 ugirie graduate 23 students from first business encounter training programme ugirie graduate 23 students from first business encounter training programme andydindial fri 7022021 854 ug s institute for research innovation and entrepreneurship graduate 23 students from first business encounter training programme  the university of guyana s institute for research innovation and entrepreneurship ugirie on saturday june 27 2021 hosted a graduation ceremony for twenty three 23 students who participated in a twelve week business encounter training programme which served to equip them with the skills and competencies needed to design and establish businesses that are innovative and highly competitive during the virtual ceremony which was aired via zoom several of the participants were awarded for their innovative and cuttingedge business projects some of which have now become household names in guyana and will penetrate regional markets in the coming months those receiving awards included ms finella martinlee messrs michael lewis nawaz haniff ms ashli marks ronaldo venture school of entrepreneurship business innovation mr david forde faculty of engineering amp technology ms farzana baksh school of pharmacy and mr raeburn jones faculty of agriculture amp forestry entrepreneur mochaarcadia multipurpose cooperative university of guyana vicechancellor xi prof paloma mohamed martin in her remarks noted that the university s blueprint 2040 is coming alive with the implementation of the ug s institute for research innovation and entrepreneurship ugirie programme she cited two areas innovation and entrepreneurship which are specific to goals 2 and 4 of ug s blueprint 2040 and observed that the uririe business encounter training programme is a small step but a very important one in the journey towards ug realising the aspirational goals of the university s blueprint the vc highlighted that ug is totally focused on creating citizen success with this initiative it becomes more than just technical competence for our graduates it becomes a matter of modelling for them what success good behaviour good values etiquette in class and online etiquette look like since 60 of learning happens through observation so it becomes important for facilitators and mentors to help model for and guide our young people prof martin expounded ugirie s founding director and former dean of ug s faculty of agriculture and forestry prof pat francis recalled that when the project first started it was unsure where the resources would have come from to ensure its sustainability however she expressed that at ug there is a vision to support and develop young entrepreneurs as this is what is needed in guyana hence all efforts were made to ensure that the project received the financial backing from various partners the greatest of which were the partners of the greater guyana initiative prof francis further noted that the research being done as well as the courses and workshops being offered by the ugirie will be streamlined as electives and will eventually find their way into the curriculum of the university following due academic process she added our students are bright they have what it takes to be innovators give the young people a chance so that guyana can move from businesses being buying and selling to a people who are innovating and bringing in foreign exchange into the country our students must be exposed to other countries and facilities that will stimulate their ideas so as to bridge the gap that exists if as a nation we are going to meet the needs of the next century we must ensure that graduates do not leave ug looking for jobs but rather to have them graduate as innovators creating jobs that is they must put their talent mental and physical energies to work for guyana prof francis urged the ugirie project is a beneficiary of the greater guyana initiative ggi which is funded by the stabroek block coventurers exxonmobil hess and cnooc the 20billiondollar commitment is geared at building human capacity and supporting sustainable and diversified economic growth across guyana the university of guyana is one of 5 major partners in the initiative and has since benefitted tremendously in several areas of academic and institutional advancement mr matthew scharf senior public amp government affairs advisor at exxonmobil guyana noted that the company has continuously supported various initiatives from the university of guyana since 2015 as they contribute to national development camex restaurants inc executive director dr terrence campbell in his remarks acknowledged that the university of guyana has a pivotal role to play in guyana s development so consequently the efforts by ugirie to share and transfer business skills with young entrepreneurs from different backgrounds are both critical and timely international business consultant and entrepreneurship development specialist ms yvonne mattis gave a detailed overview of the business encounter initiative ms mattis also served as the ugirie workshop programme consultant university of guyana faculty of social sciences dean designate dr paulette henry who has led the development of national professional standards for social work practice in guyana distributed the certificates to the participants the ugirie was birthed in 2019 by prof patsy francis director and former dean of ug s faculty of agriculture and forestry the initiative focuses on upscaling ug s awardwinning student and staff innovation concepts which facilitates the expansion of business opportunities programmes and courses offer practical approaches for establishing accelerating and scaling up ugs research and innovations to businesses ugirie focuses on concepts that are grounded in good science and technology university of guyana deputy vicechancellor institutional advancement dr mellissa ifill eloquently moderated the simple but significant ceremony  ug in brief the university of guyana is the 58th year state university of guyana it offers 136 programmes in over 60 disciplines online and facetoface in 8 campuses across guyana with a student population of now 10000 ug has provided education learning and research for over 50000 alumni the mission of the university is to discover generate disseminate and apply knowledge of the highest standard for the service of the community the nation and of all mankind within an atmosphere of academic freedom that allows for free and critical inquiry ug s forward thinking blueprint 2040 is currently setting the course for the university s future design and institutional response to the changing needs of guyana contact  ms krest cummings public relations officer department of events conferences and communications decc 5926235104 ugirie graduate 23 students from first business encounter training programme  