Above: Huawei’s General Manager for Trinidad and Tobago, Jason Deng, and The UWI St. Augustine’s Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat sign the MOU. Photo courtesy Huawei.
A new partnership has been forged with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine Campus and leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, Huawei Technologies.
The 3-year MOU, signed on November 16, outlines 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. The signing took place at the Campus’ University Inn and Conference Centre.
“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 The UWI St. Augustine’s 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 (9) 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 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 that Huawei’s vision for the future is 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. Sharan Chandradath Singh; Campus Chief Information Officer, 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 from November 19 to 20. The Congress will underscore Huawei’s promise of “Innovative ICT – Building Better Connected Education.”
