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… to rub shoulders with Boston’s business communitiesBy Jarryl BryanAs part of the University of Massachusetts Lowell Global Entrepreneurship Program, seven University of Guyana (UG), Faculty of Natural Science students stand to be the first Guyanese ever to benefit from a two-week stint at the University of Massachusetts campus, United States of America.Five of the students with Eldon Marks (left) and Dr. Dawn Fox (right)The programme, which involves an intensive classroom and hands-on training programme with experienced business people, focuses on building entrepreneurial and innovative skills, has attracted students from around the world and will allow them to rub shoulders with business tycoons and entrepreneurs from Boston’s business district.The students selected are Yogvika Arjune, Hilary Benjamin- Byer, Juanelle Marks, Darion Marshall, Samantha Sheoprashad (Computer Science), Rhea Benn and Shelali Seecharran (Chemistry)The initiative was the brainchild of Ms. Chira Dwarka, an overseas-based Guyanese and Corporate consultant in the Boston area, and is the result of a collaborative effort between the head of the UG faculty of Natural Science, Dr. Dawn Fox, and Eldon Marks and University of Massachusetts’s Lowell faculty Professors Ashwin Mehta and Deborah Finch.“These are all science students so they will learn how to figure out science innovation and ideas, so that they can actually convert it into businesses and startups.”The programme will also see the students being presented with real life problems in a controlled environment by Business leaders and innovators from the Boston area.According to Dr. Dawn Fox, of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and one of the organizers of the trip, Boston is known as the engineering capital of the world. There are a lot of companies that Boston industrialists work along with. She said that students would be exposed to the extensive business atmosphere in Boston.It was also pointed out, that due to the Global Entrepreneurship Program incorporating students from different societies and cultures around the world, it made for a diverse, multi-cultural mix up.The programme has been conducted four times previously and normally runs bi-annually. Though the summer sessions are run in Massachusetts, the January (winter) sessions are run in Hublai, India. It offers three credits for Inter-discipline, multi-cultural global entrepreneurship and innovation.The programme is made up of lectures, class discussions, group projects (such as Ideation and Technology commercialization), and visits to area Technology Companies, as well as guest speakers.Local corporate and private sponsors who came on board and facilitated the trip were Fly Jamaica, which has provided the airfare while Pas CARGO Guyana, Vishnu Panday and Associates, Habitat for Humanity (GUYANA),Cheap NFL Jerseys China, Maggie’s Catering, Version 75 Solutions, the University of Guyana and other private sponsors provided generous donations as full or partial sponsorships. |
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