B.T.L. and UWI Sign M.O.U. that Benefits Students
The University of the West Indies, Open Campus signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Belize Telemedia Limited today. The M.O.U. establishes the terms of a joint initiative between the two parties and committing B.T.L. to provide data services at special rates to UWI students. As part of this collaboration, B.T.L. will also give consideration to UWI students for use of shared space in various locations around the country to access internet services for their online and distance education platform. News Five’s Hipolito Novelo reports.
Hipolito Novelo, Reporting
A partnership between Belize Telemedia Limited and University of the West Indies (Open Campus) is set to benefit students who study online. This morning both bodies signed a memorandum of understanding, enabling UWI (Open Campus) students to access fixed and mobile internet at preferential rates. According to B.T.L.’s C.E.O. Rochus Schreiber, the decision to partner with UWI is one grounded on the company’s commitment to support higher education.
Rochus Schreiber
Rochus Schreiber, C.E.O., B.T.L.
“University of West Indies students, they work often remotely. They study online. So that was the perfect match between the improved internet capabilities of our network whether physical or fixed line or mobile and the method of learning that UWI has. It is also a very interesting case study for what can be done for a country when you combine innovative learning methods with modern high capacity, high speed network. So we are very much interested to see how this partnership will evolve and what we will see coming out on the other side when the students start graduating, entering the work force and contributing actively to the development of the country.”
UWI has an enrollment of about two hundred students. Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr. Luz Longsworth says that the agreement now reduces cost to students who are studying online with the open campus. The MOU also eliminates the physical constraint of a small classroom.
Luz Longsworth
Dr. Luz Longsworth, Pro Vice-Chancellor, U.W.I.
“Our region is not at the top of the list when it comes to students who are in higher education. I know that Belize has done quite a lot in terms of expansion of tertiary education but we are still in Belize; below the numbers that we need to drive development and growth of our country. Ideally, it is fifty percent of our people that should have higher education. Right now it is hovering around fifteen to twenty percent in Belize. So this modality, this way of studying online is one way that we can really open it up. So we feel that making sure that young people have access to education, and not only just our young people because you have old people who did not have the opportunity when they young but they now have the opportunity in this modality. This is a powerful way of studying. A lot of people are afraid of it but I want to assure everyone that once you get use to the online environment, you would not want to study any other way.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Hipolito Novelo.
B.T.L. will partner with the UWI Open Campus, Belize on outreach activities to promote programme offerings online, distance and continuing education.
