UG considers niche campuses to enhance delivery of programmes
─ says Vice-Chancellor Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin
DPI, Guyana, Thursday, June 11, 2020
Newly appointed Vice-Chancellor Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin has announced that the establishment of niche campuses are being considered as the University of Guyana deliberates how its programmes are delivered to students.
“We are sitting down and looking at the country [in terms of] what the country is likely to be doing in the next couple of years, what we want our people to be able to achieve, where those people are going to be located, and how the university is going to help to achieve that,” the Vice-Chancellor told DPI during a recent Zoom interview.
Newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin
According to the Vice-Chancellor, UG has examined numerous studies and projections and therefore the institution has attractive options to consider.
Providing insight, the Vice-Chancellor noted while the country has a maritime school that produces careers in oil and gas, UG has no maritime-focused programme to offer much-needed degrees.
As such, Professor Mohamed-Martin held that the university is examining proposals for the programme and its prospective location. In this regard, she cited Berbice as an appropriate area due to high levels of oil and gas activity offshore of the county.
Likewise, the Vice-Chancellor suggested a UG school for geology and mines would be best situated in Linden – a mining township that leads other mining regions.
These considerations before the university take into account climate change, the green economy, migration, Guyana’s internal relationships, the global dynamic, energy, etc.
“We are looking at partnerships that are strategic, that are niched and that are targeted at providing quick but strategic wins in the medium term,” the Vice-Chancellor continued.
Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin was appointed to Vice-Chancellor on Tuesday by Chancellor Edward Green. Since then, the Vice-Chancellor has stated that the University of Guyana is preparing to release a blueprint to guide the next 20 years of development.
The Vice Chancellor’s predecessor was Professor Ivelaw Griffith, whose tenure ended in 2019.