Guyanese students celebrated after completing Master’s degrees at Trent University

Guyanese students, Stacy James and Malaika Persaud, the first-ever graduates of the Sustainable Guyana Programme at Trent University, have been celebrated after finally receiving their Master of Arts in Sustainability Studies.
The Sustainable Guyana Programme is a strategic partnership that provides opportunities for employees at the University of Guyana (UG) to earn graduate-level credentials at Trent University, and, ultimately enhance the individuals’ skills and research capacity, as well as education in non-fossil, sustainable sectors of the Guyanese economy

Chair of the Sustainable Guyana Programme, Dr Suresh Narine expressed that it is a momentous day for the Guyanese students and an exciting time for students studying in this field.
“Stacy and Malaika are the first graduates among a group of students who will bring the skills, foci, and critical mass to ensure that Guyana is equipped with the human capacity to chart a sustainable developmental trajectory. This collaboration between Trent University and the University of Guyana brings together deep inquiry into Indigeneity, sustainability, science, and innovation. There is a kind of positive spontaneous combustion when this endeavour is harnessed to national development; it is tremendously exciting,” Narine shared.
Out of nine UG employees who have started their studies at Trent to date, Stacy and Malaika are the first two to complete their graduate degrees.
During her time at Trent, Malaika worked to gain a deeper understanding of traditional Guyanese medicine. As a pharmacist, she aimed to build on the traditional uses of sweet aloe with a deeper scientific understanding of the plant’s medicinal properties.

“All before my time at Trent, my work was so focused on science…Learning about sustainability in an arts-based programme gave me the really valuable experience of getting new perspectives about my work and opened up new views of the world,” she underscored.
Also equipped with a background in pharmaceutical sciences, Stacy explored the scientific properties and chemical nature of oils derived from the crabwood tree. She focused her work at Trent on two species of plant, which grow abundantly in Guyana’s rainforests.
New graduate Stacy noted, “It’s a privilege to be a part of the Sustainable Guyana Programme, to have the opportunity to be here at Trent and graduate as a Master’s student. Now I am getting the opportunity to continue my studies at Trent to complete my Ph.D. I look forward to returning home to Guyana with both my Master’s and doctorate degrees and sharing new knowledge and skills with the next generation of Guyanese scholars.”
The Sustainable Guyana Programme was launched in 2019 as a groundbreaking partnership between Trent University and the University of Guyana with support from CGX Energy Inc (CGX), and Frontera Energy Corporation (FEC).
The programme offers comprehensive support to students accepted into the programme, including funding for tuition, as well as stipends for living and travel expenses. The programme also covers research project costs, ensuring that students have the necessary resources to make a measurable impact on Guyana’s sustainable development.
The Sustainable Guyana students currently studying at Trent University are currently involved in Environmental and Life Sciences; Interdisciplinary Social Research; and Applied Modelling and Quantitative Methods.
Trent University is one of Canada’s top universities, founded on the ideal of interactive learning that is personal, purposeful, and transformative.
Consistently recognised nationally for leadership in teaching, research, and student satisfaction, Trent attracts excellent students from across the country and around the world. Across all disciplines, Trent is known to bring critical, integrative thinking to life every day.