The Victoria de Girón Institute of Basic and Preclinical Sciences celebrated yesterday the 60th anniversary of its founding by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, a date that marks the beginning of a day of celebrations that will last until October 21.

The institution was inaugurated on October 17, 1962 with the purpose of training highly qualified physicians and stomatologists, becoming one of the flagship schools of revolutionary medicine and the leading center in the field.

The institute was a pioneer in the exercise of internationalism, since it was from there that the first mission to Algeria left in 1963, made up of professors.

In 2007, it was established as the Faculty of Medical Sciences, thus expanding its mission and integral vision in the training of health sector workers.

During these six decades, around 100,000 Cubans and students from 91 countries have graduated, which evidences the internationalist vocation of the institution and the humanist dimension of the revolutionary process, said Dr. Jannette Rodríguez González, dean of the Institute.

In recent statements to the press, she said that the Institute currently has an enrollment of more than 3,900 young people and a faculty of 924 professors.

Its classrooms teach medical students in the fields of Basic and Pre-Clinical Sciences, Nursing, Health Technology and Stomatology, and offer valuable contributions in the technical training of nurses and technologists.

For its high patrimonial and architectural values and in recognition of its history of ethics, humanism and solidarity, the building was declared a National Monument in 2014.