THE University of Guyana (UG) has been able to benefit from cash, scholarships and pledges totalling over $14.5M at the conclusion of its maiden Education Resource Ambassadors Conference.In a statement on Tuesday, UG said the three-day conference, held under the theme “Dreaming Resources, Doing Resources”, commenced on June 25 at the Guyana Marriott Hotel. The programme included visits to the Tain and Turkeyen campuses, as well as plenary and breakout sessions at the Marriott Hotel, where presentations were made by a mix of overseas and locally-based Guyanese alumni and friends of the university.

“The conference helped stakeholders to identify immediate short- and long-term contributions, and the realities facing the institution,” the statement said.
This initiative, spearheaded by Professor Ivelaw Griffith, 10th Vice Chancellor of UG, was aimed at offering some key domestic and diaspora stakeholders a first-hand view of some of the challenges facing UG; which include, but are not limited to, institutional, infrastructural, and technology systems, finance and human resources.

The statement said that 45 high-level Guyanese in education, medicine, media and industry from across the diaspora joined approximately 60 local participants in the ground-breaking event, and this forum saw a “groundswell of appreciation” for the challenges the national university faces in the production of quality graduates to support the nation’s development.

The overseas-based Guyanese hailed from Barbados, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States of America (USA).
Apart from providing tangible support to the country’s premier tertiary institution, the statement said, participants called on the Government to provide emergency funding for the university.

“Apart from the money raised, several important initiatives emerged from the two-day exercise, including the adoption of a resolution which called upon the Government to provide emergency funding to arrest any further deterioration of the university.”

The statement said the conference also sought to highlight the importance of identifying tangible ways for various parties to resource the university, such as providing technical support by way of policy, programme and protocol development to strengthen the governance and accountability systems at the university.

Moreover, it addressed matters of plant, equipment and faculties’ development; academic and administrative staff development; student support and development, and institutional partnerships.

But beyond this, the institution’s administration noted that this level of fund-raising is expected to continue, with several local and international initiatives being part of the strategic resourcing for the university.

In acknowledging the resounding success of the initiative, Professor Ivelaw Griffith expressed the view that a renaissance of the nation’s university has begun.

“We are happy that this was achieved through embracing both the challenges and the various strengths we have in Guyana and at the university. From here, moving forward, it must be ‘I for UG, You for UG, We all for UG!’” he said.

As part of the renaissance, the Vice Chancellor envisages re-kindling dormant partnerships and pursuing new ones. In light of this, two agreements were signed with the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST): one renewing an existing partnership and the other establishing a new partnership in housing for foreign visiting lecturers and scholars.

In addition, the title of Education Resource Ambassador was conferred on each conference delegate, with an instrument of appointment signed by the Vice-Chancellor and bearing the university’s seal.

The administration is of the belief that this first conference facilitated in those stakeholders the cultivation of a sense of collective ownership in the welfare of UG, since it demonstrated the willingness of persons to contribute to the restoration of the institution’s academic credibility and financial stability.

During the concluding session of the conference, Professor Griffith also announced that a follow-up conference will be held in about a year’s time, to coincide with his installation as vice-chancellor and principal.