Photo: Hon. Andre Perez – Minister of Blue Economy & Civil Aviation
by Khaila Gentle
BELMOPAN, Thurs. Nov. 17, 2022
The Ministry of Blue Economy and Civil Aviation and the University of Belize have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that lays the groundwork for the introduction of more courses and programs at the university that focus on subject matter related to the fields of Civil Aviation and Blue Economy. According to Hon. Andre Perez, the MoU is a part of the Ministry of Blue Economy and Civil Aviation’s strategic goal of aligning itself with the country’s national university to empower students and future leaders so that they can one day fill the many roles needed within the ministry, from pilots to marine biologists and everything in between.
“We are saying that we have to build capacity, and the only way to do it is by working through our national university,” he said.
The agreement was signed today in Belmopan at the UB Belmopan campus by UB president, Dr. Vincent Palacio, and Minister Perez. It serves to establish cooperation between the two institutions so that they can “share knowledge, expertise, data and information in order to strengthen common interests and respective missions.”
Dr. Palacio told reporters that the signing of the agreement is very timely, since the University strives to always be relevant.
“All of our programs, we have to align with where it is needed. And here we have a scenario with the Ministry of Blue Economy and Civil Aviation, where we heard how important these two departments are in the ministry, and here at UB we offer programs that directly feed into what they’re doing there. So, we now have to become more relevant in those course offerings,” he said.
The university will be incorporating areas of expertise related to Civil Aviation and the Blue Economy into a number of their courses, including in their Natural Resources Management and Marine Biology programs. The research done by students at the university in fields related to civil aviation or the Blue Economy, he said, could one day guide policy-making and planning in the ministry.
“All of these programs now, we will make sure that they’re relevant to what is required of, particularly, the graduates when they complete the program,” Dr. Palacio added.
(Photo source: University of Belize)