GGMC signs on to assist UG for another two years

Jun 10, 2011 News

GGMC Chairman Maj. Gen. Joe Singh, and Deputy Vice Chancellor of UG, Dr. Marlene Cox, signing the new Memorandum of Agreement.

… proposes Post Grad Degrees in Geology

In one of the most beneficial corporate-academic partnerships the country has ever seen, the Geology Department at the University of Guyana can look forward to another two years of support from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
Yesterday afternoon the two entites signed yet another Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to continue over a decade of collaboration and support. This latest MoA will see the GGMC assisting with the funding for the Geology Engineering Programmes, paying part-time lecturers and paying for the acquisition of capital items such as books and computers.
These are the usual terms of the MoA that have been signed every two years since 2004 but this last agreement has at least one new addition – it makes room for the introduction of post graduate programmes in Geology and Mining engineering.
According to acting Commissioner of GGMC, Karen Livan, in recent years the agreements have seen the development of the human resources capacity at GGMC.
To date, 49 persons have been sponsored by the GGMC to read for the Bachelor of Engineering Course from which graduates have been employed in the Geological, Mines, Environmental and Petroleum Technical Divisions of the Commission, and now in an effort to give the programme further depth, they are seeking the introduction of post degree programmes in the field.
A theme that GGMC Chairman, Major General (Ret’d) Joe Singh, picked up and carried in his remarks on the signing of the agreement.
He noted that the Commission expects that the university will deliver graduates who are current and futuristic in their outlook to ensure that there is better management of natural resources.
Maj. Gen. Singh spoke of expanding the mineral portfolio of the country saying that outside of the traditional mineral resources, there are other minerals of value to the world market waiting to be extracted right here in Guyana, and it is time that the Commission is able to say where these minerals are so they can market them, rather than depending on the data of external firms. The Chairman noted that it all needs to come together in the field, and that there needs to be synergy between theory and practice for the graduates, who need to hit the ground running, which is one of the reasons that the Commission facilitates field internships every summer for students in the Geology programme.
Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University, Dr. Marlene Cox, spoke for the University and told of a time when interest in the Geology programme was so poor that in one academic year there was only one applicant for the degree – considering that there are on the average five thousand students enrolled in the University on an annual basis.
She said that the University had decided to discontinue the programme when the GGMC contacted them and began to lend their support.
Dr. Cox pointed out that not only is the GGMC looking after its own Human Resources needs but it is planning for the future of the sector.
She said that in the context of gold and mineral mining as well as oil exploration, the country needs to be proactive, and she congratulated the GGMC on their foresight and commitment to development.
She also used the forum to issue a call to other Private Sector bodies to do the same, not just in an effort to meet their own Human Resources needs but for the development of their sectors and their country.
Signing the agreement for the GGMC was Maj. Gen. Singh, Mrs. Livan and Mr. Kampta Persaud, Manager of Geological Services.
For the University of Guyana the signatories were Dr. Cox, Dean of the Faculty of Technology, Mrs. Verleen Klass and Professor Harold Kunar.