EscucharSAN JOSE - President José María Figueres took advantage of the visit of top Motorola officials to Costa Rica to propose to them two ways in which they can increase their investment in this country: establishing here the Latin American branch of Motorola University and establishing a unit for the development of software at the High Technology National Center (CENAT in Spanish).
The Costa Rican chief executive made the proposal during his address that was part of the presentation of the Motorola Award to Quality ``José Figueres-Ferrer'' at the CENAT.
The reactions to the proposal ranged from satisfaction on one side to caution by the Motorola officials, who said that the proposals have to be analyzed.
The company, which manufactures wireless telecommunication equipment and advanced electronic systems, has operated a plant in Costa Rica for 18 years.
Attending the presentation of the award were Motorola corporate vice president Dennis Sester; Motorola University president Bill Wiggenhorn; the corporate regional director for Central America Marielos Aldí; the manager in Costa Rica José Miguel Campos; the Minister of Education Eduardo Doryan; and the Vice Minister of Science and Technology Eduardo Sibaja.
In his address, President Figueres remarked the progress in education achieved by Costa Rica, the role Motorola plays in this Central American nation, and the establishment of the CENAT as the institution in charge of linking education to the industries of the sector. In that sense, he made two proposals to the visitors:
n That the CENAT be the Latin American branch of Motorola University, so that it can teach its courses there in facilities which are granted free of charge.
n That the CENAT become the venue of Motorola's Center of Development of Software in Latin America.
Caution
Asked about the proposals, Aldí said that the two possibilities have to be analyzed.
Regarding the software center, she said that the decision may be made in a month, while the issue of the Motorola University branch will depend mostly on a decision by the corporation's top officials.
On both ideas, the dean of the Costa Rican Institute of Technology, Alejandro Cruz, showed particular interest.
``It is important to explore the feasibility of both ideas. The valuable facilities of the CENAT must be taken full advantage of in order to multiply benefits and lower operation costs,'' Cruz said.
Award
Regarding the Motorola Award to Quality, President Figueres said that ``linking high technology to education creates a better environment for Costa Rica to compete with a high added value, because the regulations and trends of quality become part of training.''
Starting last year, Motorola began training teachers of technical or vocational schools so that they will instill the concepts of quality and customer satisfaction in their students, who will later become employees of high technology companies.
The award was created to stimulate the teachers who apply their knowledge to solve a problem at their respective school. This time it was awarded to the Mario Quirós Sasso Technical School, whose team won a trip to visit NASA facilities in the United States.
