Students of the University of Guyana Centre for Communication Studies (UGCCS) now have a laboratory to develop their skills in radio writing and production, while engaging the theoretical aspects of the medium, according to a press release from Director Dr. Paloma Mohammed-Martin.
The installation of radio studio facilities last December at the UGCCS was funded by the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). As part of the setting up process, five faculty and 25 students of the center received basic training in the use of the radio equipment and maintenance of the facility.
The installation and training sessions, conducted in December and February last, were conducted by former adjunct of the UGCCS and radio consultant Gordon Burnett. Burnett is a veteran radio engineer and CEO of Dreamworks Group based in Washington DC. He has worked as Chief of Engineering for Radio Free Asia, installing studios and conducting training all over the world.
Under its revised curriculum introduced in 2009, based on the  UNESCO Model Curriculum for Journalism Education, the centre’s course offerings now include increased emphases on practical media and communication training for its graduates. The UGCCS’s two main radio courses are Broadcast Reporting and Writing at the basic level for diploma students, and Advanced Broadcast Production for students in their final year of the degree programme. The establishment of radio studio facilities will therefore result in the annual hands-on training of approximately 150 students of the center who enroll in both the diploma and degree programmes each year.
Mohamed-Martin,  who wrote the grant and managed the project for the university, says that prior to the installation of the radio studio, the National Communications Network made their studios available to interns who needed to learn radio. However, this was limited to a few students each semester.
Isidro Fernandez-Aballi, UNESCO Advisor for Communication and Information in the Georgetown office of UNESCO, who directly oversaw the project, has noted that UNESCO is always willing to work with institutions of higher learning to improve journalism and journalism output, as these are considered cornerstones to strong societies.
The project has also received active support from the national UNESCO office in Guyana, through its Director, Inge Natoo.
In addition to the establishment of studio facilities and the training sessions that were conducted, two operations manuals governing studio protocols and maintenance and standard operational procedures now support the functions of the UGCCS Radio-Television studios. The manuals are also expected to function as future reference for students who will eventually create their own radio programmes for campus and external communities.  They will also ensure the longevity of the studio through the current management system set up at the CCS under Studios Manager, Nelsonia Budram Persaud.
Faculty member Carolyn Walcott, who teaches television and radio broadcasting at UG,   was the first voice recorded while testing the new system.