UTech, Ja. to honour business education pioneer with Memorial Lecture
Dr. Sybile Hamil
UTech, Jamaica's School of Technical and Vocational Education (SOTAVE) will host the inaugural Sybile Hamil Memorial Business Education Lecture on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 3:30 p.m. in Lecture Theatre 50.
The guest speaker for the lecture will be Dr Marlene Street Forrest, Managing Director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE). Dr Street Forrest will speak on the subject, “Fuelling the Growth Agenda: Business Education, Financial Literacy and Economic Resilience,” which will explore the critical role of business education and financial literacy in fostering economic prosperity.
The Sybile Hamil Memorial Business Education Lecture, which is to be held annually, honours the legacy of Dr. Sybile Hamil, one of UTech’s and Jamaica’s foremost business educators. Dr Hamil’s work in business education spanned more than four decades, leaving a lasting impact on Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.
In 1970, while teaching at Kingston Technical High School, Dr Hamil, on the request of the government, led a committee that developed a standardised business education curriculum in Jamaica. This model curriculum was adopted by both public and private teacher training institutions, significantly expanding business education opportunities across Jamaican secondary schools.
Joining the College of Arts, Science and Technology (CAST), the forerunner of UTech, Ja., in 1974, Dr Hamil then led the Business Education programme for several years. Under her guidance, she developed CAST’s first degree - a unique post-diploma Bachelor of Education in Technical Education. This innovative programme incorporated seminars and industry-led lessons alongside traditional teaching methods, becoming the template for future CAST degree offerings. The University Council of Jamaica’s accreditation of this first degree by CAST formed the basis of the college’s bid for university status in the early 1990s.
Dr Hamil died on August 29, 2018.
The University of Technology, Jamaica, invites the public, business professionals, educators, and students with an interest in business education to attend this free event.
- Contact: Michelle Beckford
- Corporate Communications Manager
- University of Technology, Jamaica
- Telephone: (876) 970-5299
- Email: mbeckford@utech.edu.jm