Six students and one faculty member represented the University of Guyana in Europe at the Second World Congress on Undergraduate Research held in Oldenburg, Germany, from May 23-25, 2019.
The Undergraduate World Congress presents an opportunity for global dialogue across many different fields of inquiry. Students from Universities around the world congregated at this seminal event to share their research, discuss global issues and create international research partnerships; they were also afforded the chance to enjoy and explore the northwest of Germany.
The Undergraduate World Congress is a product of the Council for Undergraduate Research of which The University of Guyana is a member.
This organisation is comprised of individual, institutional, and affiliate members from around the world, whose mission is to promote high-quality and collaborative undergraduate research, scholarly, and creative activity opportunities for faculty and students.
The UG students had their abstracts selected from a pool of over 8,000 abstracts for the World Congress. The student representatives were: Shikema Dey and Nerissa Persaud, two second year Associate Degree in English majors from the Faculty of Education and Humanities, whose research focused on the Discussion of Suicide in Guyana:
The insiders’ perspectives (documentary); Shemain Robinson, graduate from the Faculty of Social Sciences, research was on The Challenges faced by orphanage direct care workers;
Jomesha Stewart, graduate from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, researched the Tolerance of two grafted tomato plants to diseases; Jason Jaikisson, graduate from the Faculty of Health Sciences, research focused on Estimating organ dose for a standard chest x-ray at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation; Benita Davis, graduate from the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, focused on An examination of physicochemical water quality parameters in the vicinity of the Kaieteur National Park;
and Kwesi Elliot, graduate from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, focused his research on
The use of keywords dynamics as a means of user authentication.
Commenting on the university’s participation in the World Congress on Undergraduate Research, Vice Chancellor (acting) Professor Michael Scott said, “This is a truly watershed moment in the University of Guyana’s 55 year history. The entire UG Community is elated and justly proud of this global recognition of our undergraduate research scholarship”. He further congratulated the researchers (four females and two males), head of the delegation Assistant Director Undergraduate Research, who accompanied them and also their research supervisors, for a job well done. He also encouraged the team to “keep going forward and
upward to greater accomplishments.”
The students who attended the World Congress in Germany were extremely grateful for the opportunity to present their research and to represent the University. Jomesha Stewart noted that, “It was an honour to have research that has piqued the interest of individuals on the team of the WorldCUR 2019. I am grateful and quite ecstatic about being given the opportunity to share my research with scholars from various countries of the world.” By the same token, Benita Davis, highlighted that, “the aim of the World Congress for Undergraduate Research is to bring together the world’s best undergraduate research that addresses the major challenges the global community is facing today. Therefore, it was an honour and a privilege to represent the University of Guyana on a global stage”.
Jason Jaikissoon called attention to the fact that, “Guyana is now one of five South American countries to participate in the event, with more than 117 international universities”, he is pleased that he was able to demonstrate the quality of research done at the University of Guyana and also for the chance to network for possible collaboration with other universities for future medical research at the University of Guyana.
The students were accompanied by Ms Pamela Rose, Assistant Director, Undergraduate Research. Ms Rose also made a research presentation titled, “Implementing an Undergraduate Research Office: Insights from undergraduates”. In giving her praise to the students, she expressed, “Seven UG students being part of a global community of undergraduate researchers from 35 countries, six continents, 92 universities and 100
academic disciplines is both a rewarding and a productive experience. The exposure to research excellence, creative inquiry and networking opportunities has inspired them and increased their self-confidence.
The Office for Undergraduate Research was established in the latter half of 2016 as an initiative of the Office of the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Guyana. The mission of the Office is to promote and facilitate the engagement of students in research and other creative activities; to demystify research and increase knowledge about its nature and methodologies; and to obtain competitive advantages to pursue opportunities in the workforce and for postgraduate or professional study.
