Author: CSOD Administrator

Facilitator - Tyreek Welsh

Keys for Success: The Facilitator

July 14, 2020 (updated July 14, 2020) Published by

I am Tyreek Welsh and I was a facilitator of the Caribbean School Of Data (CSOD) pilot group in Kingston, Jamaica that ended in February 2020. As a facilitator, I was responsible for assisting with both technical and administrative support and we had to familiarize ourselves with the learning objectives as well as the contents of the course. This was done in order to assist the students with any questions or clarify anything that they may not have understood. 

As a part of the process, we had to assist students by downloading the courses onto their tablets, as well as to sort out any technical issues they were having as it relates to accessing or completing the course. During the pilot programme, we met with the group every Saturday at 9am and followed up on their progress, and discussed the content of each module.

During the [period spent facilitating the group], I was  able to communicate and get to know some of the participants and I had the privilege of experiencing their eagerness, their concerns and their plans for the future. The ones who came every Saturday showed their enthusiasm by completing the different modules on time and asked questions within and outside the context of the course. 

Given the correct environment and a mentor, I can guarantee the growth of many of these participants. I remember speaking to a participant who wanted to pursue mechanical engineering. He asked how he would be able to merge both mechanical engineering and the digital world.  At the time, I gave the answer I could and I remember directing his question to Dr. McNaughton for further examination. Looking at this situation I realized that given a mentor to guide and to mold his development and decisions, he would be able to reach farther than what he believes he can achieve. Many youths are in a similar situation and given the right environment and a good mentor will become success stories. 

CSOD Mentors Offer Students More Support For Success

July 13, 2020 (updated July 14, 2020) Published by

On June 13, 2020 we hosted the virtual launch of our Mentorship Programme and Online Community. Our Jamaican students will be the first to experience it through this platform in July, as we aim to expand the mentor/ mentee relationship to include other Caribbean countries in the near future. 

The programme is designed to nurture our students’ attitudes and perspectives towards self-actualization, while entrenching them in positive networks and exposing them to opportunities for growth through online engagement. Built over a three-month engagement beginning midway through the curriculum, participants will  agree to weekly contact to aid in mentees’ professional and personal development, leadership skills, and contribute to their overall growth and development; with the final outcome being the creation of a development plan for each young person.

Current mentor and community volunteers are business, marketing and technology professionals in the region and the wider diaspora.  The application and onboarding process ensures all applicants complete reciprocal applications and courses, with matching and relationship building done by programme staff across five criteria: language, gender, country, personal goals, industry interest, subject area. Matches have pre, mid, and end of programme assessments.

Another way we will be providing support for our students and for persons to be involved is through the CSOD online community. This community will offer functional groups that represent the role a participant plays in the community, resulting in country groups formed around country of participation and/or country of interest and Interest groups characterised by professional, theme-based groups. Mentees will also benefit from job boards, informing them of relevant job postings from our partner countries/territories and an Employers’ Network to inform, interact and connect participants around opportunities and emerging trends.

If you are interested in becoming a mentor, sign up here.

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First Caribbean School Of Data Graduates are Jamaican

April 3, 2020 (updated June 3, 2020) Published by

First Cohort of Jamaican Students Graduate Regional Digital Programme 

March 23, 2020…Kingston, Jamaica. February 2020 saw the first Jamaican participants in the Google.org-funded Caribbean School of  Data (CSOD) graduate after undergoing a 12 -week digital training programme which included skills in digital foundations, digital productivity tools, social media and digital fundamentals.

Established by Google.org together with the Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM) and the Jamaica-based SlashRoots Foundation’s Caribbean Open Institute (COI), CSODaims to prevent young people in the Caribbean from falling victim to the ‘digital divide’ or being ‘data poor’ whereby they lack the skills to be competitive in today’s increasingly digital and data-driven workplace.

Valedictorian, Tasheen Duncan applauded the initiative, saying, “I can truly say that during this programme we have learned and have taught each other so much, it was truly a blessing. I speak on behalf of myself and my classmates, we have been thoroughly prepared to take on the digital world and we surely will. It might take time and much more practice but it will happen. Now for the favorite part…. at the end of each class we were given a warm meal and drinks, it might not seem to be a very big thing for the programme but it is most appreciated…(and) I’m pretty sure that we all enjoyed having our own tablets along the way.”

“We all look forward to the internships as well as all the business ideas that will be born along the way.”

Tasheen’s CSOD journey began  August of 2019, when she and other students were enrolled in the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Sameer Younis Foundation and ChangeMakers hosted CSOD Jamaica pilot cohort. This programme was initiated as part of the digital skills training  under the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) Integrated Community Development Project (ICDP) Youth Grant initiative. The students were given tablets, access to the course material, and guided facilitation through to the completion of their final projects – problem-solving for real-world business case scenarios. 

Notably, the CSOD has also launched a cohort in the Dominican Republic, where 250 students are currently being trained , with new groups to start courses in Guyana, Puerto Rico and Saint Lucia  early this year.

According to the Inter-American Development Bank, young people between the ages of 16 and 24 represent an average of 25% of the workforce in the English-speaking Caribbean, and approximately one in five people between the ages of 15 to 24 is not in school or is part of the workforce. The IADB said that has Caribbean relatively low levels of innovation and education, key components of economic growth, and that without improvements in the labour force this could limit medium-term development.

David Soutar, Co-Principal, Slashroots Foundation added “Digital and Data Skills are integral to the youth of our region being able to compete in the emerging Digital Economy. Initiatives such as the Caribbean School of Data aim to equip the next generation of our workforce with the knowledge and skills necessary for the region to be competitive in the global marketplace.”

The CSOD is designed to enable, over a period of two years, the training of at least 1,500 young men and women, aged 16-30 in seven Caribbean countries. The training is aligned with the needs of the domestic and global online labour markets to ensure graduates acquire new job competencies and covers topics ranging from data literacy to advanced data management, visualization, integration and analysis skills.

“[At] Google we want to strengthen these initiatives that, in addition to generating real inclusion for less-favored populations, promote the development of an entire region with great potential,” says Giovanni Stella, Google’s Country Manager for Colombia, Central America and the Caribbean.

Other local implementing partners, who help identify and enroll young persons for the training, are the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Sameer Younis Foundation, ChangeMakers Limited.

-end-

About Google.org

Google.org is Google’s philanthropic branch that was founded in October 2005. It works to expand the reach of nonprofit innovators and connect them with a unique mix of support that includes funds, tools and volunteers from Google. The objective of Google.org is to bring the best of Google to boost the work and accelerate the progress of these innovations that have the greatest impact on the communities they represent and whose work has the potential to produce significant changes that can escalate globally.

About Caribbean Open Institute

The Caribbean Open Institute (COI) is a regional coalition of organizations that promotes open development approaches to inclusion, participation and innovation within the Caribbean, using open data as a catalyst. The COI’s primary activities in Capacity building, Advocacy and Research, are funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

About Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM)

Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM), UWI Mona, is the premier Business School in the region and offers a suite of undergraduate and graduate programmes including the internationally accredited MBA. Its mandate is to be the arm of the University that facilitates effective business education and practices in the private and public sectors in order to advance the economic development agenda of Jamaica and the region.

About The SlashRoots Foundation

The SlashRoots Foundation has partnered with a variety of  government agencies, development organisations, academic institutions and private sector organizations to better use technology, user-centred design and data to improve public services and create innovative solutions to complex problems. They believe that digital technologies create new opportunities to address social ills and aim to help organizations incorporate these values into their work.

CSOD launches in Puerto Rico

The Caribbean School of Data (CSOD) launches in Puerto Rico

March 24, 2020 (updated May 27, 2020) Published by

Puerto Rico joins Jamaica and Dominican Republic in Caribbean School of Data

March 23, 2020…Kingston, Jamaica. Puerto Rico joins three other Caribbean countries to benefit from the Caribbean School of Data (CSOD), a regional initiative that seeks to improve digital literacy among marginalized youth populations.

An initiative by Google.org and the Caribbean Open Institute (COI)- which comprises the Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM) and the SlashRoots Foundation; the CSOD is designed to enable, over a period of two years, the training of at least 1,500 young men and women, aged 16-30 in seven Caribbean countries. 

The Puerto Ricanleg of the project was facilitated by partners  Pilot 151 and CodeTrotters of Puerto Rico and was staged at the Creole Center of Science and Technology in Caguas (C3Tec).

“Puerto Rico was in our plans from the beginning and in September 2019 we identified the ideal entity to land the initiative on the Island.” said Dr. Maurice McgNaughton, Director of the Centre for Excellence at Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM) and Principal Investigator for the CSOD project.

Sofia Stolberg, of Pilot 151, commented on the importance of technology and programmes like the CSOD, saying “When we talk about the economy, we talk about the digital economy. It is ubiquitous in every business and industry. Our interactions, whether with the government, in commerce, whether it is an economic or social activity, take place through digital interaction. . Educating our children in this field is essential to guarantee them opportunities in the future. “

Mayor of Caguas, William Miranda Torres, who was in attendance added “The modern world interacts and moves through technology and in Caguas we are aware of this reality. In this direction, we recently completed a digitalization study that was only possible through the data available in our systems. By educating our young people in Open Data not only expand the opportunities of these young people but also contribute to the growth of our country and we are committed to an industry that plans to match or exceed the assets or assets of our current economy such as oil or gold.”

C3Tec and its director, Tasha Endara will administer the programme, and will target between 300-400 students per year, starting with a class of 30 students from the central-eastern region. Students will be given access to technology and course material,guided facilitation through to the completion of their final projects – problem-solving for real-world business case scenarios. Areas of study of the programme include fundamentals of being digital, productivity tools for digital workers, social networks and web applications, fundamentals of data and critical thinking and problem solving.

Notably, the CSOD has also launched a cohort in the Dominican Republic, where students are currently being trained; and in Jamaica, where the first group of students graduated on February 7, 2020. New groups of participants are scheduled to begin  courses in Guyana, Saint Lucia early this year.

According to the Inter-American Development Bank, young people between the ages of 16 and 24 represent an average of 25% of the workforce in the English-speaking Caribbean, and approximately one in five people between the ages of 15 to 24 is not in school or is part of the workforce. The IADB said that has Caribbean relatively low levels of innovation and education, key components of economic growth, and that without improvements in the labour force this could limit medium-term development.

-end-

About Google.org

Google.org is Google’s philanthropic branch that was founded in October 2005. It works to expand the reach of nonprofit innovators and connect them with a unique mix of support that includes funds, tools and volunteers from Google. The objective of Google.org is to bring the best of Google to boost the work and accelerate the progress of these innovations that have the greatest impact on the communities they represent and whose work has the potential to produce significant changes that can escalate globally.

About Caribbean Open Institute

The Caribbean Open Institute (COI) is a regional coalition of organizations that promotes open development approaches to inclusion, participation and innovation within the Caribbean, using open data as a catalyst. The COI’s primary activities in Capacity building, Advocacy and Research, are funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

About Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM)

Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM), UWI Mona, is the premier Business School in the region and offers a suite of undergraduate and graduate programmes including the internationally accredited MBA. Its mandate is to be the arm of the University that facilitates effective business education and practices in the private and public sectors in order to advance the economic development agenda of Jamaica and the region.

About The SlashRoots Foundation

The SlashRoots Foundation has partnered with a variety of  government agencies, development organisations, academic institutions and private sector organizations to better use technology, user-centred design and data to improve public services and create innovative solutions to complex problems. They believe that digital technologies create new opportunities to address social ills and aim to help organizations incorporate these values into their work.

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