UG to host 2nd Biennial Conference

– to deliberate impact of COVID-19 on delivery of tertiary education

The University of Guyana’s Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CoETaL) will be hosting its Second Biennial Conference from Monday, September 20, to Wednesday, September 22, 2021.
This is an event that aims to provide a space for academics, researchers, and other key stakeholders to deliberate on issues and find solutions to the challenges confronting the delivery of tertiary education due to the impact of COVID-19.
This year, the forum will be hosted virtually as professionals in the educational system grapple with and learn to navigate amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference is being held under the theme “Emergency Remote Teaching, Leading and Learning” and will also be free to the public. However, registration is required in advance for the event using the following link https://coetal.uog.edu.gy/biennial-conference-2021/registration.
The opening session is on Monday, September 20, 2021, at 09:00h and will feature presentations from the University of Guyana’s Chancellor, Prof Edward Greene; UG’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Paloma Mohamed Martin; Education Minister Priya Manickchand; Principal of the Cyril Potter College of Education, Dr Viola Rowe; Guyana’s Chief Education Officer, Dr Marcel Hutson and Director of UG’s Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CoETaL), Dr Charmaine Bissessar.
The opening ceremony will also include an edutainment session by Michael Khan of UG’s Faculty of Education and Humanities, Department of Visual and Performing Arts.
The conference brings together a cadre of distinguished researchers, educators, and key stakeholders as a community involved in tertiary education to share their expertise, knowledge, and skills with each other. Several high-profile speakers will be featured including a world-renowned expert in distance education and instructional technology, Dr Dimitrios Vlachopoulos.
Other well-known educators in their fields will be conducting six plenary sessions on the various sub-themes; these include: Dr Katija Khan who will be addressing the issue of care and well-being during the pandemic; Dr Ramesh Sharma who will be discussing techniques to enhance student engagement online; Dr Gordon Harewood who will be providing some online assessment techniques; Dr Wayne Wesley who will discuss the challenges and opportunities inherent in the digital divide; Dr Carole Basile who will discuss the issues of leading, teaching and learning post-COVID-19; Dr Lidon Lashley will be discussing inclusivity during the pandemic; Dr Mairette Newman and Dr Leory Hill will be part of a panel discussion on emergency remote learning, teaching, and leading and Zaida Khan-Ventour will facilitate an e-quality workshop.
A special panel comprising of five lecturers from the University of Guyana – Kara Lord, Lisa Edwards, Shanomae Rose, Angelina Autar, and Monique Sarius – who are all pursuing their Doctor of Education degrees under a special UG-Arizona State University (ASU) programme will complete the conference presentations.
All of the presenters will deliver an enriching and eclectic array of empirical, anecdotal, and literature reviews on the conference’s sub-themes. The conference’s presentations, plenary sessions, panels, and workshops are expected to be inspiring and innovative at the individual and community levels. They will provide compelling fodder for future research and, more importantly, empower and motivate academics to delve deeper into various areas of research.
The University of Guyana acknowledges the support of its main partners; the Ministry of Education and the Cyril Potter College of Education for collaborating to host this event. UG also thanks Elton B Stephens Company (EBSCO) for its sponsorship.
UG CoETaL’s “Emergency Remote Teaching, Leading and Learning” conference is the 6th international conference hosted by the University of Guyana this year. There are two more such conferences to be hosted by UG by the end of the year.