injection of funds
THE relocation of a medical university to Barbados will result in an annual 100 million dollar economic impact for the island.
This announcement came from Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley yesterday as she revealed that over the past ten weeks, Government has been working around the clock to put the appropriate measures in place for Adtalem Global Education to move Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) to Barbados.
Speaking during a ceremony held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC) to announce the partnership between Adtalem Global Education and her Government, Prime Minister Mottley said when classes at the University, which will be based in the LESC facility, begin on January 5 2019, Barbadians will get to see the benefits of economic activity.
“We took a decision to lease the building behind us at [LESC]. This building was to have been the site for Government’s offices, including the Prime Minister’s Offices, the Government Information Service and others. As a result, some 81 000 square feet in that building and another 10 000 square feet where the Ministry of Tourism is in this building will be leased, so as to allow Ross to have its full presence in this one location here at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre as the new campus for Ross University,” she said.
The Prime Minister announced that stakeholders involved in the project will work closely with developers at Coverley to complete unfinished houses at that location, so that they can be ready to house students when the classes start next year.
“As fate would have it, the partially built houses at that site were a perfect fit for Ross. But I am told that even with that, there would be a need for substantial private accommodation off the site at Coverley as well. So Barbadians will get to benefit as well from the provision of housing the rest of the faculty and the other students that can’t be accommodated at Coverley,” she noted.
Prime Minister Mottley added that the Govern-ment is committed to transforming Barbados into a hub for educational and medical services, including educational and medical tourism. She said it is recognised that these areas are among the fastest growing areas in travel and tourism worldwide.
“We are pleased to partner with Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley to establish the RUSM campus. The Barbados government has been a very collabor-ative partner during a pivotal time in RUSM’s history, and we are confident Barbados will be a positive and productive learning environment for our students, faculty and staff,” said Lisa Wardell, president and CEO of Adtalem.
“The decision to relocate RUSM from Dominica was complex and one we approached with great deliberation. After careful consideration of multiple opinions, including a review of our academic and infrastructure requirements and future plans for RUSM, we believe the move is in the long-term best interest for our RUSM community,” Wardell added.
(AH)