UTech Annual Report 2019-20

University of Technology, Jamaica 19 Following the untimely death of the Editor-in-Chief of JAST, Mr. Martin Henry, in May 2019, the University appointed Professor Cynthia Onyefulu as the new Editor-in-Chief in September 2019. Entrepreneurship and Project Management The following consultancy, capacity-building, and/or research projects were led by the SGSRE during the period under review: Grant Projects and Proposals Project Details CITY-Lab (European Union) The Faculty of the Built Environment continued implementation of the “Citi-Lab” project that is aimed at the infusion of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach into selected courses/modules at the Universities within the 15-member consortium led by the University of Antwerp, Belgium. Dr. Carol Archer, Faculty of the Built Environment, is the local Project Leader. The project is funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ Programme and is slated to conclude in October 2020. None in Three (Ni3) The University partnered with the None in Three (Ni3) Research Centre at the University of Huddersfield, UK, for research and development of pro-social computer games for the prevention of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) among children and young people. A four-year contract was signed to implement the project in Jamaica which is being managed by Dr. Christine Fray-Aiken, Project Country Director from the College of Health Sciences. The Ni3 is a global research centre established in October 2017 with satellite offices conducting projects in China, India, Jamaica and Uganda. Improving Household Nutrition Security and Public Health in CARICOM Professor Fitzroy Henry of the COHS is UTech, Jamaica’s co-investigator on this project that is being implemented by a consortium of institutions comprising: University of West Indies, University of Technology, Jamaica, Cambridge University (UK) and McGill University (Canada). Funded by International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, the overall goals of the proposal are to build a shared understanding amongst stakeholders of the complex adaptive systems driving local food production and consumption in English-speaking CARICOM states; and implement coordinated packages of interventions within national food systems that promote sustainable livelihoods of vulnerable groups, including rural populations and women, and combat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). LINKS project Professor Fitzroy Henry continues to anchor UTech’s participation on this project that is valued at US$55,000. The project supports the analysis of local food samples for their fat and salt content. Collaborators are the Scientific Research Council and the Bureau of Standards. Removing Trans-fat from Food Supply In Jamaica Professor Fitzroy Henry is the lead researcher on this project that is funded by the National Health Fund in the amount of JMD $4,970,000. The project aims, through consultations, sensitization and training among various stakeholders to develop guidelines, standards and regulation relating to Trans-fat in Jamaica’s food supply chain. ACP Innovation Fund-Call for Proposals The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) and the European Union (EU) have launched the ACP Innovation Fund, a substantial effort to boost and optimise STI capacities in the ACP countries. The programme is to improve the capacity of research and innovation stakeholders, policy development and knowledge transfer. The University partnered with the University of Alicante in Spain in submitting a proposal.

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