Community College gets equipment to enhance IT Project

Four Ipads and four Mac Book Pros were handed over to the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC) on Tuesday.{{more}}

Universal Service Fund administrator at the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) Kyron Duncan handed over the equipment to deputy director of the SVGCC Nigel Scott, who then handed over the equipment to Ulrick Sutherland, head of the E-College Unit.

Duncan said the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC), through the use of its Universal Service Fund (USF), signed a contract with LIME on November 20, 2012 for the Smart Project, valued at 1.684 million dollars. He said through this project, equipment will be provided to SVGCC for it to offer existing programmes online and in real-time. He said the equipment handed over to the college will assist the E-College Unit with its mandate, which is to assist the college in various ICT initiatives at all campuses of the college.

The USF administrator said a Certificate Programme in Mobile Application Development and an Associate Degree Programme in Cyber Security are two programmes that will be offered under the Smart Project. He said the NTRC, over the next two weeks, will be handing over additional equipment to the college and other services will be provided in the upcoming months, adding that the USF will continue to bridge the digital divide in access to telecommunications services in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Receiving the donation, Scott said he is pleased to see the fulfillment of this aspect of the Smart Project. He noted that St Vincent and the Grenadines cannot have an educational institution that is seeking to develop the skills of young people and enhance the educational landscape of this country and not have a unit that focuses on ICT needs. He said technology is the direction in which the college needs to go, whether in delivering services, or interacting with others and the management systems within the college.

Scott said the E-College Unit serves an important function and the equipment given to the college will allow them to remain on the cutting-edge as they seek to enhance the college and develop the programmes in Mobile Application Development and Cyber Security. He said the Universal Service Fund is a valuable fund and the college looks forward to be continued recipients of the USF project over the next several years.

Sutherland, and Dwayne Samuel, a representative of LIME, also gave brief remarks at the handing over ceremony.