University of Technology, Jamaica 7 Throughout the past year, the University, which is funded primarily by the Government of Jamaica, worked assiduously to improve its financial position. The University continued its lobbying efforts with the Government of Jamaica for an increase in the subvention in order to offset the costs of providing for each student and to maintain a cadre of qualified staff. The increase in staff costs include a negotiated salary adjustment granted to the academic staff since 2019/20 and the salary increases to staff across the board based on the percentage increases granted by the Government to public sector workers through collective bargaining agreements. However, despite our best efforts, the University has not been successful in obtaining an increase in the subvention. The shortfall therefore compelled the University to rationalize and prioritize spending and to introduce more stringent measures to manage a curtailed cash flow. Notwithstanding these aforementioned operational challenges of the period, compounded by the pandemic, the University marked a number of noteworthy achievements over the period. Among them, the introduction of six new courses of study, a marked increase in research publications undertaken by staff and an increase in numerous productive research partnerships/consultancies forged with private and public sector entities in support of mutually beneficial human capacity building and innovation for development. Among them the establishment of the Sagicor Innovation Lab and the signing of Memoranda of Understanding with numerous entities inclusive of the Government of Jamaica through the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Scientific Research Council (SRC), Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ), Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), Belize City Council and Sergo Ordzhonikidze Russian State University for Geological Prospecting. During the period, the University of Technology, Jamaica Press also released two new books – Caribbean Essays on Law and Policy, a compilation of six insightful and provocative essays on Caribbean legal and policy issues, which I had the honour of authoring. The second publication, Transformational Challenges in the 21st Century – essays in governance, economy and social relations was penned by Henry J. Lewis, Jr. In the area of scholarships, in January 2020, sixty outstanding undergraduate achievers and four graduate students from across Colleges and Faculties were awarded UTech, Jamaica 60th Anniversary Scholarships in recognition of their exemplary Grade Point Average (GPA) scores of above 3.5 in the previous academic year. The UTech, Jamaica 60th Anniversary Scholarships to students totalled $6.4 million, with each student awardee receiving $100,000. The 60th Anniversary Scholarships added to the pool of scholarships and grants donated by over 100 faithful donors from both the private sector and government, in support of our students. The University is grateful to the many donors who continue to recognize and respond to the need for financial support to our students. Another significant development was recorded with the public declaration by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) in 2019 of seven additional national monuments at the UTech, Jamaica Papine Campus. The seven buildings which have been given this status are the University Chapel, the Drawing Room, Bryan’s Book Store, the Victoria Mutual Facility, the Cynthia Shako Early Childhood Educational Centre, the Centre for the Arts and the Student Activity Centre. Under the JNHT Act, the Trust so declared these sites as national monuments in recognition that their preservation is a matter of public interest owing to their historic, architectural, traditional, artistic, aesthetic or scientific value. The new declaration brought the total number of national monuments on the Campus to nine and joined previously declared sites – Lillian’s Restaurant and the Ruins of the Three Silos. It should also be noted in the continuing tradition of UTech, Jamaica’s status as the “Home of World Class Athletes,” that our student athletes and alumni recorded remarkable performances on the world stage. At the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar UTech, Jamaica Knights earned 5 gold medals, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals. I invite you to review the ensuing pages which further highlight some of the continued progress being made by Jamaica’s first national university in its forward march as a burgeoning centre of world class teaching and learning.
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