The Innovation Hub that is being established at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC), in Saint Lucia, is expected to improve the competitiveness of College graduates along with the wider economy, by transforming how education is delivered. SALCC Principal/President Dr. Keith Nurse, and Brent St Catherine, Head of the Innovation Hub and the Gateways to Global Careers Programme, discuss: this new initiative; how it has been designed; and why it is likely to achieve its objectives over the long term.

 

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Innovation and entrepreneurship are inextricably linked, as they both tend to require a certain amount of skill and fearlessness. However, although Caribbean people are known to be innovative and entrepreneurial, it could be argued that across the region, we have not truly witnessed the gains of those qualities.

Over the years, there has been wide debate on the issue, with a raft of challenges being identified and fingers being pointed in many quarters. Though the issue persists, individual countries and organisations across the region seem to be chipping away at some of the barriers, and are making strides in improving the enabling environment.  

A recent case in point is Saint Lucia and the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC), which is the leading tertiary learning institution on the island, and offers a broad range of programmes from Bachelor’s and Associate degrees, to Technical and Vocational Education Training, and Executive and Leadership training. In July, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Government of Taiwan for the establishment of an Innovation Hub at the College, which it is believed “will aid in upgrading the global competitiveness of the College’s graduates” (Source:  Caribbean News Global).

Long-time listeners of the Podcast may remember that in 2019, we had a series of episodes examining innovation, a few of which are listed below:

Generally, when we think of innovation, and being innovative, it seems quite nebulous: something that is difficult to explain, and which cannot be structured or systematised. Through the conversations we had in 2019, we sought to delve more deeply into the subject and examine it from different angles.

It has been a few years since we have focussed on innovation, so with this new initiative in Saint Lucia, we thought it opportune to revisit how a formal learning institution can facilitate and foster innovation.

 

Introducing our guests

Dr. Keith Nurse

Dr. Keith Nurse is the Principal/President of the SALCC in Saint Lucia. He has recently worked as Senior Economist and Advisor on Structural Policies and Innovation at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Centre in Paris. He has worked also at the University of the West Indies as the World Trade Organization Chair.

He serves on the executive bureau of the UN Committee for Development Policy, a subsidiary body of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). He serves also as a member of Hemispheric Programme Advisory Committee of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture. He is a former member of the Economic Development Advisory Board, Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

Dr. Nurse has worked as a researcher and consultant to governments and international and regional organisations around the world and has published on a wide array of issue areas such as trade policy and services, industrial policy and innovation governance, creative industries, tourism, migration and diasporas, gender and economic restructuring, climate action and sustainable development.

 

Brent St. Catherine

Brent St. Catherine is the Head of the Innovation Lab and Gateways Programme at the SALCC, which is aimed at giving young people hands on training in running a ‘for-profit’ business, and creating ground breaking products and technologies which will enhance the region’s competitive position. He holds an MBA in International Business Management from the Mona School of Business, a division of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica.

Brent transitioned from the private sector, in which he was General Manager for a few private companies, until finding his passion in the classroom. He is a seasoned lecturer having lectured Undergraduate courses for numerous institutions, such as Monroe College, Australian Institute of Business, London School of Marketing. His repertoire of courses taught at the degree level were mainly geared towards training future entrepreneurs and senior managers. These included: Entrepreneurship, Business Planning, Strategic Management, International Marketing, Business Ethics, Organisational Behaviour and Managing Cultural Diversity.

Brent has also provided consultancy and training to various government institutions such as the Ministry of Tourism, where he delivered a workshop on developing Competitive Advantages and Strategic Alliances.  He has also provided support to private institutions such as Sandals, Rainforest Foods and Noah Energy.

 

Insights into our conversation

At the time of publishing, the SALCC Innovation Hub was around eight months old, but the organisation has already set up and is in the process of delivering the Gateways to Global Careers programme to its very first cohort. It has also begun work in setting up some of the innovation laboratories that will be needed to provide practical support to programme participants.

However, beyond the above successes that the Hub has achieved to date, there appears to be two key factors that are underpinning the initiative, and strengthens the likelihood that it will: (i) continue in the long term; and (ii) that cohort participants will actually start their businesses. First, the Hub has been able to secure several local, regional and international partners, and is leveraging opportunities for collaboration and for knowledge transfer. Second, the Innovation Hub is to be a critical part of the ongoing transformation of the SALCC. The institution is in the process of securing university accreditation, and wants the Hub to touch – and to varying degrees to be integrated into – all of its divisions and programmes. In other words, the Innovation Hub will not be a standalone, or siloed initiative of the College, but will be fully integrated into all of its offerings.

Below are some of the questions posed to our guests during our conversation:

  1. Can we get an overview of the SALCC?
  2. What was the impetus for the arrangement with the Government of Taiwan?
  3. What areas and services are the Innovation Hub likely to cover, and how is the College hoping the Hub will foster ‘innovation’?
  4. What services and facilities will be available through the Innovation Hub, and how will individuals be able access those services and facilities?
  5. Is the Hub being designed to be self-sustaining?
  6. When is the Hub expected to launch?
  7. What are likely to be some of the Key Performance Indicators, or markers of success, of the Hub?
  8. Where would you like to see the Innovation Hub in the next 3 years?

 

We would love to hear from you!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Image credits: K Nurse; B St Catherine; David Stanley (flickr); Caribbean Press Release

Music credit: Ray Holman

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez