Donation to the Jamaica Hockey Federation
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Miss Patrice Clarke receives donation from Dr. Marr, Chairman of the Board |
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Miss Vanissa Glenn receives donation from Dr. Marr, Chairman of the Board |
Friday, November 2, 2007
Vector Technology Institute, through its chairman, Dr. Wayde Marr, makes a contribution to the Jamaica Hockey Federation to cover travel expenses for two VTI students.
Vanissa Glenn and Patrice Clarke, freshmen in the Associate Degree programme, were selected to the national women's hockey team to represent Jamaica at the Caribbean Games being held in Trinidad and Tobago over the period November 5 - 12, 2007.
Aside from the honor of representing ones country at the highest level, Dr. Marr indicated that VTI's donation should also be seen as a contribution to the personal and professional development of both students.
Update: The Jamaican Women's Hockey Team won the silver medal at the Caibbean Games staged in Trinidad & Tobago over the period November 5 -12, 2007. The Humming Birds were beaten 1-0 by the team from Trinidad..
Launch of the Alumni Association
On Saturday, July 8, 2006 the Steering Committee spearheaded the successful launch of the Alumni Association of the Institute. Dr. Wayde Marr, chairman of the Board of Studies, encouraged the alumni to advocate for the responsible use of technology in a season where abuse has become increasingly rampant, and to embrace the challenge of taking on projects that directly impact nation building.
In his address, special guest speaker, Dr. Aggrey Irons observed that the route to national development was through raising the educational level of the society. He encourgaged the alumni to play their part in generating public awareness to the need for raising the average terminal educational level of the society from the secondary to the tertiary level.
Outstanding Student - 2006 
Mrs. June Woods is presented with the top student award for the year 2006 at the Awards Ceremony of the Joint Committee on Tertiary Education and the University Council of Jamaica. Presentation was made by Dr. Ethley London, Executive Director of the University Council of Jamaica.
Mrs. Woods completed the Associate Degree in Computer Systems Technology Programme here at Vector Tech. Although her original area of interest was software development, she pursued this highly technical programme to develop her abilities in the management of various computer hardware operating systems and networks.
Despite having the responsibilities of a newly wed and becoming a first time mother, she managed to successfully balance her home and school life to become a shining example for her peers. She exhibits strong leadership qualities and became the group motivator among her classmates. She enjoys playing volleyball and hopes to become an active member of the Alumni Association.
VTI's 2006 Technology Seminar a Huge Success: “Connecting Jamaica for the Future” Oversubscribed.
“Connecting Jamaica for the Future” a technology seminar, was jointly sponsored by Vector Design Limited and Superior ESSEX Communications on Feb 22,2006 at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston , Jamaica . A resounding success, the seminar was oversubscribed and while expressing his delight for their support, Dr Wayde Marr, Chairman of VTI, asked participants to please extend the Institute's apologies to their colleagues who they were unable to accommodate.
Chaired by Dr. Marr, the seminar's opening address was presented by Jamaica Institute of Engineers President, Mr. Hopeton Dunn. Presentations were also delivered by HEART/NTA's Chief Information Officer and Senior Director, Michael HoSue; EXIM Bank's, Mr. Charles Lewis and Superior ESSEX's James Sheridan among others.
In his welcome, Dr. Marr encouraged the need for the technical professions to become aware of their responsibilities in dealing with the technological opportunities and challenges that the country faces. He lamented the fact that while the government has communicated its vision for economic development in the form of communication technology, and even as it delivered on that promise, there were far too many professionals who remained unaware of the ramifications of such development. The resulting problem is that the pace of development of the support infrastructure is slowed and the country will not be able to maximize returns from the opportunities and instead will continually play “catch up” as we awaken to the realities of the situation. In closing, he warned that “what was on the technology horizon yesterday is now what confronts us today, and while we grapple with the present, we also must prepare for that which now appears on the horizon”.
In opening the seminar, Mr. Hopeton Heron, President of the Jamaica Institution of Engineers congratulated Vector Technology Institute for their nationalistic approach to the current development within the country. He supported the comments by the chairman and spoke of the need for technocrats and bureaucrats both to understand the significance of the technological changes taking place in the society, and the opportunities that presented themselves in light of these changes. He indicated that in meeting the new challenges, the country must recognize the need for standards and quality control in respect to infrastructural design, not only in the quality of material but also the need for a competent labour force. He, like chairman Marr, emphasized the need for embracing the challenges but also to become prepared for those that now appear on the horizon. Mr. Heron then expressed his pleasure in launching the series of Data Cabling workshops being hosted by VTI.
Mr. Michael Ho Sue, Chief Information Officer and Senior Director of the HEART/NTA spoke on the agency's efforts in both raising the skills level, as well as widening the skills inventory of the island's labour force. He described the role of the agency as training and certifying individuals to not only serve the needs of the Jamaican society but to also take advantage of opportunities in the wider Caribbean region under the Caribbean Single Market (CSM)agreement. He underscored the importance of the role that partners like VTI played in the area of workforce development. Shifting topics, Mr. Ho Sue gave an insight into HEART/NTA's deployment of broadband services. Aside from inter departmental communication; he explained how the technology was employed in the delivery of the agency's training courses.
Mr. Charles Lewis of the EXIM bank explained the bank's role in national development. He explained that the bank now views skills as part of the export component of its mandate and has targeted specific areas for skills development. In this vein, he proceeded to explain the benefits and conditions of bank's current ICT initiative which essentially offers low interest loans to individuals pursuing approved training leading to professional certification in an area of Information and Communication Technology. Dr. Marr noted that the Fiber Optic (FOA) and the Electronics Technician (ETA) associations' certification training in Fiber Optic Installation offered by VTI were on the Bank's list of approved courses.
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Mr. Jim Sheridan of Superior Essex was the main presenter at the event. He briefly traced the evolution of the technology and ended by reaching into the future. Using a series of illustrations, he impressed the audience with a series of novel products and ideas that he expects will be introduced to the commercial market during the next year or shortly thereafter.
In looking into the near future, Mr. Sheridan sees the commercialization of 3-D television and 3-D telecommunication, and the “intelligent home” becoming common place. He expects that the rate of demand will increase as technology advances and becomes commercially affordable. |
In addressing IT designers and engineers, Mr. Sheridan encouraged them to build with the future in mind. He noted that the cost of retro-fitting was far greater than designing with a more futuristic outlook in the first place. He also encouraged architects to become involved and aware of the changes taking place and the growing demand for a technologically driven life style. They should also recognize that homes will become an integral part of the technology, and property values will be impacted by the “broadband friendliness” of their designs. Finally, he reiterated the need for Jamaica to adopt international cabling standards.
Mr. Donovan James, sales manager for 3M, a Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) and certified Fiber Optics specialist (certified by the Fiber Optics Association) , addressed issues concerning Fiber Optics deployment. He stated that the need for more bandwidth was fuelled by a migration to a digital society, which in turn continues to generate a Broadband Explosion throughout the society. He elaborated that the opportunities provided has attracted a number of new entrants to the market with a variety of new products. Other topics covered included discussions on Triple Play, FTTP Full Build vs Overlay Network Architectures, New Sources of Revenue, and regulatory environment for Telecommunication. His main remarks were however reserved for the workmanship issues in the fiber cabling industry. He stated that the problems faced with quality of work was primarily as a result of lack of, or inadequate training, and warned that correcting poor wormanship was especially expensive in fiber optics installations.
Mr. Rohan Morris , Manager of Technical Services – Vector Design Limited and certified Fiber Optics specialist (certified by the Fiber Optics Association) elaborated on fiber optic certification issues. Mr. Morris summarized the details of the different certification levels offered through the Electronic Technician Association International, and Fiber Optic Association.
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