Fourthly, there was the UWI Mona Policy Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation.

There are two principal reasons why this conference theme was timely and critical to contemporary national and regional development policy discussions. The Caribbean has long recognized that major progress in science and technology and their successful intervention in the marketplace are critical to improving economic and social development opportunities, the creation of quality jobs, and overall upliftment of the people’s well-being. Accordingly, Jamaica and other CARICOM countries have put in place policy instruments; they have national science policies, ministries of science and technology, and coordinating centres (e.g., National Committees or Commissions for Science and Technology) with links to key government and private-sector agencies.

However, a critical ingredient to the successful entrenchment of science and technology in national and regional cultures, and its successful application to achieve prosperity, remains deeply rooted in the capacity to generate and use new scientific knowledge. It is in this key pillar of national development strategies that UWI, especially the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences on the Mona campus, plays a crucial leading role.

But science at UWI Mona is at a critical point; it needs to be re-engineered to effectively face challenges and take advantage of opportunities presented by our globalized business environment.

To this end, attracting the best minds to science, revealing opportunities in today’s super-complex globalized environment, and ensuring innovative engagement in the development and use of science and technology are critical strategic challenges facing UWI’s science enterprise.

The UWI Mona Policy Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation was designed to shed new light on policy framework issues in this key area. Research Day activities, including the conference and the publication, were intended to reveal national and regional leadership of the Mona campus in science and technology and their innovative application to wealth creation, improving health and promoting well-being.

 

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Newsletter of the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences
The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus

Edited and compiled by
Anne Lyew-Ayee
Department of Geography and Geology
e-mail: anne.lyewayee@uwimona.edu.jm

Technical assistance: Christopher Muir