Focus on UG - June Edition

Annual summer programme off to a good start

In keeping with custom and practice, the University is offering the summer programme for 2008, during the period June 19-August 22. More than 600 students have registered for the 60 courses being offered.

The courses are those requested by students: who have one or not more than two courses to complete their academic profile to graduate in November this year; have failed a course in a previous semester and are seeking to regularise their programme of studies before the next academic year and those who are accelerating the completion of their studies.

While classes are being conducted on the Tain Campus for students in Berbice, classes for students at the Turkeyen Campus are, because of the asbestos removal exercise, being conducted at the following venues, Tutorial High School, Guyana School of Agriculture, Cummings Lodge Secondary, the Government Technical Institute and the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Workshop for student interns

The University has collaborated with a number of organisations to offer an internship programme for third-year degree and final-year diploma students from June to August. The Office of Resource Mobilisation and Planning hosted a workshop for prospective interns on May 28 in the Education Lecture Theatre. The aim of the workshop was to equip the interns with suitable skills and knowledge to launch their careers. The areas examined included: deportment, speech and body language, professional do’s and don’ts, effective time management, managing stress and conflict.

The workshop drew upon the expertise of Ms Joyce Sinclair, Consultant; Ms Jean Carroll, Public Service Ministry Training Division; Mr Daam Barker, Students’ Guidance and Counselling Officer; and Ms Caroline Walcott, Lecturer, Centre for Communication Studies, UG.

Staff appointment on FORENET project
Dr Paulette Bynoe, acting director of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, has been appointed a member of the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) of the Forestry Research Network for ACP Countries (FORENET) Project. The roles of the SAG are: to advise the steering committee on scientific matters with respect to the mobilisation of “seed funds” for the initiation of priority research activities, to support the Regional Focal Point Organisations with the conceptualisation of research programmes, the elaboration of specific research proposals and to provide scientific mentoring for research projects being implemented.

Renowned economist visits Turkeyen

Prof. Jay Mandle

The University had the distinct honour of hosting Professor Jay Mandle of Colgate University over the period Sunday, May 4 to Wednesday, May 7. A renowned first world economist, Prof. Mandle has shared a warm and enabling relationship with the University of Guyana over the years. During his tenure at Temple University, he was instrumental in advancing the cause of the UG staff development process by facilitating postgraduate training for several members of staff. During his brief stop over, Prof. Mandle held talks with the Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Economics and the Institute of Development Studies. He was accompanied by his wife, Professor Joan Mandle.

Asbestos removal: points to note

• A decision has been taken to remove asbestos from the fifteen (15) buildings on the Turkeyen campus.

• The Government of Guyana is undertaking this project while the Ministry of Education is the responsible Ministry.

• The asbestos removal process should commence on July 1.

• The University has undertaken to vacate the Campus and hand it over to the contractors on June 30.

• The University will continue some operations off campus during the period of asbestos removal.

• The exercise of asbestos removal is scheduled to last for two months and during this period the campus will be closed to unauthorised persons.

• During the period of asbestos removal no university staffer will be disadvantaged in terms of remuneration.

• Special security arrangements are being put in place for the campus and other locations where the University will be operating.

• Before reoccupying the Turkeyen campus, the University, through its technical team, will test the environment to ensure that the campus is sanitized

UG represented at Conference on the Caribbean
Dr Marlene Cox, Director, Office of Resource Mobilisation & Planning; Mr Tota Mangar, Deputy Vice-Chancellor; and Dr Rishee Thakur, Assistant Director, Berbice Campus, participated in the New York Conference on the Caribbean, from June 19 to 20 in New York. The Conference was hosted by the CARICOM Consular Corps in New York in collaboration with the CARICOM Caucus of Ambassadors in Washington and the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown.

Agriculture research up for review
The annual staff and students review conference of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry will be held from June 25 to 27 on the Turkeyen Campus. Thirty-five research papers are scheduled to be presented to the examining panel comprised of both on and off campus personnel.

Staff development
Dr Raymond Jagessar, lecturer in Chemistry at the Turkeyen Campus is the recipient of one-year TWAS Fellowship for Research and Advanced Training, tenable at the Department of Chemistry, University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago. The Fellowship is intended to “enhance the research capacity of promising scientists, helping them to foster linkages for further collaboration”. Dr Jagessar`s research topic is “Isolation and Structural Elucidation of Natural Products from Plants of the Guyanese Flora”.

Ms Winifred Mardenborough-Razack, lecturer in the Faculty of Health Sciences, has been accepted by St. George’s University to pursue an MSc in Public Health.

The University congratulates both Dr Jagessar and Ms Mardenborough-Razack and wishes them well.

Final Walter Rodney Chair lecture
The third and final lecture in the 2008 Walter Rodney Lecture Series will be held on Friday, July 18, at 17:00 h in the National Library Auditorium, Main Street, Georgetown. Walter Rodney Chair Professor Winston McGowan will speak on the topic ‘Modern Guyana: A Historical Interpretation, The P.P.P. Years, 1992 to present.’ The public is invited.

Sport organiser appointed
Mr Stevewright Benjamin assumed duty as Sports Organiser on May 2. Mr Benjamin, who holds a B. Soc. Sc. in Political Science, is a former teacher at the St. Stanislaus College where he was responsible for sports - cricket in particular. He is also a sports administrator for football.

The University welcomes Mr Benjamin and wishes him well during his tenure.