SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. RELEVANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Scientific research is an indicator of the quality of the processes in the university environment, so it must be increased by virtue of the results of the work carried out by teachers, researchers, and students. The increase in scientific production must also be accompanied by an increase in the standards of quality and relevance demanded by the modern society in which we live. The following paper proposes an analysis of the elements that influence the relevance of scientific, technological and innovation research carried out in Higher Education Institutions and their performance in the face of the changes that this same development has generated. The proposed analysis is based on the modeling of the causal relationships between the proposed indicators by means of fuzzy cognitive maps and the subsequent centrality analysis. The analysis made it possible to determine the main factors for Higher Education Institutions to be able to carry out serious, relevant, and useful scientific research for the country's development, so that the scientific production created will be able to train professionals with creativity, willing to innovate and with the capacity to adapt.