SUNDAY 14 MAY, 2017 – UWI TODAY
7
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND THE HUMANITIES
In general, people try to avoid problems.
Not Professor
Patrick Hosein, in fact it’s the opposite. For Hosein,
Professor of Computer Science in the Department of
Computing and Information Technology at St. Augustine,
problems are where the magic resides. Problems are the
catalytic element for creative breakthroughs. He doesn’t
avoid problems, he hunts them.
“In Trinidad, our students, if you give them a problem,
they know how to solve it,” he says. “But when you go out
in industry the issue is not the solution, the issue is the
problem itself. How you take real world scenarios and
come up with a problem that you solve, to me that’s where
the innovation comes in.”
With a remarkable career among technology and
communicationsgiants suchasEricsson,BoseCorporation,
Bell Laboratories, AT&T and Huawei, Hosein has gained
renown far beyond our borders as a successful finder and
solver of problems. His latest challenge, one which he has
already been confronting with laser focus, is unlocking the
research and innovation potential in Trinidad and Tobago.
In other words, Professor Hosein is cultivating a new
generation of problem hunters.
“I am trying to help my students see opportunities and
take them,” he says in an afternoon interview at his office
in the Science and Technology Faculty.
A few days earlier, Hosein had given his first
professorial lecture at the Engineering Lecture Theatre.
Held on April 13, the topic was “Research, Innovation
and Education in STEM”, an area in which he is more
than well-versed. Apart from his work experience at the
big firms, he has five STEM degrees from MIT, has been
published in over 100 technical journal and conference
publications and holds 40 granted and 42 pending patents
in telecommunications and wireless technologies.
“I consider myself an electrical engineer interested
in solving mathematical type problems,” he says without
flourish or fanfare.
The professor looks youthful, is easygoing, and has the
aspect of someone who enjoys his work and is very good at
it. Unlike many in extremely technical or scientific fields,
he has the capacity to see the big picture. It was Professor
Hosein who first connected Trinidad and Tobago to the
Internet in the early 1990s and was involved in the early
phase of TSTT’s provision of Internet service to the nation.
Today he maintains his interest in the tech development
of T&T as the CEO of the Trinidad and Tobago Network
Information Centre (TTNIC), the body which manages
the .tt domain on the Web. He provides website hosting
and domain names free of charge for hundreds of schools
throughout the country.
As an educator with The UWI, Professor Hosein is
particularly interested in unearthing the potential for
research and innovation in his students.
“When I came back to Trinidad I wanted to find
students to do research with,” he says. “What I found was
my masters’ students weren’t really interested in research.”
Having spent years in the US in an industry supported
by a vibrant research and innovation culture, Hosein
recognised some powerful disincentives in the local
environment – factors like rigid and inflexible systems
at the tertiary level and the society in general, and a
conservative mindset that inhibits students from taking
the kind of risks that lead to creative breakthroughs.
“I see it in some of my students,” Hosein says. “They
can do a lot more than they think they can do. They are
afraid to go out on the ledge and take that risk.”
He has taken a two-pronged approach. On the
teaching side, the professor has developed a Master of
Science programme in Data Science, a high-demand field
in the international technology sector.
“We have companies like Google and Facebook doing
a lot of work in data analytics and our local companies
need to start doing the same,” he said. “They are scooping
up all the top data scientists.”
The Data Science programme will also contain
elements of Operations Research, another promising area.
In addition, the MSc in Computer Science, which he also
developed, has a specialisation in mobile computing, a
component of wireless technology, the third area of strong
demand in the technology sector.
Hosein’s other approach for the development of
scholarship and innovation is TTLAB, an informal body
external to UWI that is a hub for students and professionals
with an interest in research and publication. Founded
in 2015, TTLAB’s focus is helping students to publish in
reputable conferences and journals. In 2016 they had 16
publications and one patent granted, an impressive record
that has already created international opportunities for
local researchers.
Although publication is still a major focus, in 2017
TTLAB has expanded its activities to working with local
industry for the development of predominantly data
analytics products.
“The main reason is that we need to have some kind
of funding mechanism,” Hosein says. Funding for TTLAB
fellowships and travel to conferences presently comes from
TTNIC.
Wizard of theWires, andWireless
Professor Hosein turns his focus on the next generation of innovators
B Y J O E L H E N R Y
Joel Henry is a freelance writer and editor.
The response from local industry has been
encouraging; several companies have approached
them, including Massy Technologies, Sagicor, and Digi-
Data Systems. TTLAB is also working on a project in
collaboration with the Ministry of National Security. It has
even been doing work for The UWI.
Developing products for local industries and society
is not necessarily the same as conducting research that
can be published internationally. Professor Hosein is well
aware of the difference: “Doing research that is good for
the country may not be publishable and vice versa. It is a
balancing act but one we can achieve.”
In trying to meet his obligations as a relatively new
UWI professor, a family man and a consultant for some of
the leading communications and technology firms, Hosein
has had to deal with a difficult balancing act himself.
“Coming back to Trinidad is a bit of a sacrifice,”
he acknowledges, “not only because I have to give up
opportunities (in the US) but also because my family is still
there. I see my family six weeks of the year because that is
the time the University allots.”
However, he is hoping that the University can
implement a solution that will allow for greater flexibility, a
move that will not only help him but many other returning
scholars that can make a substantial contribution to
teaching and research.
In general he is optimistic about what can be achieved
in research and innovation:
“It will take time. But I know the (Campus Principal)
Professor Brian Copeland is aware of what needs to be
done and is trying to make changes. I think UWI has a
good future if directed properly.”
Professor Patrick Hosein
