UCCI students take ‘business trip’ to Honduras
(CNS Local Life): A group comprising 43 students, faculty, staff and friends participated in an immersive overseas learning experience in Roatan, Honduras by joining the University College of the Cayman Islands’ (UCCI) annual International Business Practicum (IBP). The eighth in the series of travel abroad courses offered by the UCCI Department of Business Studies (DBS), IBP 2019 gave students in the related associate and bachelor programmes an opportunity for experiential learning.
Participants were tasked to evaluate and assess Roatan’s economy while making comparisons to the Caymanian structure, enabling them to develop evaluative and analytical skills which will aid in personal, academic, and professional undertakings, stated a UCCI press release.
“The goal of this practicum was to identify strategies that would create and maintain a prosperous Caribbean society with a dynamic economy in a globalised world,” said Annette Murphy, IBP team coordinator of the May trip. “Students examined ways of protecting the local environment and preserving the culture by appropriately utilising the talents of human capital and respecting the island’s values.”
The group visited a variety of organisations incorporating networking entities, manufacturing companies, the service sector, and several aspects of eco-tourism, including the Chamber of Commerce, the UNAH CURLA University, the Municipalidad of Roatan, the Port of Roatan and the Roatan Chocolate Factory. They also had time to enjoy a city tour, boat rides and adventures at the Gumbalina Park Canopy.
“Team 43 engaged with government officials, prominent business operators, professors, and students in Roatan,” said Murphy. “This allowed them to garner the uncensored data and information that are not available in literature or online.”
Some participants also visited the Escuela Grover Vendal Canaveral primary school, the Sandy Bay Ministries local orphanage, and the Cattleya Centre, a special needs school. “These visits added a new outreach element to the IBP course,” Murphy said. “We have decided that the inaugural project will be the adoption of the Escuela Grover Vendal Canaveral primary school. The team will be sending toys and other gifts for Christmas, and will keep in touch with the school’s activities.”
Jordan Williams, UCCI associate degree student, noted how much he has gained from the trip. “It was a great experience and I have learned a lot from this trip. It has provided me with a new perspective and have made me more grateful for the blessings that we have here in the Cayman Islands,” he said.
“I have also realised that there are initiatives that Roatan is engaged in that could be of benefit to us and will help us tackle some of the problems we face. I will forever be thankful to UCCI for facilitating such an amazing trip.”
The experience also proved a bonding exercise among the participants, with Amory Smith, of the Civil Service College saying, “We left as strangers and returned as family.”
Category: Education, Local News
