IN a major stride towards aligning higher education with the country’s burgeoning oil and gas industry, the University of Guyana (UG) has added 30 new programmes over the last four to five years, Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin, has revealed.
She emphasised that this expansion, which includes the establishment of two specialised institutes, underscores the university’s commitment to providing relevant and cutting-edge education tailored to the needs of the country’s evolving economic landscape.
During her recent appearance on the Energy Perspectives Podcast, Mohamed-Martin highlighted the pivotal role these new programmes and institutes play in preparing the next generation of professionals for the oil and gas sector, which has become a cornerstone of Guyana’s economy.
“In the last four to five years, we’ve added about 30 new programmes at the university and two institutes which are very specific to oil and gas,” she stated, emphasising the university’s strategic approach to meet the demands of an industry experiencing rapid growth.
Among the key additions are the Institute for Energy Diplomacy and the Institute for Marine and Riverine Ecologies and Economy (IMAREE). These institutes are not only intended to enhance the skill sets of students but also to contribute to broader industry-specific research, policy development, and strategic initiatives.

Providing insight on the IMAREE, the professor said: “This is the institute that will look at questions of port security, and how you manage ports, et cetera. Because, you know, a lot of our work in oil and gas is in the ultra-deep water. And that side of our marine studies at the university and on the maritime front of things, have been basically very, very small. So, we have scaled that up now.”

Mohamed-Martin had previously explained that the IMAREE will play a major role in efforts to address the labour crisis in the maritime and marine industries. Referencing recent surveys, she had said there is a need for between 2,000 and 6,000 workers.
She had also revealed UG’s ambitious goal of graduating 500 to 700 students in the next four years, aiming to address the existing disparity in the marine and maritime industries in an effort to support both environmental sustainability and economic growth.
The IMAREE began offering a range of programmes in the 2024-2025 academic year, including a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology, Port Management, Port Security, Marine Transportation, Marine Engineering, and Coastal, Riverine, and Ocean Management.

Additionally, the institution will provide a Post-Graduate Diploma and a Master Degree in Maritime Law, as well as both Bachelor and Master degrees in Marine Bio Pharma.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Energy Diplomacy aims to equip students with a deep understanding of the geopolitical, economic, and regulatory aspects of the energy sector.
Launched in 2021, this institute offers courses in the fields of Energy Markets, Oil and Gas Value Chain, Energy Transport and Shipping and Crude Oil Trading.
The courses cover not only a range of upstream, midstream, and downstream oil and gas activities but equip participants with wider energy training. “We have graduated hundreds of lawyers, hundreds of accountants, hundreds of people working in different fields but they did not have a specialisation in oil and gas,” the Vice-Chancellor said.

Furthermore, she mentioned that new programmes specifically designed for the oil and gas industry have been offered by existing faculties like the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (SEBI), the Faculty of Natural Sciences, and the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences. These include the Oil and Gas Monitoring Master degree and the Bachelor’s and Master’s in Supply Chain Management.
Mohamed-Martin shared that the majority of the work to expand the university’s curriculum began during the COVID-19 time and that the university moved quickly to respond to the country’s expanding oil and gas sector by developing specialised programmes to produce graduates who will steer Guyana’s energy future.