MoU Signing Between UTT and CrimsonnLogic PTE Ltd.- (4th from left) Dr. Fazal Ali, Acting President and Provost, UTT, congratulates Mr. Leong Peng Kiong, Chief Executive Officer, CrimsonLogic PTE Ltd. (4th from right). Also present from left: Mr. Siddharth Priyesh, Senior Lead Consultant RHQ- Americas- CrimsonLogic PTE Ltd; Mr. Navneet Boodhai, Vice President Business Development and Marketing, UTT; Mr. Edward Vanlow, Senior Executive and Business Development Manager- CrimsonLogic PTE Ltd. (3rd from right) Mr. Zameer Mohammed, Assistant Vice President, Professional Education Unit, UTT; Mr. Naveen Bhat, Regional Director Solutions & Consulting eGovernment (Business) Division- CrimsonLogic PTE Ltd. and Mr. Bala Nair, Vice President Regional HQ- Americas- CrimsonLogic PTE Ltd.

The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CrimsonLogic PTE Ltd., a Singapore-based provider of eGovernment solutions on Monday 16 July, 2012. CrimsonLogic is no stranger to Trinidad and Tobago, having developed the state-of-the-art Single Electronic Window (SEW) system, TTBizLink, which connects the several Governmental Ministries to the business community.

UTT’s Acting President and Provost, Dr. Fazal Ali, lauded this initiative as he declared that, “Human capabilities in ICT must be developed as a platform for economic development using talent, technology and tolerance as a basis to move ICT forward.”  Dr. Ali further stated that the signing of this MoU was, “Very timely for UTT especially as students will gain access to training opportunities in Singapore.”   Among other things, the MoU will facilitate opportunities for joint seminars and visits for UTT staff to interact with CrimsonLogic PTE Ltd., student internships, curricula development and exploration of a single sign-on portal for UTT staff and students through web-based and mobile technology application.  Mr. Leong Peng Kiong, Chief Executive Officer of CrimsonLogic, echoed Dr. Ali’s sentiment and concluded that, “This MoU offers broad scope for future collaborations and ideas exchange between UTT and CrimsonLogic.”

This MoU comes on the heels of recent ICT initiatives which have been undertaken by UTT.  The University recently entered into a tripartite MoU agreement, spearheaded by the Trinidad and Tobago Research and Education Network (TTRENT), which saw other tertiary providers, the University of the West Indies and the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT), partner as signatories to effect the exchange of international and regional e-learning content. According to Senator the Honourable Fazal Karim, Minister of Tertiary Education and Skills Training, “TTRENT [will] bring our Academic Institutions together to foster collaboration and set the environment to encourage creativity and innovation". 

UTT also undertook a restructuring of its Master of Science (MSc) in Information, Communication and Technology programme.  Postgraduate students will now be exposed to four (4) additional taught courses with a reduced credit concentration of the thesis; reducing the thesis from seventeen (17) credits to four (4) credits. The original programme structure of seven (7) taught courses with a seventeen (17) credit thesis, will be retained as an MPhil degree due to the intensity of its research element. 

As the National University of Trinidad and Tobago, UTT has a duty to broaden the scope of its ICT networking capabilities and its programme offerings so as to remain relevant in this increasingly globalised society. As an entrepreneurial University, UTT continues to offer its students every opportunity to pursue avenues which encourage innovation and business creation. ICT, therefore, has an important role to play as the University continues to fulfill its Vision and Mission.