–to push national development, says Ten-Pow
A CALL is out for greater collaboration among the University of Guyana (UG), the government and the private sector in light of the growing number of graduates entering the marketplace.
The call came late Saturday from Guyana’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Rudolph Michael Ten-Pow during an inspirational address to the largest ever batch or graduands the university has seen in recent years at the Sophia Exhibition Centre.
“This partnership is critical to ensuring that our premier institution is geared towards meeting the real needs of Guyana,” the career diplomat said, as he went on to stress the importance of keeping abreast with today’s ever-changing world.
One of the changes that Guyana has experienced of late is the discovery of oil off its shores by American oil giant, ExxonMobil, a discovery that has resulted in the creation of a new industry and new opportunities for the country’s budding professionals.
As such, the ambassador was moved to charge last night’s graduands to prepare themselves to adapt to a fast-changing society, as their ability to do so, and quickly, will determine their success in life.
In light of the latest developments taking place here in terms of oil and gas, Mr Ten-Pow believes that UG is one of the places that will play a key role in ensuring that young people in particular keep up with the expected changes to come Guyana’s way.
“UG is one of the many drivers of change in Guyana, because it contributes to the development of our human capacity; the people who will implement and manage the changes,” Ambassador Ten-Pow said.
He is also of the view that the partnership to which he referred earlier will result in making sure that the premier tertiary institution is geared towards meeting the “real needs” of Guyana.
Although the thinking might be right, Ten-Pow warned graduands that they should still be ever mindful of the many challenges facing our society such as climate change, inequality, and underdevelopment.
“The fact that you are choosing the path of higher education means that you have the tools to rise above those challenges,” he said, adding:
“They are the growing pains of a young country, but I never had any doubt about our ability to develop our people.”
Graduands were further encouraged to commit themselves to a life of learning and self-enhancement through studies and practical experience.
The ambassador was optimistic that the graduands have made a smart choice to acquire the skills and training to compete in today’s “knowledge economy.”
Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Dr Ivelaw Griffith echoed the ambassador’s sentiments as did Ten-Pow, but used his opportunity at the podium to highlight the large number of students who graduated.
Though there were two separate convocations, and on the same day for the first time in the institution’s history, the evening session at Sophia was still packed to capacity because, according to the VC, there were 603 students who were scheduled to graduate from the Faculty of Social Sciences; 402 from the Faculty of Education and Humanitarian Studies; and 381 from the Faculty of Health Sciences.
Those figures included students from not just Guyana, but also from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Jamaica, Grenada and St. Kitts and Nevis, among other countries.
