PROJECTS THAT ADD VALUE TO THE REGION
CAHI Fellows Program
Interview with Prof. Roy Zuñiga
Roy Zuñiga has a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering with an emphasis on Operations Strategies and Systems from the University of Valladolid, Spain. He also completed doctoral studies in Business Administration at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.
Additionally, he has a Master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and Environmental Management from the University of Oregon in the United States. She graduated with honors from INCAE, where she completed a Master of Business Administration. She has worked for multiple companies in more than 40 countries and 4 continents, such as BASF, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, Coca Cola FEMSA, Pfizer, among many others.
How did you get involved with the CAHI Fellows Program?
Ray: It has been interesting, because I was a Business student, but I was involved in projects in the United States, England and Spain, which led me to learn about the health systems of those countries. I was attracted by the great variability, related to pathologies, the complexity of these systems, the synchronization problems. I realized that I could get to work on that, so when I returned to INCAE they gave me the opportunity to immerse myself in a hospital to identify everything that could be done to improve hospital processes.
From these experiences I have developed a path related to health systems, I have worked for the Costa Rican Social Security Fund, then in Paraguay I did something similar, year after year I have carried out successful projects and implementations in health systems in the region. . This is a field that we at INCAE feel very comfortable in approaching, due to the accumulated experience. We can see the contributions that we achieve, how the people who pass through our classrooms become agents of change in their countries.
You have been involved with the CAHI Fellows Program for several years. How have you seen the evolution of the groups?
Ray: Year after year I think that the group is the best, but the following year I have the same perception again. The truth is not that one group is better than another, but that they are all intense and committed. In perspective, in these 5 years, what changes in each group are the challenges they face. What CAHI does is radiate in the region, and it has been forming this network of CAHI Fellows projects, where each time there is more sophistication, which generates pressure on the new generations because there are already wonderful initiatives. The following generations must continue to exceed the level of the previous groups.
What is the learning that the groups achieve in your sessions?
Ray: I give a methodology focused on projects, and in projects I am not only interested in the objective, but also in the resource, the time, the processes, the activities. My task is to give you what you need to plan your project from a practical perspective and apply the concepts to your particular reality. I am very interested in how they are going to manage it, we prepare them for it and we follow up on them.
How do you connect with the CAHI Fellows Network?
Ray: Every time the commitment is greater. One feels closeness, one wants the projects to be a success, that at the end of this training cycle they arrive with a value proposal where they show the society of the region everything they have done thanks to CAHI support. Through INCAE we make sure that the academic part has a happy ending.
What is your vision for CAHI in the future?
Ray: CAHI is making a great change in the region, it has been demonstrated in these 6 years of permanence and commitment, one realizes why when one goes to a country and meets people related to the health sector they tell you that they know CAHI Fellows, or they ask you how to participate, how to implement their projects. So you realize that it is a catalyst for change in the region.