Bahamas News
BAHAMAS: High School Students Learn About Renewable Energy
#Nassau, December 18, 2018 – Bahamas – Local high school students are being introduced to the principles of renewable energy through the Energy Academy, an initiative introduced by St. John’s College High School (SJC) to promote green power throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. It is a programme endorsed by the Minister of Public Works the Hon. Desmond.
“Lots of people are complaining about the cost of energy in The Bahamas,” he said. “What is important now is to find innovative ways to be able to harness energy in this country.”
He shared some of the ideas for renewable energy with the first class of graduates who recently completed eight weeks of training at the Energy Academy.
“There is a group of Bahamians who are creating a waste to energy facility. You are going to see the dump turn into a waste to energy facility. All of the garbage we have been throwing out will be used to create energy – create power that you can harness to have energy in your home. That is an amazing thing.”
The graduates, their parents and school officials learned that in Andros there are Bahamians planning to cut down casuarina trees, an invasive species, which will be used to create energy.
Furthermore, in Abaco, there is an “amazing” bush that will also be used as an alternative energy source.
“The potential is unlimited. Young minds like yours are going to make a difference. You are the ones who are going to decide what The Bahamas is going to look like in the next 10, 20, 30 years,” Minister Bannister told the students.
Fr. Shazzbazar Turnquest, Physics and Designer Technology teacher at SJC, said the nucleus of the Energy Academy was a solar car that students built and raced in 2016 at the Solar Car challenge in Dallas, Texas.
The competition resulted in the receipt of a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grant Fund to disseminate information about renewable energy.
“We have demonstrated it and now we need to educate others about it,” said Fr. Turnquest. “We got a small grant to launch this Energy Academy among other things. We sourced educational material from the USA, the kits that we have on display to provide a different approach to teaching children about renewable energy rather than writing it on the board.
“We want them to build their kits, let them see the power output, let them learn about hydrogen and so forth.”
Fr. Shazzbazar and a cohort of eight students, who have since completed high school, comprised the first team from the West Indies to be invited to the challenge. They competed with other elite high schools from the United States and passed four days of testing and completed four days of racing. They covered 42 laps around the Texas Motor Speed Way totalling 115 miles.
“That was the start of our renewable energy career,” said Fr. Shazzbazar.
“We gave them challenges each week where they were in teams. For example, they had to build a little solar car model and they raced it against each other. We made hydrogen out of an electrilizer and we used the hydrogen to power a fuel cell to complete a task. They built solar powered pumps and they had to pump water up into a reservoir. We made a game out of learning for them.”
The students, ranging in age from 10 to 16, were presented with certificates by Minister Bannister and Bishop of the Diocese of The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands the Rt. Rev’d Bishop Laish Boyd.
“We want to get people excited about renewable energy because it is something we need to take advantage of in The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”
The students are using the frame of a used, sand sniper dune buggy donated to them by Rocksound Properties as a nucleus to build a new solar car which they will race in the Bridgestone World Solar Car Challenge.
“The Ministry of Public Works gave us a summer programme where we built a model to get children thinking about how we are going to build this car because we are not going around a track anymore we are actually going across country – 3,000 kilometres in the outback of Australia. It is rugged and we had to modify it to make it completely solar and electric powered,” said Fr. Turnquest.
Once the car is designed and built to specification it will make a six weeks journey to Australia and go through a scrutineering process to check the functions and systems to ensure its ability to sustain the journey across the outback. Following approval it will be allowed to race from Darwin to Melbourne.
“It is imperative that they learn this because they will be citizens of the global economy, of the fabric where the fossil fuel platform is being phased out,” said Fr. Turnquest.
“These are the home owners who will have solar panels on their homes, who will be driving electric cars, who will have to live in a climate that has been destroyed by pollution due to fossil fuels and we have to compensate for it. These are the children who will live in low lying island states that need to be mindful that global warming is going to threaten their very existence.
“The students are very keen. Bahamian children are naturally brilliant and creative. The approach that we use to teach them is very boring and frustrating. You only need to demonstrate to them once and then they can go and do. The more creative ones will actually modify and come up with something even better than you would have demonstrated.”
By: Kathryn Campbell
Release: BIS
Photo Captions:
Header: Fr. Shazzbazar Turnquest, students and guests view the dune buggy which will be transformed into a solar car to race in the Bridgestone World Solar Car Challenge.
First insert: Minister of Public Works the Hon. Desmond Bannister addresses the audience at the graduation ceremony.
Second insert: Bishop of the Diocese of The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands the Rt. Rev’d Bishop Laish Boyd and Minister of Public Works the Hon. Desmond Bannister view some of the presentations by the students of the Energy Academy.
(Photo credit: Lyndon M. W. Sweeting)
Nassau, THE BAHAMAS — Some of the most successful and accomplished professionals and business leaders in the country
recently shared their experiences and nuggets of wisdom with students at University of The Bahamas (UB) about thriving in a wide range of careers.
The University Centre for Counselling and Career Services and the Career and Job Placement Advisory Unit collaborated to host the 2024 Career Symposium which brought students face to face with leaders in the careers to which they aspire.
Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Maria Oriakhi, said the symposium was key to developing potential as university students strive to leave their mark on the world.
Ms. Rickell Curry
“In the spirit of collaboration and growth, let us engage in meaningful dialogue, cultivate relationships, and harness the power of collective wisdom to shape our futures,” said Dr. Oriakhi. “Together, let us embark on this journey of exploration and discovery, united in our commitment to realizing our fullest potential and making meaningful contributions to our communities and beyond.”
Promoting careers in psychology, Ms. Curry noted that psychologists are equipped with the ability to help others, troubleshoot areas of weakness within themselves, and become better people and professionals in the process.
“The floor is yours to be able to explore. There’s no job where you don’t have to deal with people, so learning, even if you get a bachelor’s in psychology, is a great grounding,” she said.
Dr. Darville, one of few interventional radiologists in The Bahamas, offered another nugget of advice on choosing an area of study.
Dr. Elizabeth Darville
“It is important to know enough about yourself in order to make the decisions you want to make,” said Dr. Darville. “You have to work on yourself first and know what you want to do. Radiology gives you a chance to have fun. It gives you a chance to mold your career closer to your personal life than other medical specialties might.”
Another growing field is project management which Mr. Hepburn called a life skill. He also urged a commitment to lifelong learning.
“Individuals that continue to learn become unstoppable, period,” said Mr. Hepburn. “It is so true. When you learn, you become unstoppable because nothing can stop you in your process of development.
Mr. Wellington Hepburn
“The more you know, the more valuable you are. We need individuals who are cross functional—that can operate in different capacities. So please understand that your learning should never stop.”
With small and medium-sized businesses helping to drive the economy at an incredible rate, Ms. Rolle affirmed the importance of entrepreneurship in any economy.
“When we talk about entrepreneurship, we usually look at it from a myopic standpoint,” she said. Ms. Rolle. “What do I mean by that? Small, but usually about self: ‘how do I make more money?’ And in some cases, some look at entrepreneurship as a way of survival. ‘I need to make a couple extra dollars, I have this bill to pay’. Those types of things.
Ms. Samantha Rolle
“But entrepreneurship really, in its truest form, is about innovation, whether it’s a new concept or any existing concept that you innovate new ways, or help expand the economy.”
The career symposium was held at the Harry C. Moore Library and Information Centre and is held every academic year.
PHOTO CAPTIONS
- Career Symposium 1: UB Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Maria Oriakhi, delivers the opening address at the 2024 Career Symposium.
- Career Symposium 2: Students and guest speakers enjoy a lighthearted moment during the 2024 Career Symposium.
- Career Symposium 3: Ms. Rickell Curry speaks to students during the 2024 Career Symposium.
- Career Symposium 4: Dr. Elizabeth Darville delivers remarks during the 2024 Career Symposium.
- Career Symposium 5: Mr. Wellington Hepburn educates students on the importance of project management during the 2024 Career Symposium.
- Career Symposium 6: Ms. Samantha Rolle talks about the role and importance of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in any economy.
Office of University Relations
University of The Bahamas
2nd Floor, Michael H. Eldon Complex
Oakes Field Campus
P.O. Box N-4912
Nassau, The Bahamas
Tel: (242) 302-4355/4354/4365
Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#TheBahamas, April 15, 2024 – After years of thorough maintenance, The Thomas A Robinson National Stadium in The Bahamas is finally getting a multi-million dollar makeover, readying the 10-year old facility ahead of the World Athletics Relays on May 5, 2024; it is being staged in Nassau for the fourth time.
This $36 million refurbishment is being funded by the Chinese Government, as part of a vision to enhance the country’s sport infrastructure to benefit youths in athletics. The stadium was gifted to The Bahamas in 2012 by the Chinese.
The relay is the qualifying event for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games and there will be 32 national teams, in each relay event, and 20 races on both days of competition, according to World Athletics.
Day 1, will have 20 heats across the five Olympic-calibre events (4 heats each for 4×100, 4×400, men, women and mixed) and will qualify 40 teams for the Summer Olympics.
Distinctly, the top two teams from each heat will directly qualify for the 2024 Games.
On day 2, 30 more national teams will be qualified through 15 heats and five finals, across those five events.
The upgrades which include new trusses, rooftops, seats, the lawn, score boards, LED displays and more, are expected to be complete at least two weeks before the relays, being held under the theme: ‘Chase the Sun’.
In a special ceremony on Monday April 8, The Bahamas Prime Minister, Philip Davis said:
In December 2023, our shared vision took shape, as the government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, and the government of the People’s Republic of China, inked an implementation agreement for the renovation of the stadium. This gesture of goodwill and friendship, from the Chinese government to undertake the China Aid Maintenance and Renovation project of our national stadium, stands as a testament to the strong bonds that unite our countries. This project, executed by China Urban Construction Research Institute Company Limited, and the China Machinery Industry Construction Group Company Limited, reflects our shared commitment to excellence, innovation and mutual development.”
Additionally, H.E Dai Qingli, outgoing Chinese Ambassador to The Bahamas who also attended that ceremony, spoke.
“At the end of the project, the Bahamian people will get a fully renewed and modern world class stadium because everything is going to be either renewed or repaired,” she said.
Some 1,600 athletes will be in The Bahamas for the World Athletics relays, with five events. The Bahamas won the bid over Lausanne, Rome in 2022.
Mario Bowleg, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture in reports, thanked China for their contribution to the redevelopment of the stadium.
“We thank them for their commitment to ensuring that they bring this facility back up to A1 standard so that we can continue holding international events and using these facilities as a development of our young people.”
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