Much to the benefit of young people from across Georgetown, Linden and Berbice, the University of Guyana has initiated a 3-month training programme designed to train youth in the areas of Digital/Data Literacy, Data Management, Data Visualization, Data Integration and Big Data Analytics.
The programme, which kicked started last Saturday, is being done with the aid the Caribbean School of Data (CSOD).
The orientation ceremony for the first two cohorts, which comprise eighty students, was held virtually on March 5, and the training programme which began on March 6 will run until May 29, 2021.
The University, in a statement, explained that classes are being held virtually, once per week.
Lecturers, current students, and a few graduates of the Computer Science Department at the University of Guyana will deliver the programme completely in Guyana.
“The agreement between the University of Guyana and SlashRoots Foundation (SRFDN), entered into in 2019, stipulates that UG will train about 150 students in the areas of Digital/Data Literacy, Data Management, Data Visualization, Data Integration and Big Data Analytics,” the University explained.
It explained further that though the academic agreement was signed over a year ago, the commencement of the programme suffered some delays due to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic which required the original face to face format to be converted to online.
Among those present at the orientation ceremony last Saturday were: Professor Paloma Mohamed Martin, Vice-Chancellor XI, University of Guyana; Dr. Maurice McNaughton, Director for the Centre of Excellence and Innovation at the Mona School of Business & Management, UWI; Aurel Liddell, Head of the Computer Science Department at UG and Lecturers of the Computer Science Department and Co-organisers for the CSOD programme, Penelope DeFreitas and Juanelle Marks, among others.
In her remarks, Professor Mohamed Martin lauded the efforts of the regional partners and lecturers of the University of Guyana in making the programme a reality despite many challenges. She said the programme will provide much needed skills to the younger population.
“I definitely believe this programme has a tremendous lot to offer and as always my office is very committed to making sure that we can give you every support you need,” Professor Mohamed Martin said.
The Vice-Chancellor also reminded the students that there is a demand for such training and encouraged them to take advantage of the opportunity and keep developing themselves.
“So, to those persons who got the opportunity to come in and to be a part of the programme, you are lucky, you are privileged, you are blessed and therefore I really want to encourage you to do everything in your power to stay connected, to learn everything you can and to complete this programme,” the Vice Chancellor said.
Meanwhile, Dr McNaughton in his presentation acknowledges the pandemic brought with it but highlighted the important steps taken to ensure learning takes place.
“One of the things COVID has forced many of us, both society and individually, to sort of retreat into our homes or retreat into enclosed spaces, and one of the things we think is incredibly important for this kind of learning experiences is the idea of an online community. So we encourage students along with their facilitators to take advantage of the online platform to interact with each other and share their ideas,” he explained.
The organisers have expressed that once the students have completed their training, several of them are expected to be placed into jobs and internships, and on this basis, called on the private sector to lend support.
The training initiative, which also involves several other regional territories, seeks to increase employability and economic opportunities for at-risk youth across the Caribbean through digital literacy and data skills training. The project aims to train 1500 young men and women, ages 18-29 in digital and data-skills and help them to acquire new job competencies, essential for the emerging digital economy and the workplace. The project is funded by Google.org, Google’s philanthropy organization, and is executed by a Network of Regional Partners across the Caribbean through the CSOD’s unique blended learning model. The University of Guyana has delivered several community based digital skills programmes over the last 8 months as part of their citizen success goal outlined in its Blueprint 2040.
