Voices Magazine-Vol4-Issue

VOICES Bi-Monthly Magazine of the University of Technology, Jamaica | January – April 2021 22 SCIT Hosts Webinar on National Identity Database System (NIDS) Western Campus Debaters Win Virtual Western Tertiary Debates 2021 T he School of Information Technology and Computing (SCIT) in the Faculty of Engineering and Computing hosted an informative webinar on the National Identity Database System (NIDS) on April 15, 2021 under the theme, National Identification System: What’s Next? The webinar featured a panel discussion comprising expertise in the ICT security and technology-based industries. Panelists were Mr. Trevor Forrest, CEO, 876 Solutions, Mr. Christopher Reckord, CEO, tTech, Mr. Godphey Sterling, Head, Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team and Mr. Sheldon Powe, CEO, Innovate10X with moderator and webinar convener, Professor Sean Thorpe, Head, SCIT. Professor Thorpe indicated that the seminar was intended to seek to answer questions on the nature of NIDS, the legal framework of implementing the technology, the digital identity architecture and governance and the possible strategies for implementation. He outlined that the proposal for NIDS in Jamaica was first made in 1978, which he noted is an important undertaking for the future of the country in terms of its adoption of ICT systems. The full discussion is available via YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=JNkVRyfVtYw Students from the Western Campus were invited to participate in the Virtual Western Tertiary Debates 2021 under the theme “Education in the Online Space.” The team members, Ms. Jessica Campbell, Dr. Julian Walters and Mr. Rogerton Williams, coached by Mr. Germaine Barrett participated in the event which lasted for four weeks. The team was successful against Montego Bay Community College (MBCC), University of the West Indies, Western Jamaica Campus (UWI-WJC) and the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) whom they beat in the finals.