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October 2016 |
During his time at The University of the West Indies he has served in many capacities including Senior Lecturer, Head of Department (2009-2014), Deputy Dean of Distance and Outreach (2006-2009) and Acting Dean for Faculty of Social Sciences on many occasions during the 2012-2014 periods. Franklin, however, will be most known and remembered by many of his students as the strict lecturer for Introductory Statistics, Economic Statistics, Statistical Methods and Mathematical Methods at the Department of Economics. While his serious demeanour would frighten most new comers to his courses, it is this seriousness and intent of purpose that has been most appreciated by his students along with his compassionate nature, easy sense of humor and willingness to assist any student who wanted to learn. Martin Franklin has been instrumental in enforcing some academic and administrative processes to improve the rigour of the programme of Economics. For example, the introduction of the Mathematics Proficiency Test and Remedial Mathematics course to all BSc Economics students. Additionally, he has championed the networking of students of the department by successfully introducing internships for MSc Economics Students that would be used in lieu of Research Projects. Franklin also served on various committees and boards including but not limited to Public Service Commission, the National Carnival Commission and the Turtle Village Trust. He has also assisted in the design of the MSc in Leadership and Management programme and has served as Honorary Research Fellow of SALISES from 2011-2012 while being very active on Academic and Examination Boards of The UWI. Franklin has also served as journal referee for the West Indian Journal of Engineering, the Journal of Business, Finance Economics and Emerging Economies among others and serves as editor for the Journal of Mathematical Finance since 2011. He has published in areas such as international trade, education, health, ICTs and other areas associated with Caribbean economic development. In 2014, he co-authored a book: Informal Commercial Importers in CARICOM (2014) with Dr Roger Hosein which is one of the first books to examine the various dimensions of informal commercial importing from an aggregate CARICOM perspective given that the informal economy has become a persistent feature of the region's economic landscape. Some of these areas will be explored as possibilities for diversification in the Caribbean during this year’s conference. COTE 2016 will be held on 13 – 14 October at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus under the theme, Managing Development in a Volatile Economic Environment: Addressing Diversification Challenges. One of the thematic areas of the conference deals with Education and Human Resource Development, which resonates well with the persona of Martin Franklin.
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Martin Franklin is the honouree at this year’s Conference on the Economy hosted by the Department of Economics, UWI St Augustine where he has served as an educator for the past thirty-nine years.