The University of Guyana and the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the sharing of instrumentation and resources and to have staff and student exchanges and access to research and library. The signing took place at the IAST boardroom, University of Guyana Campus, Turkeyen.

In the interest of fostering collaboration and open access to instrumentation, the parties committed to guidelines which would allow staff from both institutions to access and utilise equipment housed and owned by the other partner.

Through the arrangement, the two institutions aim to avoid duplication and ensure maximum usage of equipment.

Director of the IAST, Professor Suresh Narine, speaking at the event, said that his agency and UG have been enjoying a very close and collaborative relationship for many years. He explained that while the IAST’s mandate has to do with applied research, the university is more involved with foundation research. He said that over the years, the IAST’s facilities have been significantly upgraded and many senior students of the university use the facilities of the IAST for research work.

“It has been a very consultative, inclusive process that is ongoing…We have been living this MOU before signing it,” said Narine.

Narine said that the IAST’s budget has grown significantly, from $30M in 2005, to $220M in 2011.

Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Lawrence Carrington, said that the university is very pleased to be a part of the partnership. He said that the future will demand a very careful use of resources. He expressed the hope that the arrangement becomes equal, since at present, the IAST is the institution with the upgraded laboratories. Carrington hopes that when UG’s labs are upgraded, the IAST can use them as much as UG uses the IAST’s labs.

Carrington said that one of the areas that the university is looking at, in terms of collaboration with IAST, is the Low Carbon Development Strategy(LCDS).
“Over the period of the last year, UG has discussed the kinds of projects necessary for the implementation of the LCDS, and we have about 17 to 20 projects…which we will be evaluating by a set of criteria to be finalised for funding. It is in that context that we will engage with IAST because some of the projects have immediate relationships with capacities that are present in the IAST,” said Carrington.