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The Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, MP, JP
As you peruse the pages of this annual report we learn that UTech’s student
population has doubled in the years of the 21st century – from 6,650 in
2000/01 to 13,303 in 2013/14. These have been tough economic times. One
conclusion to be drawn from those figures therefore is that financial difficulty
is no impediment to ambition.
Institutions are as much victims of financial hard times as are individuals, and
so we note with interest that the University of Technology, Jamaica, faced
with its own constraints, has responded to growing demands from an ever-
expanding client base with the necessary flexibility and resourcefulness. The
University has developed new areas of academic study in disciplines where
the UTech brand is pre-eminent (eg. Sport, Pharmacy, Engineering, Technical
Education), expanded opportunities in some traditional professional areas,
created collaborative arrangements with local and international partners, and
stepped up the pace of development for online teaching and learning. The explicit focus on entrepreneurship at
both academic and administrative levels is intended to maximise existing resources.
The University is a social institution but it is also a business. As a social enterprise then, its mission must be to
produce, not financial profit, but significant social value. With its current client base of over 13,000 ambitious
Jamaicans, UTech has its work cut out for it. Judging from its record, I am confident that the University will continue
to support and honour the ambitions of Jamaicans to achieve upward mobility by ensuring that the institution
retains its standard of excellence and its competitive edge, and providing to thousands of striving Jamaicans good
value for their hard-earned money.
As we coalesce around a common goal, we must recognize that there is no mission more important than that of
providing quality education for our nation’s students.
I wish for the University of Technology, Jamaica every success in the new financial year.
University of Technology, Jamaica
• ANNUAL REPORT 2013-2014
Page 5
MINISTER OF EDUCATION’S MESSAGE