REMARKS BY SENATOR THE HON. SANDREA FALCONER MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER , UWI RESEARCH DAY

REMARKS BY
SENATOR THE HON. SANDREA FALCONER
MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO
OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER
TO THE CLOSING CEREMONY -
UWI RESEARCH DAY 2012
MONA CAMPUS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2012

SALUTATION:

Master of Ceremonies
Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal,
Prof the Hon. Gordon Shirley,
Prof the Most Hon. Denise Eldemire Shearer
Distinguished Faculty & other Members of the UWI Fraternity
Ladies & Gentlemen

I am pleased to address this Closing Ceremony of the UWI Annual Research Day activities on behalf of the Most Honourable Prime Minister, who regrets very much not being able to be here with you today.

Your theme "Promoting Health and Wellness: The UWI's Innovative Approach" is most relevant having regard to its importance in improving the quality, longevity and productivity of the lives of our people.

I note, and share your pride in the work of the Cardiac Surgery Simulation Invention research team. This invention, I am advised, will transform the teaching of cardiac surgery not only here at the University of the West Indies, but globally.

This is truly good news for the UWI Mona Campus and the Caribbean. I can only hope that the researchers of this particular project and others pursuing their various research projects on campus, and outside of it, will be encouraged in their own work by this development.

Innovative research is important in building the reputation of any university and to enable it to make additional contribution to the community beyond the teaching of students.

Given the need of Jamaica for rapid economic development and the important role of relevant research and innovation in achieving this, it is imperative not only for the universities in the country, but Government itself, through its relevant agencies, as well as the private sector, especially those involved in manufacturing and agricultural activities to pursue research and innovation.

In this context, we should be seeking to ensure wider application of appropriate engineering and technological applications in national production.

This will, among other things, lead to improvement of systems in the production of goods and services, adding value to and enhancing products that would otherwise be regard as ‘waste', as well as helping to reduce adverse environmental impacts.

We have not, as a country, been lacking in innovation, and I hardly need remind this audience of the work done in such areas as:
• The citrus fruit, the ortanique, developed on a farm in the parish of Manchester in the 1930s;
• Tia Maria, the famous coffee liqueur which was first made here;
• Development of a number of tropically- adapted livestock breeds such as Jamaica Hope, led by the late Dr. T.P. Lecky and others;
• Development of the picka peppa brand which still has ‘currency' after so many years; and
• Of course there is the invaluable work that has been done by your own Dr. P. Tennant in utilising both traditional and biotechnological methods for development of new virus resistant varieties of papaya for Jamaican farmers

In more recent times, through the Scientific Research Council, SRC, we have produced the all year sorrel and through the Ministry of Agriculture, the ‘Globe' pumpkin.

These innovations have in their own way been transformative in the development of the country, but we need to do much more, if we are to achieve at a faster pace the level of economic growth needed for sustainable national development.

We therefore need to pursue enhanced opportunities to support more rapid and sufficient rates of development and growth in areas of natural endowments such as athletics, music and the performing arts. And we should also seek to integrate the greater use of ICT in the production of goods and services and the provision of leisure.

As a country, we have long recognised the importance of science and technology as a critical tool for development. This was what led for example to the establishing of institutions like the Scientific Research Council in 1960; the National Committee on Science and Technology (NCST) in 1993 and the International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Science (ICENS) - a Government of Jamaica/UWI partnership, located on this campus, in 1997.

In regards to the National Committee of Science and Technology, both former Prime Minister Patterson and current Prime Minister Simpson Miller in her first term presided over meetings of this body. This was not apparently continued, at any rate on a sustained basis, when she demitted office in 2007. But I can assure you the ‘button will be reset' and she will preside over such meetings during her tenure as Prime Minister.

As a further measure of the importance this Administration places on science and technology in development, the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, under the leadership of Minister Phillip Paulwell, was deliberately designated.

We see sustained research and innovation as directions which Jamaica must pursue and this should be done by the relevant stakeholders, the universities, government and the private sector, collaborating in these endeavours to the fullest extent possible and to the benefit of country.

And we expect the University of the West Indies to continue to play an integral role in this process.

In closing, let me again, congratulate the University of the West Indies on its innovative, cutting-edge research efforts. I hope that they will continue to grow from strength to strength.

I thank you.