The Tribune

THE University of The Bahamas has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Cape Eleuthera Island School to strengthen cooperation in educational and research pursuits.

Under the agreement, students and faculty will have increased opportunities to actively contribute to the fields of education, science and engineering through their courses of study.

UB is collaborating with The Island School on curriculum development initiatives, providing faculty and students with diverse learning experiences in New Providence, Eleuthera, San Salvador and other locations where UB has satellite campuses. This agreement also paves the way for cultural enrichment, internship and teaching opportunities.

"It is an honour for University of The Bahamas (UB) to sign an MOU with The Island School, not only for our UB students to study and do research on Cape Eleuthera, but also for distinguished faculty at The Island School to serve as adjunct faculty for University of The Bahamas," said UB President Dr. Rodney D. Smith.

"We are looking forward to doing joint degree programmes at the undergraduate, master's and doctorate degree levels. We look forward to creating hybrid sustainable development programmes between our respective institutions that will be the kind of education that you cannot get anywhere else in the world."

CEO of The Island School Dr. Edd Brooks shared Dr. Smith's enthusiasm over the formalization of the relationship and the opportunities that lie ahead for transformative education and research experiences.

"The Island School was founded on the principle that students should be creators of knowledge and not just consumers of knowledge; the idea that students can and should work not just to pass a course or degree but do work that matters, something that has real impact on the world and an effect on the communities that we serve," explained Dr. Brooks.

"When the work matters, a student doesn't come to school to get that grade, they come to see the next page in the books they read, the next step in the adventure and that is what we try to instil through our work."

The Island School is a living-learning environment that is a model for reducing man's carbon footprint on the environment. The concept of conservation comes to life and deep-rooted respect for the environment is cultivated.

The school has solar panels and heaters and cisterns for rain water collection. An aquaponics operation and the processing and recycling of human waste to fertilize plants at the centre of the campus are also key features.

The Island School complements the Cape Eleuthera Institute for research and the Deep Creek Middle School.

"The thing I am most excited about now in this partnership is that finally we have an academic model where students can do work in The Bahamas on issues that are important for The Bahamas…. Our model works and we want to share this with more people in The Bahamas," Dr. Brooks said.