The University of the West Indies wishes to extend its congratulations to its 2006 graduates upon the completion of their degree programme.

The 2006 presentation ceremonies for the University of the West Indies, Mona, will be held at the National Indoor Sports Centre, National Stadium Complex at 4 Arthur Wint Drive, on Friday and Saturday, November 10 and 11 at 5: 30 pm.

However, graduates are required to assemble at the venue by 3:00 p.m. on the respective days according to faculty. Guests are required to be seated by 4:30 p.m.

Graduates are encouraged to attend a rehearsal at the National Indoor Sports Centre at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 8.

Director of TMRI honoured

Professor Terrence Forrester, director of the Tropical Medicine Research Institute (TMRI), was among the honourees at the first Anthony N. Sabga 'Caribbean Awards for Excellence' launched by the Ansa McAl Foundation with the aim of encouraging the pursuit of excellence by Caribbean people for the benefit of the region.

The gala award ceremony took place recently at the Hilton Trinidad Hotel in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.

As director of TMRI, Professor Forrester has the main responsibilities of co-ordinating research on priority health issues in the Caribbean and facilitating the uptake of research findings into policy and programmes.

The institute is also involved in providing training at undergraduate and post-graduate levels and operates a post-doctoral fellowship programme.

Spanish Teachers' workshop

CARICOM, in association with the Organisation of American States, will be holding a workshop for teacher training in the delivery of the CARICOM primary level enhanced Spanish curriculum, on November 7-10, at UWI, Mona. This workshop is being coordinated by the Latin American-Caribbean Centre, and constitutes the third phase of an OAS/CARICOM project.

It will entail the training of trainers who will, in the next phase of the project, train primary level Spanish teachers in their respective countries. Participants will include representatives from all member states apart from Haiti.

FirstCaribbean, UWI collaborate

The University of the West Indies and FirstCaribbean International Bank have signed a new three-year memorandum of understanding to endorse academic programmes and initiatives being undertaken by the university.

The new agreement was signed by UWI vice chancellor, Professor E. Nigel Harris, and FirstCaribbean International Bank chairman, Michael Mansoor, last week.

During the signing ceremony in Bridgetown Barbados, the vice chancellor commended the bank for its move to continue the work started in 2003.

"We are excited that the bank has again come on board to partner with us."

Mr. Mansoor noted that the second accord is a testament to the partnership between the two institutions.

Since 2003, the bank has awarded 12 scholarships to university students across a range of disciplines, and provided funds to establish the Cave Hill Student Services website that was launched earlier this year.