The Sir Arthur Lewis Community College will be spearheading the first fully equipped Innovation Hub in the OECS region which aims to have a catalytic impact on economic diversification and global competitiveness. The Innovation Hub aligns with the College’s core pillars of Sustainability, Innovation and Entrepreneurship which emerges from the Strategic Implementation Plan in the transition to University College status.
Brent St. Catherine, Head of the Innovation Hub and Gateways to Global Careers Programme.
The Innovation Hub will be housed at the College’s main campus and will operate in partnership with the Taiwan Technical Mission. The Mission is keen on providing technical support, capacity-building opportunities and resources to the Innovation Hub which will house five interconnected labs; the Information and Communication Technology Lab, Food Innovation Lab, Environmental Sciences Lab, Virtual Reality Lab and Fabrication Lab.
The Lab will also be supported by other strategic partners such as; the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, Ministry of Education, OECS Commission, Invest Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia Chamber of Commerce, National Competitiveness and Productivity Council and the Global Environment Facility. The governance of the Innovation Hub will involve the establishment of an Advisory Board of the cooperating partners which will be responsible for oversight and the strategic direction of the lab, resource mobilization, and the overall design of the physical facility.
The mission of the Innovation Hub is to strengthen the start-up ecosystem by aiding early-stage entrepreneurs and accelerating the adoption and diffusion of new technologies, business processes and product and service development along with intellectual property value capture in the local and regional economy.
Key Components of The Innovation Hub
The ICT Technology Lab(Techspace) will be comprised of all ICT-based technologies. The Lab will support a multiplicity of industries; public and private institutions; through app and software development, 3D modeling and prototyping of equipment, products and concepts, testing of imported technologies, and robotics.
The Food Lab(FOODSCI) will be responsible for setting the standard for nutrition testing and development of new food items in the OECS region. The Lab will feature state of the art equipment to perform the following: evaluation of new ingredients, formulation of new food products, development of processes for food production, testing and design of food production equipment, design of packaging, training in food safety and production as well as food safety audits and certification.
The Environmental Sciences Lab(Envirotank) will support the Green and Blue Economy initiatives of the OECS Region. The Lab will house state-of-the-art air, water and soil testing equipment that will facilitate both in-house and field analysis and research.
The Virtual Lab(Virtulab) will support the creation of a network of higher education institutions in the OECS to develop in-house Virtual Laboratories for technical and technological education.
The Digital Fabrication Lab(Fablab) is set up to allow creators and entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into new products and prototypes by affording them access to state-of-the-art, advanced digital manufacturing technology.
Gateways to Global Careers (GGC) is a cutting-edge programme offered by the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. It is designed to give college students and aspiring entrepreneurs ‘hands-on’ immersive training in running a ‘for-profit’ business using a practical approach to learning. The programme is designed to follow a project-based formula and as such, has borrowed many of the lessons learnt from the highly successful ‘Stanford Start-Up Garage’.
The Gateways Programme provides workshops and seminars delivered by world-renowned experts. Participants will be involved in internships, an incubatory experience, community service projects and design competitions. All these experiences are geared to boost entrepreneurial and innovation capabilities throughout the Caribbean region.
The programme has garnered the support of many organizations due to its new age methodologies. At present, the Programme is endorsed by the Taiwan Technical Mission, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Invest Saint Lucia, National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, Organization for Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and Ministry of Education.
In addition, the Programme is collaborating with Harvard University to develop talks and seminars, as well as Arizona State University (ASU) through its Global-Resolve (#1 ranked university for Innovation in the United States). The collaboration with ASU affords our participants the opportunity to do joint projects and exchanges.
Students in French Gateways' first cohort on a field trip to the Stonefield Villa Resort.
Gateways to Global Careers Gateways to Global Careers (GGC) is a cutting-edge programme offered by the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. It is designed to give college students and aspiring entrepreneurs ‘hands-on’ immersive training in running a ‘for-profit’ business using a practical approach to learning.
The programme is designed to follow a project-based formula and as such, has borrowed many of the lessons learnt from the highly successful ‘Stanford Start-Up Garage’. The Gateways Programme provides workshops and seminars delivered by world-renowned experts. Participants will be involved in internships, an incubatory experience, community service projects and design competitions.
All these experiences are geared to boost entrepreneurial and innovation capabilities throughout the Caribbean region. The programme has garnered the support of many organizations due to its new age methodologies.
At present, the Programme is endorsed by the Taiwan Technical Mission, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Invest Saint Lucia, National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, Organization for Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and Ministry of Education. In addition, the Programme is collaborating with Harvard University to develop talks and seminars, as well as Arizona State University (ASU) through its Global-Resolve (#1 ranked university for Innovation in the United States).
The collaboration with ASU affords our participants the opportunity to do joint projects and exchanges. The Gateways Programme will also be supported by the most state of the Innovation Hub in the OECS. The Hub will house five labs: Information and Communications Technology Lab, Food Innovation Lab, Environmental Sciences Lab, Virtual Reality Lab and Fabrication Lab. The bulk of designing, prototyping and testing will be done in the Innovation Hub.
SALCC's French Gateways to Global Careers programme officially launched on February 3, 2022, with its first cohort of selected students beginning later that month.
The youth and women of Saint Lucia will benefit from an innovative upskilling programme as the Government of Taiwan deepens its bilateral ties with the country.
The Technical Mission of Taiwan and SALCC continue to forge ties in their commitment to transforming the innovative and entrepreneurial landscape of Saint Lucia.
