The University of Guyana is committed to integrating research into all levels of its curriculum. This was revealed by UG’s Vice Chancellor Professor Paloma Mohamed Martin during the opening ceremony of UG’s Institute for Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (UGIRIE) Second Exhibition of Innovations on Thursday.
Executive Director of UGIRIE, Professor Patsy Francis, called on the government to increase funding for research at UG, stressing the critical role research plays in Guyana’s rapid development.
“The government says we want more microbiological packages, information on ICT and different areas. We at UG will package it and make it more, now you just gotta give us the money,” Professor Francis stated.
Meanwhile, Professor Martin highlighted the importance of research across all programmes, referencing the establishment of seven research centres in the past five or six years, including the highly successful Centre for Early Childhood Education.
The Centre is focused on early childhood development, research on conditions like autism, and is the only internationally accredited institution of its kind in the Caribbean.
“The University of Guyana insists that all students both undergraduate and others, every single programme must have a research component,” Professor Martin said.
Adding: “One of the leading projects that we have that we are very proud of is the Centre for Early Childhood Education, which produces about two or three pieces of research every single quarter.”
UG offers a wide range of research related services that can be monetized according to the Vice Chancellor.
“In the upcoming years, we might have to rely very heavily on services that we can provide to help us fill any funding gaps that might arise and so we have labs that test for water, that test for soil, for concrete we do other things in research, we do psychometric evaluations, counseling and other types of research,” Professor Martin explained.
UG’s press has also published five new books within the last three years and Professor Martin said persons are also investing in applied research and creating prototypes for items that can be manufactured on a large scale.
The Vice Chancellor also noted the university’s online research hub, which lists all UG research from the past decade
“So if you want to know anything about Guyana and the region by UG researchers within the last 10 years or so, that resource is there and open to the public.
“There is so much that is happening in the country, at the university, in the region and in the world that research and innovation has to answer and has to fill those gaps and help us solve those problems,” Professor Martin stated.
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