An education of innovation

Apr 17, 2016 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

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(Excerpts from an address by His Excellency Brigadier David Granger, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to the Closing Ceremony of the National Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Fair and Sagicor Visionaries Challenge 2016, at Linden Foundation Secondary School)

Guyana is a blessed country. We have inherited, by the grace of God, a precious patrimony. We have a luxuriant land of forests, savannahs, lakes, mountains, waterfalls and rivers; we possess bountiful timber and mineral resources.

We also have necessities – the food we eat, the water we drink, the houses we live in, the clothes we wear, the boats, buses and bicycles we use to get to and from school and the books we read or write in – can be produced only by some form of science.
Science, also, is about energy-generation, solid-waste management and creating ‘green’ communities and ‘green’ economies.
Guyana needs an ‘education of innovation’ to satisfy these essentials. Guyana needs thousands of persons in manufacturing to fabricate machines to process foods and make utensils; miners to produce bauxite, diamonds, gold and manganese; architects, contractors and construction workers to build our houses; medical doctors and technologists to protect us from epidemic disease or to cure our everyday disorders and diseases and computer scientists to enhance our knowledge and expedite our transactions. Our needs are limitless.
Guyana’s young people must be educated and encouraged to be inventive and innovative. They must be provided with the opportunities to develop practical solutions to the physical challenges we face. We encourage our young people to undertake studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – STEM – in order to satisfy our needs.
STEM, however, should not be mistaken simply as an acronym for four separate subjects. It represents a curriculum based on educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — but in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
STEM requires a different approach to teaching. This method, rather than teach the four subjects separately, integrates them cohesively into a system based on practical applications and realistic solutions to problems.
It aims at showing students how science could be applied to everyday situations. STEM education, therefore, must start while students are young and continue through three levels of their adolescence:
·    Primary level education provides inquiry-based, problem-based learning, connecting all four of the STEM subjects. It aims at stimulating students’ interest in pursuing the required courses;
·    Secondary level education, as we see here today, is more challenging as students must satisfy specific academic requirements. Programmes of study should focus on the application of the subjects in a rigorous manner.
·    Tertiary level and post-secondary education will place more emphasis on out-of-school employment and career opportunities.
The mastery of these four subjects at three different levels encourages logical and critical thinking. This is essential to problem-solving by our leaders and teachers and to success in science and technology to ensure our survival in a competitive world.
We are looking at a new generation of teachers. We are looking at a new generation of textbooks to support the new teaching. We are looking at new techniques which can transform our lives.
There are good reasons why more students should be studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics:
·    Innovation: Education, more particularly science and technology education, is the key to innovation. The capacity of developing countries such as ours to compete in global markets will rely on our ability to innovate. Innovation requires that greater emphasis be placed on education, particularly STEM education. STEM education must be emphasized in our schools from an early age if we are to develop the skills and attitudes necessary to foster the innovation.
·    Information technology: The greatest innovation in the global economy  is in the scientific and information technology fields. The classroom of the future will be the “smart classroom.” The use of digital technology and media will revolutionize the classroom. Smart boards will replace blackboards; tablets and computers will be the future notebooks and e -books will replace the voluminous printed text books of today. STEM studies will prepare students for the evolution in the delivery of education in the classroom.
·    Infrastructure: Guyana’s economy is in the process of physical transformation. This emphasises infrastructure development such as the building of aerodromes, bridges, canals, highways and stellings; economic diversification, including into tourism services, and the promotion of increased value-added manufacturing. These changes in our economic thrust will generate increased demands for agronomists, botanists, engineers, geologists, technologists and technicians.  The local job market will see an increase demand for science-based skills.
Guyana faces threats from various sources – the adverse effects of climate change; concerns over the sustainability of our water supplies; the security of food supply; the generation of cheaper, cleaner and renewable sources of energy and, inevitably, the prevention of the spread of diseases such as Ebola and Zika – across borders.  The response to these global challenges requires scientific solutions which:
·    provide the present generation of students with an opportunity to be part of the process of finding solutions to these challenges;
·    promote solutions to national concerns and help us to navigate through an increasingly interdependent and technologically well-informed global environment; and
·    prepare students for the technological changes that will open opportunities for school-leavers to participate in a competitive economy.
We are happy to see so many schools participating in this National Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Fair and the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge 2016. Your enthusiastic participation is a signal of your seriousness not only about success in your personal careers, but about solving problems in your communities and in this great country. It is the start of an innovation education.

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