ITU ACADEMY CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE (COE) NETWORK IN THE CARIBBEAN

Introduction

The CoE Caribbean Project which initially commenced in 2007 with a main regional coordinating body conducting activities was re-launched in December 2008 with a new structure consisting of 6 nodes running semi-independently. In the last two years each node has run at least 3 activities each, besides meeting regularly in the last quarter for the Annual Coordination meeting, in which the past year’s activities are reviewed and the following year’s proposed. In December 2010, the Caribbean CoE network ends its 2 year project phrase.

Objectives

The aim of the ITU Centres of Excellence (CoE) Network for the Caribbean is to assist and support the building of human and institutional capacity in the Caribbean Region in the telecommunications and ICT fields. This will be carried out through a network of selected training and educational institutions (hereafter “nodes”)based in the region that consist of potential content providers and host institutions such as universities, training centres, regional associations, service and technology providers.

The nodes lead the design and implementation of training workshops in consultation with the Centre of Excellence coordination unit which brings together programs and courses developed by ITU and its partners, focusing on

- Telecommunication policy and regulation,
- Business management and
- New technologies and services.

This mechanism will be strengthened by the establishment of links amongst the countries in the region in order to facilitate an exchange of skills, experts and content as well as experiences in telecommunications/ICT development.

Strategy

The strategic focus is on the partnerships and consolidation of activities of CoE nodes with respect to:

- Building on Nodes’ existing strengths;
- Strengthening the competencies of the subject matter experts in each participating node;
- Investigating partnerships at various levels - on content, on organization, on participation;
- Encouraging new and innovative means of partnering
- Constantly improving quality - on material, on mode, on delivery, on process;
- Widening the reach within the region and beyond;  Encouraging the participation of as many of the regional stakeholders as possible, including the private sector;
- Investigating new approaches and methodologies for delivery.
- Including more online learning to complement face to face activities.
- Consolidating the CoE brand.

CoE Caribbean Coordinator

Tensin Tobgyl
Phone: +41 22 730 6815
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

CoE Caribbean Coordinator

Tensin Tobgyl
Phone: +41 22 730 6815
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Ensuring the Sustainable Development of the CoE Network

The performance of each individual CoE node is assessed annually against targets developed and agreed on in the CoE action plan. Based on this assessment and discussion with the focal point for the nodes, a decision is made as to whether to continue to work with the node or how to improve the work of the node.

The Centres of Excellence network in the Caribbean seeks to support efforts by the region’s nodes to enhance their relevance in and contribution to capacity building in the region. A key metric of success is the ability of the node to successfully deliver its respective action items as delineated in the CoE action plan.

The ultimate aim of the Caribbean CoE Network is to bring together the expertise of the entire region in the field of telecommunications/ICT (trainers, consultants, researchers, advisors), to share models of success, empower and train a cadre of regional professionals. The CoE network moving into its new phase presents us with many challenges and opportunities.