Sagicor continues to show its commitment towards youth and the advancement of education in the Caribbean, through its sponsorship of the Caribbean Science Foundation’s (CSF) initiatives. This year, Sagicor has partnered with the Foundation to support the prestigious Student Program for Innovation in Science and Engineering (SPISE) and the Caribbean Computer Coding Workshops (C3W). Since 2018, Sagicor has been a proud and committed sponsor of the CSF, helping to nurture the region’s greatest young minds in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
The CSF’s SPISE is an annual intense five-week summer program that also acts as a catalyst for economic diversification in the region. It offers Caribbean high school students an enriching learning experience in an environment catered to teaching at the highest STEM education levels. Modelled after the renowned MITES program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), SPISE aims to cultivate STEM talent in the region’s youth, encouraging them to pursue STEM disciplines beyond university and to consider technology-based entrepreneurship as a career option. The program’s primary goals are to increase the region’s economic diversification and to ensure there are more opportunities created for technology-based jobs. Similarly, the Caribbean Computer Coding Workshop (C3W) is an annual 14-week program that also empowers youth and aims to teach coding skills to Caribbean students and adults, preparing them to face the digital economy, thereby creating a new generation of professionals in the field. The program encapsulates the fundamentals of computer programming, branching from hypertext markup language (HTML) for webpage development, to Python (with its large number of advanced code libraries) giving students a solid foundation from which to work.
Robert Trestrail, Sagicor’s President and CEO, said Sagicor remains committed to education as a key part of its corporate social responsibility mandate. “We are pleased to be able to play a role in preparing the region’s students for the workplace of the future through technology. By supporting programs such as SPISE and C3W, we invest in the future leaders of the Caribbean, helping to pave the way for the region. These students, with their skills and knowledge, are the ones who will drive technological advancement and overall economic growth, and we are honored to be a part of their journey as they lead the Caribbean towards greater prosperity.”
Hon. Professor Cardinal Warde, Interim Executive Director of the CSF and Professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT, highlighted the program’s significance: “SPISE students are immersed in rigorous university-level courses in calculus, physics, biochemistry, computer programming, and entrepreneurship, as well as hands-on projects in electronics. SPISE students attend career seminars offered by luminaries in their fields, which expose them to the broad range of careers possible with a STEM degree.” Dr. Dinah Sah, Director of SPISE, added, “Importantly, the students focus on learning the fundamentals and how to apply them to solving novel problems, as that is what leads to new discoveries. The students are also guided and mentored by role models from the diaspora and the region on career paths and choices.”
The SPISE Program and Caribbean Computer Coding Workshops have been held annually since 2012 and 2018, respectively, and will continue annually across the region for students between the ages of 16 to 18 years of age, and 15 to 99 years of age, respectively. The programs are jointly sponsored by Sagicor Financial Company Ltd. and Sagicor Life Inc.