NCU ALUMNI CHAPTER CAYMAN (ACKy)

The following are some nuggets of achievements for the 2014/15 operational year across the range of educational, social and spiritual endeavours of NCU:

 

NCU Continues to Shine in IT Achievements

Since its 2010 remarkable achievement in winning the prestigious Microsoft Imagine Cup competition, toppling 90 other competitors, including 15 from China, NCU continues to shine in the area of information technology. The Imagine Cup competition is hosted by Microsoft International each year to seek out the best student computer software designers in the world. The NCU team won the 2010 coveted Microsoft Inter-operability Award. 

 

University Day – Another NCU Attraction

In February, thousands of students from high schools across Jamaica visited the main campus of Northern Caribbean University (NCU) in Mandeville for University Day 2015. With sponsors such as Digicel, the event was packed with excitement and extraordinary entertainment. NCU has strong affiliations with the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) and Adventists Accrediting Association (AAA), and continues to provide a quality Christ-centred education that builds character, creativity and competence in its scholars.

 

Citizens Awards Banquet – Celebrating Exemplary Behaviour

The 32nd Citizenship Awards banquet held March 1, 2015, a merger of the “Student’s Ambassador’s Coronation” and the “Citizenship Awards Banquet”, is one of the many activities on the NCU social calendar.  NCU student ambassadors epitomize excellence in areas such as social interaction, talent, and community service. These activities represent one dimension of the complete education students receive.

 

Medical Technology Students Pinned

Forty-seven junior Medical Technology students were pinned in 2015. The event marks a rite of passage that formally thrusts the students into the full-time practical training that accompanies preparation to practice as medical technologists.

 

NCU Raises its Voice against Corruption

Northern Caribbean University, through the College of Business and Hospitality Management, called for greater integrity from Caribbean nationals – especially among leaders.  As part of this thrust, the head of the National Integrity Action (NIA), Professor Trevor Munroe, was the guest lecturer at the W.D. Carter Lecture Series, held February 2015. The W.D. Carter lecture series is staged three times each semester.

 

Amazing Facts for Week of Prayer

Spring 2015 Week of Prayer welcomed the Amazing Facts Centre of Evangelism (AFCOE) during the week-long event in January, at the NCU Gymnatorium in Mandeville. Pastor Doug Batchelor led the charge under the theme, “Kingdom Characters.” The Amazing Facts Centre for Evangelism also held training seminars which focused on Christ-centred evangelism, reclaiming lost members, and setting the church on an evangelism cycle, among other initiatives. Week of Prayer is held twice every year (during the spring semester and again in the fall). It is a time when the university family pauses to focus on Him “in whom we live and move and have our being”.

 

 

NCU Affirms Humanitarianism on World Social Work Day

The College of Humanities, Behavioural and Social Sciences awarded media practitioner Suzan Simes-Graham with the Humanitarian Award for her outstanding contribution to community and national development.

 

The award was presented to Mrs Simes-Graham at the institution’s Mandeville campus in March 2015 during an event held to celebrate annual World Social Work Day. Simes-Graham, who was the guest presenter, is a producer, writer and TV host of several shows including, “The Suzan Show” and “Kids Say”.

 

NCU Extending its Reach through Strategic Alliances

• The JCF MoU

Northern Caribbean University (NCU) and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) strengthened their ties with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the university’s main campus in Mandeville. The MoU recognizes and formalises over ten years of volunteer services.

 

As part of the MoU, NCU personnel provides training, consultation and related psycho-social, health and wellness support services. The JCF will secure and make available the necessary resources to facilitate the successful execution of the programme.

 

• The NEPA MoU

In another MoU, Northern Caribbean University (NCU) strengthened its partnership with the Jamaica Government’s National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA). The partnership will allow for joint publications and will afford the privilege of having documents, papers, and theses originating with respective entities to be evaluated, peer reviewed, and assessed. 

 

The specific areas of cooperation under the MoU include management of Natural Resources (including economic valuation); Biodiversity (including genetic resources); Ecosystems (terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine); Protected Areas; Land Use Planning; Ecosystem Classification & Profiling; Environmental Models and simulations; Policy and Action Plan Development; Ecological Assessments; Pollution assessment; Hazard mapping; GIS and data management. 

 

• The SRHA MoU

Another recently signed MoU, jointly agreed by Northern Caribbean University (NCU) and the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA), aims to strengthen the development of competent health professionals. The agreement formalized and improved the partnership for training students to perform clinical rotations at SRHA health facilities.

 

The MoU included corporation in the areas of Nursing, Medical Technology, Dietetics and Nutrition and Public Health.  It enhances the partnership between the two organisations in ensuring that students acquire practical experience in the SRHA facilities.

 

NCU, Again! Students Top National Business Model Competition

Northern Caribbean University students dominated the National Business Model Competition (NBMC) in 2015, copping first and third place, repeating its performance at the event’s inaugural staging. The competing team walked away with a cheque valued at J$2 million.

 

With the aim of making agricultural production easier for many home garden consumers, the team of entrepreneurs designed a smart appliance to support the production of foods for individuals in urban communities.

 

 

DCS Week of Excellence 2015

The Department of Communication Studies (DCS) held its inaugural Week of Excellence March 21-25, 2015. Some features of the week included a Communication Symposium, an animation workshop, and a motion picture workshop.

 

Research Week 2015

Each year the university schedules a week on the university’s calendar to showcase research carried out by the university family. Research Week also serves to highlight regional and international research.

 

The theme for 2015 was “Wholistic Synergy: Transformational Solutions through Research.” During the week, the five colleges and school at the university hosted seminars, symposiums and exhibits on the various research initiatives being undertaken by the university.

 

Keynote speaker, Professor Joseph A. Whittaker, Professor in Biology and Associate Director of the NASA GESTAR Program at Morgan State University, encouraged the audience to “produce, perform, but leave room for growth. See yourself as a university working synergistically together to carry out a function.”

 

New Revolutionary Degree Programme Coming to NCU

The School of Religion and Theology has proposed a new degree programme -- the Master’s of Arts in Christian Psychology.  This new programme, arguably the first of its kind, will be a fusion of Theology and Psychology, and is aimed at restoring the human mind to its original/Edenic state. The proposed curriculum for the programme was discussed at the 6th annual Mind of Christ Conference at the NCU Mandeville Campus in February 2016.

 

Reaching Everyone

Located in the town of Manchester, the Community Counselling and Restorative Justice Centre (CCRJC) strives to find common ground with those who are less fortunate, especially those who are victims of child abuse and sexual offences. As an outreach arm of Northern Caribbean University, CCRJC aims to provide quality, confidential, Christ-centred intervention services that include counselling and psychological services, training and restorative practices.  The overall goal is to strengthen citizens’ resolve to be more responsible in their relationship to self, others and God.