5 researchers from developing countries are preparing to accept OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards for their work in the physical sciences.

STUDENTS from across the country showed up in their numbers with teachers in tow to participate in the University of Guyana (UG) 2018 Open/Career Day at the Turkeyen Campus on Friday morning.

The event which was packed to capacity, saw students filling the many booths that were in place to share information on career choices and programmes that the tertiary institution offered.

The University of Guyana (UG) is appealing for bigger investments in order to effectively ‘prepare thousands of Guyanese’ for the country’s emerging Oil and Gas (O&G) sector.

So says the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, who this past week lamented the state of affairs, as he appealed to the corporate community, including oil companies, civil society and government for increased investments in the tertiary institution.

The University of Guyana is keen to widen its educational offers to include the oil and gas sector, but in this pursuit Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, has warned that there is a role for the university in maintaining Guyana’s food security. “We also recognize that we cannot neglect who we essentially are,” Professor Griffith told students at oil and gas presentation held on the university’s Turkeyen campus on Wednesday last.

Some University of Guyana graduates and others in the disciplines of technology, business and other fields of study will cash in big time as a world renowned firm has shown interest to not only hire them, but also to prepare them for the upcoming oil and gas industry. This announcement was made by VICE Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith.

About five hours after Dr. Jan Mangal, Petroleum Advisor to President David Granger delivered a number of hard-hitting criticisms of the controversial ExxonMobil contract, government sought to dissociate itself from his positions.

“The Ministry of the Presidency puts on record that Dr. Jan Mangal, Presidential Advisor on Petroleum, is not authorised to speak on behalf of His Excellency, President David Granger or the Government of Guyana,” the Ministry of the Presidency said in a one-line statement issued at 9:50 PM.

Guyana’s two percent royalty on earnings from ExxonMobil’s oil sales is low compared to global standards, raising concerns about whether there was transparency about the negotiating system,  Dr. Jan Mangal, Petroleum Advisor to President David Granger said Wednesday.

“What we can do is look at what are the international norms. Royalty, when you look around, is more between ten and twenty percent, not two percent,” Dr. Mangal told a discussion  on the Government of Guyana’s Vision for the Oil and Gas Sector held at the University of Guyana’s Education Lecture Theatre.

Advisor to President David Granger on Petroleum, Dr. Jan Mangal has outlined the power of the people to make their voices heard about what is taking place in the oil and gas sector, especially as it relates to the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) signed between the Government and ExxonMobil. Dr. Mangal made the declaration in response to questions from students of the University of Guyana following an in-depth presentation on the Government of Guyana's Vision for the Oil and Gas Sector. 

The University of Guyana (UG) is in the process of establishing a Petroleum Department as well as a Food and Nutrition Institute.

Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Ivelaw Griffith said the new facilities are timely since Guyana is becoming an oil producing nation but at the same time, needs to improve its capacity in the traditional economic sector of agriculture. 

Professor Griffith announced on the final day of the GIPEX Summit that a study is underway to develop a Department of Petroleum Engineering.

The Ministry of Education’s Code of Conduct for teachers should be amended to prohibit discrimination against youth on the grounds of sexual orientation, Director of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) Joel Simpson has recommended.

Simpson was at the time offering suggestions on how to decrease the high school dropout rate within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, during a presentation at the University of Guyana’s latest Turkeyen and Tain Talks, held last Wednesday at the Pegasus Hotel.