 ug s 2nd biennial teaching conference for tertiary educators sees call for careful consideration of how to transition from emergency remote teaching to the new norms in higher education as the planet braces for more disruptions in the future ug s 2nd biennial teaching conference for tertiary educators sees call for careful consideration of how to transition from emergency remote teaching to the new norms in higher education as the planet braces for more disruptions in the future andydindial wed 9222021 1326 the university of guyana s centre of excellence in teaching and learning coetal on monday 20 september 2021 launched its threeday biennial conference with local and international partners in the education sector calling for more collaboration between the various stakeholders to adequately respond to the challenges confronting the delivery of education amidst the covid19 pandemic the conference is being held in partnership with the ministry of education and the cyril potter college of education cpce the entire event is being held via zoom and hundreds of education practitioners and policymakers from around the world are participating the conference aims to provide a platform for academics researchers and key stakeholders to deliberate on issues and find solutions to the challenges confronting the delivery of tertiary education due to the impact of covid19 chancellor of the university of guyana prof edward greene posited that the theme chosen for the conference is most appropriate as the trajectory of the discourses promises to help professionals in the educational system to grapple with and learn to navigate the mindset for which the pervasive covid19 pandemic has been a catalyst as we interchange ideas at this conference it will no doubt help us to comprehend the true meaning of change management catering to different learning experiences of students particularly those who are digitally challenged or excluded this is no doubt compounded by having to work with communities and individuals with varying responses to the covid19 vaccine efforts prof greene expounded additionally the chancellor noted a conference like this brings into sharp focus that we are all in this together and must leverage creative action to inform and uplift our constituencies not only university students and staff and those in other tertiary educations but those in communities all around us further i am very pleased to acknowledge the comprehensive nature of the agenda of this conference because it is only by creating an extensive network of engagement and learning from the broadest range of perspectives can we hope to meet the challenges facing us all vicechancellor of the university of guyana prof paloma mohamed martin in her remarks gave a brief overview of the university s readiness to cope in the changing environment due to covid19 when the pandemic hit guyana around march in 2020 prof mohamed martin said we have been slightly prepared for this in a certain sense because in 2018 we started working on the university of guyana s blueprint 2040 the blueprint maps our four aspirational goals and one of those was to have at least one graduate per household this meant that they had to be a level of inclusiveness a level of decentralisation deurbanisation of higher education we had to rethink the way in which we were delivering education and out of that came numerous propositions and one of those was about a starlight campus and so we were thinking about how to deliver education across the country remotely in a serious way but we were not planning to do it so soon the vc this conference is quite specifically themed as none of us could have imagined what was going to happen to education and to the world in just a few short months after we launched the first biennial conference in 2019 she noted in capturing this modus we know that the nuanced theme of this conference emergency remote teaching leading and learning as distinct from online education is quite present and so this is why we re gathered together to share interrogate and disseminate what we did how we did it why and with whom and we d want observable effects in the short term speaking on behalf of the minister of education hon priya manickchand chief education officer dr marcel hutson outlined the strategies the government of guyana has been implementing to deal with the challenges of the covid19 pandemic on the country s education sector dr hutson said this conference could not have come at a better time as we strategically seek to grapple with a global pandemic which requires leadership with the capacity to influence others through inspiration motivated by passion generated by vision produced by a conviction ignited by purpose dr hutson said without the elements of passion conviction and purpose we will not see the need to do differently as we fight for the cause of the delivery of education amid any emergency we must be determined now more than ever to be able to respond with resilience rectitude and resourcefulness to ensure all those students are adequately served particularly in remote areas that are often left undone consequently there is the need to adopt a holistic approach to education delivery by working with all stakeholders including our teachers parents and the wider community we are dealing with the hard truth and this is why collaboration is essential dr hutson admonished that discussing the issues is not enough because the change we desire must be guided by clear policy documents that must be used as reference points he said in the ministry of education we have developed a national strategic plan that addresses issues related to improved governance and accountability improved performance at all levels improving the efficiency of the education sector reducing inequalities and contributing to lifelong learning the keynote address was delivered by the programme manager from amsterdam university of applied sciences dr dimitrios vlackopoulos he outlined the importance of education and technology as it relates to the preparation of jobs today and for the future his presentation also focused on the use of education and technology for vulnerable groups of people who live in rural communities those who cannot afford education and those with disabilities according to dr vlackopoulos there is a difference between emergency remote teaching and online teaching he said there is a very clear difference between online education which has a concrete audience who apply for this kind of learning model and the remote teaching that we use during the pandemic we have observed that facetoface traditional education or online education is more effective as it provides guarantees for highquality teaching and learning if they are implemented successfully they can lead to a highquality education experience and there is a lot of evidence for oncampus facetoface conventional education but there is also a lot of evidence from several online institutions that have been working for years that they can also lead to highquality educational experiences dr vlackopoulos noted that the transition was not an easy one and there must be mechanisms in place to ensure that teachers and students are not feeling overwhelmed with the new systems a special panel comprising of five lecturers from the university of guyana ms kara lord ms lisa edwards ms shanomae rose ms angelina autar and ms monique sarius who are all pursuing their doctor of education degrees under a special ug arizona state university asu programme will complete the conference presentations the opening ceremony was chaired by dr charmaine bissessar director of ug s centre for excellence in teaching and learning coetal dr viola rowe principal of cyril potter college of education cpce gave the appreciation the conference is being held under the theme emergency remote teaching leading and learning and is open to the public for free interested persons can register now by clicking on the link here  https coetaluogedugy biennialconference2021 registration  the university of guyana acknowledges the support of its main partners the ministry of education and the cyril potter college of education for collaborating to host this event ug also thanks elton b stephens company ebsco for its sponsorship the opening ceremony can be viewed at  https zoomus rec share vh1etpa05qk1hh8qi68ymdusfjb4sg8w5ynh5kkfdpie59a2ta   ug in brief the university of guyana is the 58 th 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 forwardthinking 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 ug s 2nd biennial teaching conference for tertiary educators sees call for careful consideration of how to transition from emergency remote teaching to the new norms in higher education as the planet braces for more disruptions in the future  