‘Collaborate or die’

“Collaborate or die.”

That’s the message from Managing Director of the HEART/NSTA Trust, Dr Taneisha Ingleton, to educational institutions and people operating in any other business pursuit.

“The only way we are going to survive, whether we are education institutions or otherwise, we must collaborate. We must pull on the strengths and competencies of each other and see how best we can move forward in partnership. There is no single individual with so much techniques and skills that can manage in this world on his or her own. It is simply not possible, and the more organisations recognise that, the better it will be for all of us,” she declared.

Dr Ingleton was addressing Monday’s signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA) and the HEART/NSTA Trust, through the Vocational Training and Development Institute (VTDI), which will run for five years, after which its effectiveness will be evaluated.

She continued: “As the agency primarily responsible for the development of Jamaican’s human capital, we recognise the importance of strategic partnerships such as this one in bolstering our efforts to expand access to our programmes, products and services and the strengthening of Jamaica’s technical and vocational education and training ecosystem, TVET.”

Under the MOU, students and faculty researchers from both institutions will be afforded wider access to a range of options for achieving their educational goals. These include student exchange programmes; matriculation into higher-level programmes; curriculum development initiatives; development and execution of joint degree feeder and certification programme; publication of scholarly literature; and knowledge-sharing sessions, such as seminars, workshops conferences and guest lectures.

All presenters at the signing ceremony at the EMCVPA Vera Moody Concert Hall underscored the need for institutions, whether involved in education or business operations, to collaborate or fail to remain relevant or successful.

Interim principal of the EMCVPA, Doreen Campbell, declared that the partnership came out of the recognition of the importance of strategic partnerships as being critical to effectively meet today’s challenges.

“In a volatile and complex environment such as ours, we have to be tactical. You have to be nimble and find creative ways of responding to the same old problems, so their creativity has to kick in. They understand that one of the ways to sustain themselves and their institutions is to forge partnerships or perish together as fools.”

One of the agreements covered under the MOU is the matriculation of students from the VTDI’s two-year associate degree in events planning and management, into the bachelor of arts in arts management at the EMCVPA. However, she explained that this process will be a two-way process, as students from Edna Manley will also be allowed access to pursue electives or any course within the framework of the MOU at the VTDI.