Dr. Marvadeen Singh-Wilmot, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry, was a member of the delegation from The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Mona, and the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) on a visit to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria between August 19-21, 2024 The purpose of the visit was to explore technical cooperation between The UWI/Jamaica and the IAEA. Other members of the delegation included the Principal of The UWI Mona Campus, Professor Densil Williams; Professor Charles Grant (Director General of the International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences (ICENS)); Ms. Shashion Thomas (Senior Project Economist, PIOJ); Professor John Lindo (Mona Office for Research and Innovation (MORI)); and Dr. Peter Glegg (Senior Legal Officer, UWI Mona).

During the visit, Dr. Singh-Wilmot spoke about the support needed for research, applications, and capacity building using X-ray analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction. She also emphasized the need to build national and regional analytical capabilities in Caribbean islands, like Jamaica, through investment in basic infrastructure to support education and research in all STEM disciplines. This, she highlighted, is crucial to achieving one of the key strategic goals of the IAEA, which is to support university education programmes aimed at building a nuclear workforce.

Photo caption: The UWI and PIOJ delegation to IAEA in Vienna.

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