17 May - August 2021 | VOICES Bi-Monthly Magazine of the University of Technology, Jamaica UTech, Ja. Partners with OECS on Climate Resilience Project TIC Introduces Step by Step Tutorial Video for students on Commercializing Innovations The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission in April 2021 announced the launch of the Adapt’Action project titled “Building Climate-Resilient Cities in the Eastern Caribbean through Enhanced Urban Planning Knowledge”. The project, which is funded by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), is being led by a team of experts drawn from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the University of Technology, Jamaica through its Faculty of The Built Environment, SUEZ Consulting, Acacia Consulting and Research, and EnGen Collaborative (EnGen). Under the agreement the Healthcare Leadership Training Programme will be delivered virtually by UTech, Jamaica through its College of Health Sciences over a 144-hour annual programme aimed at meeting the professional training needs for health care professionals and senior health management personnel across Jamaica’s public health care system. The Agreement is initially valid for a three-year duration. The project objectives are to enhance higher education, lifelong learning and skills development on climate change and climate risks, resilience and adaptation options for urban planners, as a vehicle for advancing transformation and the development of curricula and pilot a prototype Tailored Open Online Course (TOOC), that can be used to train the current and next generation of urban planners to address climate and other environmental risks in urban areas. According to Dr. Garfield Young, Dean and Associate Professor, Faculty of The Built Environment, and the project lead, “Eastern Caribbean small island states are highly urbanised, with populations concentrated in coastal areas that are exposed to hurricanes, storm surge and flooding, which are all likely to be exacerbated by climate change. Urban planners and other built environment professionals will need to be equipped with the tools, expertise and critical thinking to help transform these cities into safe, viable, prosperous places to live and work.” One participant of the inception workshop reinforced the relevance of project stating that, “while urban planning curricula include varying levels of content on climate related matters, and there is a proliferation of online courses, none of these are tailored to the needs and circumstances of urban communities in the Eastern Caribbean.” The project will develop the TOOC through a collaborative process that involves input from three levels of participants and will be guided by a carefully developed monitoring and evaluation and learning framework. The project is expected to be completed by October 2021 with the rollout of the TOOC for the identified beneficiaries as well as a continuous professional development (CPD) course for persons working in areas of urban planning, climate reliance and climate adaptation. The Technology Innovation Centre (TIC), a unit of the Joan Duncan School of Entrepreneurship, Ethics and Leadership (JDSEEL), College of Business and Management has introduced a two-part video tutorial to provide UTech, Jamaica students with step by step instructions on how to commercialize their entrepreneurial innovations. Mr. Nigel Cooper, Head, JDSEEL explains that the video, titled “Journey from Innovation to Commercialization” showcases the services of the TIC in relation to assisting students with the conceptualization of entrepreneurial ideas and the processes necessary to turn products or services into profitable businesses. The production of the instructional video stemmed from a survey done through the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) funded University Incubator Capacity Building Programme (UICBP) at the TIC, which revealed that of the 10% of the student population surveyed, 49 per cent of UTech Jamaica students indicated that they had an idea that they think could be commercialized.” The TIC plans to use the videos which were produced by CAT Productions in the Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies, as a central strategy in engaging students at UTech, Jamaica to move their entrepreneurial ideas to commercialization. The videos will be posted on the TIC website: www.ticutechja.com
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