A group of scientific collectives from several provinces across the country will receive the 2025 National Technology Innovation Award this Thursday in Havana. This distinction has been granted since 1999 by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment (Citma).

The institution's Department of Institutional Communication reported that the honorees include research teams from various centers, universities, entities, and corporate groups. According to the official guidelines, this recognition promotes scientific, technological, and organizational achievements that enhance innovative capacity. The goal is to develop products, services, and processes that are either entirely new or significantly improved.

The award also considers the scope of implementation and the specific impacts these innovations have on the economic, social, and environmental sectors.

Two days prior to the ceremony, Citma will celebrate the 32nd anniversary of its founding tomorrow, April 21. The ministry was established in 1994 following the promulgation of Decree-Law No. 147, which reorganized the Agencies of the Central State Administration.

The ministry was formed through the integration of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba—an institution with over 30 years of history and roots in the Academy of Medical, Physical, and Natural Sciences of Havana, founded in 1861—along with the Executive Secretariat for Nuclear Affairs, the National Commission for Environmental Protection and Rational Use of Natural Resources, and the Governing Commission of the Sierra Maestra Great National Park.

The position of the first minister was held by Dr. Rosa Elena Simeón Negrín (1943–2004), a prominent Cuban scientist, politician, and environmentalist. One of her most notable achievements was leading the fight against the introduction and spread of African swine fever. This serious infection resulted in two major epidemics, in 1971 and 1980, which caused substantial losses to the nation's swine population and severe economic damage to rural communities.