SUNDAY 6TH DECEMBER, 2015 – UWI TODAY
5
CAMPUS NEWS
The UWI St. Augustine Campus
and leading global
information and communications technology (ICT) solutions
provider, Huawei Technologies signed a 3-year MOU on
November 16, for two key areas of collaboration between
the organizations: the establishment of joint research and
development cooperative programmes and support with
teaching, research, the cultural and educational exchange of
faculty and students, and staff development.
“This is an important and exciting moment for The UWI
St. Augustine Campus, as we embark on signing an agreement
with one of the world’s largest technology companies, Huawei,”
said Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, Professor
Clement Sankat. Recognizing that this kind of partnership with
the private sector is absolutely important if The UWI is going
to advance the quality, relevance and impact of its training
to the benefit of the students it serves, the Campus Principal
expressed that he is pleased that his institution can be part of
this technological advancement.
Acknowledging the important global role and reputation
that Huawei has established, Professor Sankat also congratulated
the organization for demonstrating their commitment to
making their technology internationally available to foster the
advancement of education, as a key part of their Corporate
Strategy. Huawei annually invests between 10% to 15% of
its revenue into research and development, and delivers
cost-effective and innovative solutions to allow schools and
universities to engage students in a connected world. The
company also builds the bridges to cross the digital divide,
equalize educational opportunities, and help improve teaching
quality. Most recently, Latin America Enterprise Chief
Technology Officer, Pedro Gomez Martinez, delivered the
Feature Address at the launch of the campus’ 2015 Research
Expo, one of the key event’s that commemorated the Campus’
55th Anniversary.
In his reply, Huawei’s General Manager for Trinidad
and Tobago, Jason Deng, thanked The UWI St. Augustine for
establishing this collaborative effort with his company. He
used the opportunity to reiterate that Huawei, ranked 228 on
the Global Fortune 500 listing, operates as a global enterprise,
operating in over 170 countries, and employing over 170,000
global employees, with local hires accounting for 70%.
“Huawei has been operating in Trinidad and Tobago for
the past nine years. This means that we are fully committed
to T&T and we will invest in developing programmes to help
bridge the digital divide and build needed ICT infrastructure.
We want to share our expertise, share our knowledge of
technology here in Trinidad and Tobago and build the local ICT
industry,” said Deng. “This MOU is important for Huawei as
The MOU, signed by Huawei’s General Manager for Trinidad and Tobago, Jason Deng, and Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal,
Professor Clement Sankat.
HUAWEI AND UWI JOINHANDS
we make efforts to help Trinidad and Tobago create a dynamic,
Smart Education system, which applies technology to learning
and makes the process of teaching easier and more efficient.”
He shared Huawei’s vision for the future to connect people not
only with other people, but with things (such as vehicles or
household appliances), via the Internet of Things (IoT).
Also present at the signing were The UWI St, Augustine’s
Campus Council Chair, Mr. Ewart Williams along with other
council colleagues: Ashmead Ali, Mr. Krishna Boodhai,
and Mrs. Maureen Manchouck; Director of the Office of
Institutional Advancement and Internationalisation, Mr.
SharanChandradath Singh; Campus Chief InformationOfficer,
Mr Nazir Alladin and the Campus Legal Officer, Mrs. Camille
Ramcharan. . Huawei’s Enterprise Team was represented
by Enterprise Manager, Stone Shi and Enterprise Account
Manager, Timothy Odiean.
The Campus Principal also confirmed that a team of
approximately 16 persons representing the regional UWI will
attend Huawei’s Latin America ICT in Education Summit 2015
in Cancun, Mexico fromNovember 19 to 20.The Congress will
underscore Huawei’s promise of “Innovative ICT – Building
Better Connected Education.”
