The Memorandum of Understanding between the College of The Bahamas and the Bahamas Marine Science Institute was signed yesterday at the Harry C. Moore Library boardroom on the COB’s Oakes Field campus.
The agreement marks a monumental milestone in Bahamian history as the two projected leaders in Bahamian tertiary education have partnered to help improve growth and development within the country.
President of the College of The Bahamas, Dr. Rodney Smith said that the agreement came about after a tedious collaborative effort.
“The academic leadership teams of both institutions have worked for months to create the very best partnership possible. On the college’s side I commend Dr. Pandora Johnson, Interim VP for Academic Affairs, Dr. Maria Oriahki, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affair, Dr. Dion Hepburn, Director of Research, Dr. Carlton Watson and Mr. Lionel Johnson,” said Mr. Smith.
Smith also said that this agreement not only benefits the two schools but the country at large.
“We will have a collaborative partnership for the full benefit of the entire country. We envision that much of the research taking place at the Small Island Sustainability Research Complex, for which ground was recently broken, and it will help in the refinement process for massive production of food supplies,” Mr. Smith said.
BAMSI’s President Dr. Godfrey Eneas says the signing is a huge step in the advancement of Bahamian education as the schools will be able to pool its resources to benefit both institutions.
“It was a groundbreaking event, we worked hard trying to get this memorandum of understanding between our two institutions and we feel that it will all go well for The Bahamas,” he said.
“With COB being the premiere tertiary institution in The Bahamas having a partnership with us at BAMSI is very important because it provides certain standards and advantages because we are able to share students and faculty and participate in joint research projects, so we will be able to address environmental issues facing The Bahamas, so it is a win-win situation for both sides.”
Effective this year students graduating from BAMSI will have earned a certificate from BAMSI or degree awarded by the College of the Bahamas but after official transition to university they will be awarded by the University of the Bahamas degree in collaboration with BAMSI.
Earlier this month, it was announced that BAMSI will be opening a second institute in Grand Bahama.
