BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Examinations Council® (CXC®), the Energy Unit of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) collaborated to further the principles of renewable energy and sustainable development, through future practitioners. These CARICOM entities hosted a two-part webinar on 11 and 12 June 2020, highlighting key areas in sustainable energy design, to support candidates preparing for Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination® (CAPE®) Green Engineering examinations in July. The online sessions featured regional lecturers and professionals, who shared insights on content from the syllabus, within the context of current energy trends and practical applications.
These instructive and interactive sessions are part of an ongoing collaboration between the CARICOM Secretariat and CXC®, to establish a framework and build capacity for the development and promotion of renewable energy. Efforts to improve Caribbean students’ awareness of, and capacity in sustainable energy issues have also been bolstered by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance (REETA) Programme, a collaboration between the CARICOM Secretariat, CXC® and the German international development agency, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ).
Dr Carol Granston, Pro-Registrar and Deputy CEO of CXC® highlighted the benefit of the sessions. “One of the mandates of the Council is to provide learners from across the Region with access to high quality resources that support teaching, learning and assessment of the different products offered by CXC®. The partnership with the CARICOM Secretariat and the GIZ is very timely and is one of the strategies being implemented to achieve this mandate.
CXC® has long recognised that teaching and learning extend beyond the walls of the classroom and has implemented a number of initiatives to provide opportunities for collaboration and sharing of information and resources, through virtual communities of learning.
We would like to use this opportunity to express our sincerest gratitude to all the presenters for sharing their extensive knowledge of current and emerging energy trends and providing practical applications from your own experience in the field with all participants who were able to join us in these Webinars. We look forward to our continued collaboration as we prepare our learners not just for their examinations, but to be responsible citizens.”
Day one of the online sessions was dedicated to Unit 1 of the Green Engineering programme, with presentations by Dr Paulette Bynoe, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Guyana, Mr Churchill Norbert, Chief Engineer at Sandals Grande Antigua and Dr Cherri-Ann Farquharson, Lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering at the UWI Mona.
The final session focused on Unit 2 of the programme and presenters included Dr Devon Gardner, Programme Manager for Energy and Head of the Energy Unit of the CARICOM Secretariat, Professor Chandrabhan Sharma, Leader of the Energy Systems programme in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the UWI, St Augustine and Dr Gary C. Jackson, Executive Director of the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.
Dr Gardner lauded the joint initiative, “The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat is pleased to have supported this initiative and, with the contribution of regional experts who facilitated, agree that significant benefits would have been derived by students and teachers who participated. CXC® must be commended on its efforts to build capacity among the youth in the Community. Forums such as this are a valuable contribution to the regional energy sector.”