips to Cuba, and both sides are exploring research projects.

"I think there's going to be an explosion in all of those kinds of collaborations," said Mauro Guillen, director of the Lauder Institute for Management and International Studies at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

At Auburn University in Alabama, the College of Agriculture agreed to partner with the Agrarian University of Havana under a new five-year exchange agreement. The University of the District of Columbia and others also signed deals with Cuban schools.

Leaders at Florida International University are making long-term plans to open at least one campus in Cuba.

Under previous travel rules, some colleges had gained permission for academic trips to Cuba, but college officials said the process was riddled with bureaucratic barriers. Even those who went through the lengthy application process often were denied.

But the US eased those rules this year. Tourism is still forbidden, but the new rules make it easier to travel for educational purposes.

Those changes have stirred a "gold rush mentality" to form new academic ties, said Bruce Magid, dean of the Brandeis International Business School in Waltham, Massachusetts.

"I think it's going to be significantly easier to plan trips," said Magid, who has led several visits to Cuba in recent years.

The wave of academic interest in Cuba covers a wide range of fields, from architecture to agriculture. But business schools in particular have been quick to build ties with the island, both to study its evolving economy and to explore it as a potential business frontier if the US lifts its trade embargo.

"A lot of my students, they want to go to Cuba not just because they can learn about this fascinating place, but they also see themselves potentially in the very near future doing business over there," Guillen said.

For many US colleges, Cuba also represents a largely untapped pool of future students.

"Cuba has the highest educational standards in all of Latin America," Guillen said. "They have a relatively well-educated population and it would be wonderful to attract those students to the United States in big numbers."