BIMAP developing e-learning platform

 

THE Barbados Institute of Management and Productivity (BIMAP) is in the process of developing an online platform to deliver a range of courses they offer.
 
Word of this has come from Executive Director of BIMAP, Dr. Sonia Greenidge-Franklyn. She explained that this e-learning platform should be launched shortly, and will allow students of the Institute to be able to access their training from anywhere in the world.
 
“We are in the final stages of development of that and that should be rolled out pretty soon,” she said during a press briefing earlier last week, after taking Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, on a tour of the facility.
 
Greenidge-Franklyn said this could help the Institute cut down on travel overseas to deliver training, but explained that it would have to be agreed to by the client. She made the comments while explaining that not everyone is comfortable accessing training online and there are some persons who will still demand face-to-face interaction. Also, she noted that there are some areas of training where the face-to-face training is better suited.
 
Meanwhile, speaking to the demand for training from BIMAP, the Executive Director indicated that there is an increase in interest being shown in some areas, while others have remained at a steady pace. These include, she said, “tested and tried and proven” courses such as Supervisory Management, Project Management and Excel. Noting too that their goal is to ensure they are on the cutting edge of what is going on in management development, she said they are constantly upgrading the suite of programmes on offer, to meet the wants and needs of the public.
 
Questioned then as to whether there was a role for BIMAP to play in the delivering of training in the area of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, Greenidge-Franklyn said it is not a primary focus at this time, as it is not their core area of study.
 
“Our focus is on management development, so it is assumed that persons coming into BIMAP already have the background in the Maths, because it is a basic requirement for most of our more advanced courses… We do the technology, but not the hard-core engineering courses; it is not our function at all,” she said.
 
Nonetheless, she said they are working with the University of the West Indies and the Ministry of Education on a project to see where BIMAP can best make a contribution in the STEM field. (JRT)

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