The University of Guyana today officially begins its  2013/2014 academic year, following the ceremonial opening last  Friday in the George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT) at  its Turkeyen Campus.

President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), and UG alumni, Mr. Clinton Urling told students in a keynote address  that while UG faces a multitude of constraints, these ought not to affect their performance but rather should become their strengths.
Urling was at the time speaking to an audience of new and continuing students in a packed GWLT.
He stated that all students start the university at the same gate regardless of how many subjects they passed at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams or the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE).

IT’S UP TO YOU
According to the prominent businessman, the formula for success is hard work and  one has to work hard despite the challenges being faced in order to succeed. He added that it is essentially “up to you if you want to succeed.”
“You have to put in the time, you have to find the energy, you have to want to achieve success,” Urling emphasised.
He also challenged  the students to not just study but to get involved in extra-curricular activities such as sports, and the other societies and clubs available to students.
“Don’t just be academic students…It is okay to have fun, it is okay to engage in extra-curricular activities at the university, and I encourage you to get involved at that level,” he said.

DON’T SETTLE FOR MEDIOCRITY
Urling urged the students to challenge the university and its lecturers as he implored them to not settle for mediocrity, but to aim for the highest.
He also encouraged the students to think about entrepreneurship, citing examples from his own experiences and successes as an entrepreneur.
UG Vice Chancellor,  Professor Jacob Opadeyi thanked the students for applying to UG and emphasised that “we need you as much as you need us.”
He urged them to help build a better university while pointing out that  students have a responsibility to protect the image of the university. He also encouraged students to inform the administration of any issue so that it can be dealt with, rather than taking them to social networking sites, such as Facebook.
“If things are not going good, please tell us. If things are going good, tell others,” he said.
He further advised that the university has a tendency to treat students as adults, because they are. As such, students have the responsibility to do what is right for themselves.
“Anything you want to do is okay, but at the end of the day we give you what you deserve. If you deserve zero, we give you that with pride, if you deserve A, we give you an A with a salute” he asserted.
Opadeyi told the students that the four years spent at the university to achieve a degree are very critical. He urged them to work to ensure that they get “good degrees”, noting that there are various levels of degrees, such as a distinction, a credit and a pass.
However, he stated that while a good degree is “nice”, sound knowledge of the subject matter is important. He also encouraged the students to be confident, noting that confidence does not come by cramming but by knowing.
UG Registrar, Mr. Vincent Alexander said that the university is a knowledge creation and knowledge sharing institution, adding  that “learning is a handicap if you do not share your knowledge.”
However,  he told students that they are not expected to be merely “bookish” as  there are other aspects to UG other than academics.
“Indeed studying and research are core activities of the university but those activities have to be carried out in an atmosphere conducive to learning and research, and such an atmosphere has various aspects,” he said.
Therefore, Alexander continued, students ought to embrace extra-curricular activities such as sports and religious and other clubs.
“As we welcome you here today we say to you please be involved in all the university has to offer and please bring to the university community all that you have to offer,” he said.
Secretary of the UG Students’ Society, Mr. Adel Lilly noted that the UGSS, as well as the UG administration, is committed to the fundamental principle of academic freedom, equal opportunity and human dignity.
He further stated that the UGSS encourages and nurtures oneness, diversity, pluralism and uniqueness of individuals within the university, Guyana and the region. He stressed too that UG prohibits discrimination of any kind.
Lilly added that any individual who feels that they have experienced harassment or discrimination of any form should contact the UGSS or the Student Welfare Department.

“SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT”
In addition, he advised that the UGSS has launched a “Speak up and Speak out campaign”, which encourages students to speak out about anything that is not right.
Moreover, he called on the students to be leaders, noting that they are students of the most important academic institution in Guyana and  they  are the “changers” of the society.
Friday’s opening ceremony also marked the beginning of orientation activities which continue during this week and into next week in the  individual faculties. Each faculty has its scheduled orientation which would include tours and presentations by guest speakers.
In addition, there was an exhibition of extra-curricular activity options by various club/societies, such as sports teams and religious societies, among others, on the university tarmac on Friday.
Students were allowed to explore their options, ask questions and even sign up to participate in the activities that may have sparked their interest.
Giftland OfficeMax was also on the scene, in a kind gesture, to give discount cards to new and continuing students of the university.
Classes are scheduled to begin today at the university and students are invited to a series of presentations today on “Student tools for success”.
Among the presentations to be delivered by various persons are: “Becoming a UG student: Avoiding common pitfalls” by Dean of the School of Education and Humanities, Mr. Alim Hosein; “Student Governance and You” by UGSS Secretary, Mr. Adel Lilly; and “Fee payment and award of scholarships at UG” by Deputy Registrar, Dr. Theodosius Velloza.
Meanwhile, in an interview following the opening ceremony on Friday, VC Opadeyi assured the Guyana Chronicle that the university has adequate lecturers for a timely start to its courses.
He also noted that the concerns which some staff members had during last semester, had been sorted out. He said that this is evident as  the university was able to commence the academic year on time.
Some staff of the university had undertaken industrial action in June this year, owing to several concerns, including the late payment of salaries and the  non-payment of contributions to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Credit Unions, pension, insurance and health schemes.
When asked about grades, noting that some grades from the last semester which ended in May/June  this year are not available to students as yet, Opadeyi stated that some 95 percent of the grades are out and he is positive that the other five percent should be released this week.