The University of Guyana (UG) and the Caribbean Oceanography Aquaculture and Subsea Technology (COAST) Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the establishment of a Subsea Centre of Excellence training facility which will be the first of its kind at a university in the Caribbean.
The MoU was signed on June 17, by Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin, and Dean of the Faculty of Technology, Verlyn Klass on behalf of UG, and Keith Lewis and Aaron Hardowar on behalf of (COAST) Foundation, during a brief ceremony in the presence of a few other faculty members and UG staff. A press release from the University and COAST stated that the training facility will allow for the delivery of world-class programmes that are designed to prepare students for careers in subsea operations and engineering.
The Subsea Centre of Excellence will be home to the first Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) simulator in the region which will be the foundation of training and competency development programmes aimed at supporting educational programmes from the Trade School, through Associate, Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree levels. Through the partnership, the University of Guyana will collaborate with universities in the US, Canada, and Scotland, to deliver world-class programmes designed to prepare students for careers in subsea operations and engineering. In addition to an ROV simulator, the Centre will have an ROV test tank, an electrical workshop, and a hydraulic-mechanical workshop. A key component of the programme will be a collaboration with the local and international subsea industry corporations to ensure stakeholder buy-in and a sustainable holistic approach to the transfer of technology to Guyana.
It was further noted that COAST foundation’s mission is to implement programmes in ocean exploration, education and technology development through collaboration with regional and international stakeholders, as well as to steward the responsible management of the Caribbean’s marine resources for future generations.
Lewis, who is leading the project, explained during the signing of the MOU that “all of the development, past and future in Guyana will be via Remotely Operated Vehicles, therefore we want to ensure that we train local technicians and subsea engineers to support the process.” He also said that having the Centre at UG will greatly benefit the local students who want to study in the Subsea field and support deepwater development in Guyana.
Meanwhile, Klass expressed her gratitude to COAST Foundation for bringing the technology to UG and her enthusiasm at the benefit it would bring to the students. According to Klass, the project started after one of UG’s civil engineering students who graduated and is employed with COAST, reached out to the university with the hope that UG students would also be exposed to such technology.
Mohamed-Martin also expressed gratitude to the foundation for understanding how important the national university is in fulfilling the present and future needs of the industry. “We are excited about the innovative aspects of what you are proposing, we also are not only interested in producing people, we are also interested in advancing ideas and working on solutions because that’s really where the intellectual power and manifest value of the University really lies.” Additionally, the Head of Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Elena Trim, shared that she is interested in discussing the certification of students who are involved in the programme.
The university declared that the signing of the MoU is a strong reflection of UG’s strategic efforts to achieve the goals set out in the 2040 Blueprint (which is currently setting the course for the university’s future design and institutional response to the changing needs of Guyana) and to support the build out of a technically competent workforce to support the booming oil and gas industry in the country. It said that the MoU enhances and underscores UG’s continued drive to ensure that Guyanese can take full advantage of the local content requirements as well as those spin-off opportunities that are emerging rapidly in the local market. The subsea operations and engineering field is a welcome addition to the recent suite of courses offered by the Institute of Energy Diplomacy, and those in the Faculties such as the BSc and MSc in Petroleum Engineering, MSc in Renewable Energy from the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, MSc in Environmental Management for the Oil and Gas Industry (Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences), and MSc in Management of Supply Chains and Procurement (SEBI), all being offered from September 2021, the release added.
