Roxroy McLean, Gleaner Writer

Shane Malcolm, a student from Cornwall College, gives his remarks at the Knutsford Court Hotel in St Andrew on Thursday, May 29, at the awards ceremony for participants in the National Commission on Science and Technology Science and Technology Student Summer Internship and Teacher Training Attachment. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

More young people need to pursue careers in science and technology in order for Jamaica to make significant advances on the world's stage.

So said Professor Ishenkumba Kahwa, acting dean of the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus. He was speaking recently during an awards ceremony for students who participated in the National Commission on Science and Technology (NCST) Science and Technology Student Summer Internship and Teacher Training Attachment Programme. The students received awards for their efforts in advancing policies and strategies in science and technology.

The programme, which is organised by the NCST, seeks to improve the understanding, appreciation of science and technology. The programme also seeks promote science and technology as a route to wealth creation.

Understood, appreciated

Kahwa said the programme could play an integral role in the development of the country once it is understood and appreciated. "To understand the value of this research, we must ask ourselves, 'What are the steps that should be taken to construct a machinery where the country can move to the next level?'" he said. "The country's that are moving forward in this world are the ones that have taken the time to construct and translate methods of improving science and technology."

Kahwa stressed that the nation would only be convinced that it could move forward through science and technology if the youth who participate in the field do better than the generations that went before. "The young people need to do much better than we did in order to improve the country," he said.

Based on academics

The students who participated in the internship programme were selected by a committee of principals from nominations provided by regional chairpersons of the Association of Science Teachers of Jamaica across the counties of the island. The students were selected based on their academic performance and aptitude in science and technology.

The teachers nominated from high schools across the island received hands-on experience in science and technology through assignments at institutions such the Bodles Research Station, Sugar Industry Research Institute, National Meteorological Service, The Mico University College and the NCST.

Shane Malcolm, a lower sixth-form student at Cornwall College, who participated in the five-week programme which educates the students on life sciences, said the lessons learned were important and helpful.

"It was good, really interesting and motivating, it was a very informative and fulfilling experience for me, because coming from the high school environment into the university environment was good," Malcolm said. "I got to interact with a lot of people."