Patrica Poonai is the new bursar

Ms. Holda Patricia Poonai, Guyanese by birth and a UG alumna, assumed duty as Bursar on Friday, May 2, 2014. She is the holder of the BSc in Accounting and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) certification. She is also an affiliate member of the Association. She credits her ten-year experience as a part-time accounting teacher to keeping her abreast with changes in accounting standards.The new Bursar recently served as finance manager at the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI). She brings to the job a wealth of experience and careful stewardship in finance management having served in various financial management capacities at NARI since 1994. . Poonai served at a time when “financial resources were limited but with stringent control of expenditure the Institute was able to achieve its objectives.”

Prior to working with NARI she worked as an Accounts Clerk III at the Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA).

Speaking about her new appointment Ms. Poonai said, “The job is indeed challenging and so far I am getting the full support of the Bursary staff and everyone with whom I have come into contact”. She further stated, “My priority at present is to work with staff to reduce the operational costs of the university. A system review will also be done with the aim of improving the overall financial and management accounting at the institution.”

The new Bursar is married to Mr. Chaman Lall Poonai and they have three sons.

The University welcomes Ms. Poonai, the first female to be appointed Bursar at the institution, and wishes her well in her new position.

Bringing university education to your home

The university will soon launch the Open/Distance learning initiative with offerings in four areas: BSc Mathematics and Physics, BS Environmental Management & Technology, BSc Criminology & Psychological Studies and BSc Computing and IT – Commuter Science pathway.

The programmes will be delivered through distance offerings for qualified persons who are constrained by distance from UG Campus and/or work and family obligations but have the desire to gain tertiary qualifications. Tutors will be available to registered students at Regional centers throughout the country.

For registration and further details visit the “Online Services” section on the university website: www.uog.edu.gy or call: 222-2097.

Turkeyen Library receives eight donation from benefactors

Guyanese born, Professor/CEO/Financial Consultant/Educator/Philanthropist, Dr. Shamir Andrew Ally, his wife, Dr. Maryann Renee Beebe Ally of North Carolina, U.S.A., recently made their eight donation of textbooks, CD-ROMs and videos to the University of Guyana Library. The donation covers a wide range of disciplines including Managerial Accounting, Management, Leadership, Languages, and Health. According to Dr. Ally, the items have an estimated value of G$1,605,600 (US $8,028).

Mr. and Mrs. Ally made their first donation to the University Library in 2006, and to date, the Library has benefitted from a total of 1,458 textbooks, CD-ROMs and videos with an estimated value of G$19,115,400 (US $95,577).

LAPARKAN Shipping, New York, was instrumental in shipping all of the donations to Guyana at reduced costs.

Dr. Shamir Andrew Ally, formerly of Herstelling and Public Road, Providence, East Bank Demerara, migrated to the United States of America in 1979 to further his education. He completed his BBA, MBA, and PhD Degrees in the U.S.A.

He is the President/Chief Executive Officer of his company, International Consulting Services in North Carolina. Dr. Maryann Renee Beebe Ally, M.B.A., is a Marketing Executive at a Global Pharmaceutical Company. Both are members of the Indian Trail Lions Club, District 31-E, North Carolina.

As the University celebrates its Golden Jubilee, the University wishes to thank “one of the library’s most outstanding and consistent donor and friend, who is a son of the soil dedicated to giving back to his country.”

Lecturers win award for poster presentation

Director of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Dr. Paulette Bynoe and Ms. Denise Simmons, lecturer, were winners at a Poster Presentation Session at the International Food Security Dialogue Conference held recently at the University of Alberta.

The UG team received the award for their “Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF) CARICOM project” research on the Use or Mis-Use of Pesticides: Analysis of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Farmers in the Caribbean. According to Leroy E. Phillip from McGill University, “the work was cited for its scientific content, clarity and impact of its message.”

The Dialogue on International Food Security 2014 was held under the theme: Enhancing Food Production, Gender Equity and Nutritional Security in a Changing World at the University of Alberta, Canada. The Dialogue saw the coming together of professionals from at least ten countries in Africa, four countries in Asia, three countries in Latin America, the United States and Canada.

According to Conference Chair, Brent Swallow, Professor, Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, University of Alberta; support for the Dialogue was the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF), funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Foreign Affairs Trade and Development Canada (DFATD). For the last 3-4 years, CIFSRF has been supporting applied research-for-development projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East. A new phase of CIFSRF will begin later in 2014.

Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry to offer fisheries science

The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry recently hosted the first partnership meeting on the PESCADO (Progress in Education for Sustainability and Development Opportunities for Aquaculture in the Caribbean) project funded by the European Union.

The PESCADO project is executed by the ISA University, Dominican Republic, as lead partner. The other partners are the University of Guyana (UG), the University of Stirling, UK, and IPI (Investment Professionals Inc), a management firm which will work with the universities to execute the project.

The purpose of this project is to create both a BSc at UG and a MSc at ISA in Fisheries Science. According to Professor Raphael Martinez from ISA University, “The project also aims to establish the foundation for a Virtual Institute of Aquaculture & Aquaponics (IAA) in the Caribbean region for fish farmers, producer groups and academia to integrate technical know-how with entrepreneurship.”

Dr Pat Francis, local coordinator and former Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, said that the university will benefit from the development of the curriculum for the offering of the bachelor’s degree in aquaculture by 2016, and from training in various aspects of aquaculture and fisheries studies. She further stated, “It is envisaged that UG’s faculty and students will also benefit from access to specialised laboratory equipment and joint MSc programmes at ISA.” The university will also be working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Guyana School of Agriculture on this project.

Another important element of the project, according to Dr Francis, “is the establishment of an incubator to provide technical support and assistance to young entrepreneurs in the field of aquaculture.”
Certificate in industrial engineering now available

The Faculty of Technology is inviting applications for the one year Certificate programme in

Industrial Engineering commencing in September 2014, which would be followed by a one year Diploma programme in Industrial Engineering commencing September 2015.

According to the Dean of the Faculty of Technology, Ms Elena Trim, “These part time programmes in Industrial Engineering are being introduced to provide formal training for technicians already working in industry, meet the needs of industry for technicians trained in both electrical and mechanical engineering and provide specialist training for certain industrial and engineering processes.”

The cost of tuition for the programme is $250,000 per year.

Online applications for this programme commenced on May 26 and will end at midnight on July 14, 2014. Please visit the university website: www.uog.edu.gy.
For further details please call the Faculty of Technology: 222-5491.