4
UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 19 MARCH, 2017
CAMPUS NEWS
LANDMARK AGRO-ICT PROJECT
WINS FRIDA AWARD
Dr. Margaret Bernard, Project Lead and Deputy Dean of Graduate
Studies and Research in the Science and Technology Faculty said the
teamwork was the best part.
Students from the Colony
Middle School in Palmer,
Alaska, listen intently
to Mr. Jeevan Persad, an
engineering technician and
pan researcher in the Steel
Pan Research Laboratory
of The UWI’s Faculty of
Engineering. The students,
who were accompanied
by their music teacher,
Mr. Toby Lambert (in the
background), paid a visit
to the lab in February 2017
to learn about the math
and science used in the
design and development of
the steel pan. The pan lab
is a centre for research and
innovation on the national
instrument of Trinidad
and Tobago. Both the
G-pan and the PHI were
developed in this lab.
PHOTO: ATIBA CUDJOE
LESSONS IN THE PAN LAB
On April 6-7, 2017,
UWI will once
again host the Life Sciences Research
Symposium, the annual event that has
built a reputation as the showcase for
the innovative and relevant research
that comes out of the Department
of Life Sciences. This year however
is different, and for the symposium
organisers, bittersweet.
In 2017 the Research Symposium
h a s b e e n e x p a nd e d f r om a
departmental event to an event for
the entire Faculty of Science and
Technology that will display research
from all five of its departments
through a host of oral and video
presentations, as well as posters. In
addition, NGOs and other organisations will have a presence
at the symposiumand numerous outreach activities will take
place in the lead-up and during the event to engage students
and other members of the public.
Unfortunately, Professor Dave Chadee renowned
entomologist and parasitologist, one of the fundamental
forces in the development of the Research Symposium,
passed away in 2016. It was Professor Chadeewho envisioned
the symposium as an event for all post graduates from the
Life Sciences Department after its initial incarnation in 2010
as a small research day event for graduate students and the
Ministry of Housing and the Environment.
Through his efforts and those of Life Sciences
Department Head Professor John Agard, and graduate
programme coordinator Dr. Howard Nelson, as well as
facilitation by the Housing Ministry, the first official Life
Sciences Research Symposium was held in 2011.
Event organisers say Professor Chadee’s legacy
continues to prosper through the growth of the symposium.
The efforts of the founding academic staff and post-graduate
committee members have created a symposium with
over 30 undergraduate and postgraduate presentations
demonstrating a broad range of topics of local and
international importance which embodies the ideology of
research and the mission statement of The UWI.
The Faculty of Science and Technology Research
Symposiumwill be held fromApril 6 (12.30 – 7.00 pm) and
7 (9 am – 5 pm), 2017. For more information visit https://
sta.uwi.edu/fst/
AN ECSTATIC MOMENT: A beaming Rachel Questelles stands
before the crowd after winning the Miss UWIverse 2017 pageant.
Ten students of the St. Augustine Campus took part in the UWIverse
Coronation Night event on February 18 at the Daaga Auditorium.
It was the culmination of a journey of personal and professional
growth that began in October 2016 with the launch of the pageant.
During the four months, contestants took part in numerous training
and charitable activities. Miss UWIverse is an event of the Guild of
Students and Guild Administrative Office.
PHOTO: CHAD SANTANA
Professor Dave
Chadee, one of the
minds behind the
Research Symposium,
passed away in 2016.
This year’s symposium
will be held in his
honour.
Bigger than ever,
Research Symposium hails
one of its guiding lights
Miss UWIverse 2017
AgriNeTT has collected another award.
The
UWI research project that uses information and
communications technology (ICT) to support Caribbean
agriculture is one of two recipients of the FRIDAAward
2016. The award was presented to the research team
in December at the Internet Governance Forum in
Guadalajara, Mexico.
FRIDA is the acronym for the Regional Fund for
Digital Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
It is an initiative of LACNIC, the non-governmental
organisation responsible for Internet development in
the region. The FRIDA Awards “seek to acknowledge
innovative practices in the region that have made
concrete contributions through the use of ICTs and have
a proven impact on the region’s social and economic
development,” states LACNIC. Mexicoleaks, a pro-
transparency media platform, was the other winner.
AgriNeTT, launched in 2014, consists of several
applications developed to support the agricultural
sector: farmers, entrepreneurs, public and private
institutions and policymakers. The apps provide
financial management, record-keeping and commodity-
pricing solutions that are accessible on mobile devices.
AgriNeTT’s core research team is from UWI St.
Augustine’s Faculties of Science and Technology and
Food and Agriculture, and includes partnerships with
Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Food Production,
NAMDEVCO and CARDI.
“One of the big things for the university that has
come out of this project is the extent of collaboration,”
said Dr. Margaret Bernard, Project Lead and Deputy
Dean of Graduate Studies and Research in the Science
and Technology Faculty.
Speaking at the awards presentation, LACNICCEO
Oscar Robles called AgriNeTT a leading project in the
region that has “shown how the Internet can become
an instrument for strengthening rural communities.”
Apart from this win, AgriNeTT also placed in the
top five among numerous international projects at the
2016 World Summit on the Information Society hosted
by the International Telecommunications Union last
May. The project is also a recipient of the UWI Trinidad
and Tobago Research and Development Impact Fund.
The RDI was established to fund research with strong
potential to contribute to the development of the Caribbean
and its people.
Now that the RDI period is complete, AgriNeTT
is seeking new funding to continue and expand its
groundbreaking research for the benefit of regional food
production and security.
For more information on AgriNeTT
Visit the website at:
/
projects/agrinett/index.asp and
uwitoday/archive/august_2016/article7.asp)
