Conference: College Hosts Caribbean Delegates
Twenty-five delegates from Caribbean colleges and universities convened at Bermuda College for the start of a 3-day conference, themed “Repositioning Tertiary Education: Meeting the Needs of Knowledge Economy”.
Dr. Angela Samuels Harris, outgoing President of The Association of Caribbean Tertiary Institutions and Principal of Montego Bay Community College in Jamaica, noted in her address to delegates, “… with our Caribbean nationals’ access to education spanning continents far beyond our climes, our institutions’ survival and relevance are predicated on our ability to tap into the newest trends, to identify and address needs of the working world, and to prepare individuals to use these opportunities to their advantage. The economic landscape of our region is constantly changing, and we must ensure that our graduates are ready to move us forward.”
President of Bermuda College, Dr. Duranda Greene was elected Second Vice President of the regional conference in its Annual General Meeting, and said she was honoured and humbled by the vote of confidence placed in her by her academic peers.
“Many of our peer institutions are facing the same economic challenges with budget cuts, and with population trends indicating that we will, of necessity, have to re-position how we view and provide tertiary education,” she said. “I look forward to working with my Caribbean colleagues in this new capacity and our partnering with and learning from one another.”
In the keynote address, Junior Minister of Education Leah Scott stated, that teachers and new teacher candidates must be equipped with 21st century knowledge and skills and learn how to integrate them into their classroom practice for institutions to realize the goal of successfully meeting the challenges of this century.
She said, “This is not a matter of teaching either academic or 21st century knowledge and skills in isolation. It’s about fusing the two, so that our children meet the demands of a global economy, and are able to engage in good citizenship and participate fully in a vibrant and civil society.”
Other topics central to the Conference theme include: “CARICOM Regional TVET Strategy for Workforce Development and Economic Competitiveness… Skills and Credentials the New Global Currency”, “International Benchmarking the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence [CCSLC]”, and a panel discussion exploring “Increasing Access to Tertiary Education through Prior Learning Assessment” with panellists, Dr. Duranda Greene; Mrs. Pandora Glasford, Training Manager of the Department of Workforce Development [Bermuda]; and Dr. Donna Powell Wilson, Executive Director, Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica.
Delegates include representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, the University of the West Indies, the University of Technology [Jamaica], the University of Guyana, and the Cultural Training Centre [Jamaica].
……….arent we in the Atlantic?
Why we fooling with the Islands to the South for anything?
Last time I checked there was no Atlantic Colleges and Universities conference that we can be associated with.
We can all learn from each other its just a matter of what we are willing to accept. Don’t be close minded.
U entertaining this terd?