The University of Technology, Jamaica recently welcomed entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr. Trisha Bailey to its Papine Campus to explore potential partnerships geared at advancing the university’s programmes and infrastructure.

 Hosted by Pro-Chancellor Mr. Aldrick McNab and President, Dr. Kevin Brown, the visit focused on opportunities to expand STEM education, enhance the school nursing facilities, and providing scholarships to underserved students.

Dr. Trisha Bailey is a US-based real estate mogul and disputably the wealthiest Jamaican-born woman, owning and operating 16 successful companies under the multi-million-dollar Bailey’s Medical. 

The St. Elizabeth native who hails from the rural district of Woodhall, is also an alumna and former track athlete of the University of Connecticut. Her memoir, “Unbroken: The Triumphant Story of a Woman’s Journey” captures her experience of overcoming poverty and abuse to becoming one of the world’s most affluent and influential figures.  As an education activist, Dr. Bailey has supported over four hundred youths, predominantly, females from less privileged backgrounds to acquire higher education and is now looking to the possibilities of extending this altruistic gesture to UTech, Jamaica students in some form.

While thanking Dr. Bailey for accepting his invitation and for considering possible partnership opportunities with UTech, Jamaica, Pro-Chancellor, Mr. Aldrick McNab noted that “UTech was designed for the Jamaican people” and that the institution is looking at modernizing. Mr. McNab explained that a part of this modernization process is concerned with “marrying the traditional with the new” to provide attractive and lucrative means of earnings for young people. 

 Noting that the institution’s executive leadership consists of outstanding Jamaicans who are working together to move UTech, Ja forward, the Pro-Chancellor welcomed the entrepreneur’s input and support stating, “Your story, Dr Bailey is such an inspiring story. We went all out to have you here so; I want to thank you personally and I am hoping that this will be one of many meetings that we can work together in transforming this university which is a university for the people.” 

President Dr. Kevin Brown shared that the institution has launched a strategic “RESET” mission, with the goal of becoming a fully-fledged STEM university by 2030. He explained that UTech has been revamping its operations to ensure they are research-driven, entrepreneurial, student-centred, and technology-focused, while also expanding access to higher education. “Our mandate is to produce Jamaica’s STEM workforce. We also understand that with rapid changes in technology, the university must pivot and continually improve its delivery to students,” Dr. Brown acknowledged. “There are certainly opportunities here to be pursued in the future,” he added, highlighting UTech, Jamaica’s Caribbean School of Nursing as one potential starting point for collaboration.

“We would really love to give more girls (and we have a couple of boys) the opportunity to do nursing” Dr. Brown noted, adding that the institution has had to regrettably limit its intake of those students because of infrastructural limitations.

  He pointed to the insufficient number of “highly technological mannequins to train the nurses” and space issues as most of the nursing school classroom facilities are constructed from shipping containers.  “We need to refresh our simulators and modernize them and by extension, have more square footage in terms of classroom space” he said, adding also the need to build out mockup wards to enhance the students’ learning experience. The president told Dr. Bailey and her team that the university is open to having a Dr Trisha Bailey Scholarship Fund, noting that “most of the students that we have are self-motivated, highly driven and want to succeed and so we can find students that will fit your mould.” He also invited sponsorship for initiatives that address period poverty, student hunger and stress-related issues to enhance the students’ overall tertiary experience. 

In response, Dr. Trisha Bailey expressed her enthusiasm for the university’s direction and assured its leaders of her commitment to continue the conversation and to offer support through guidance, scholarships, and other initiatives. She mentioned her interest in supporting science programmes and females from underserved communities at the institution. “All my students are followed through from undergraduate (and all are in science) to medical school. I have about three to four hundred girls and boys who get scholarships, mostly from underserved areas, and I would like to continue that process,” Dr. Bailey shared. She added that her scholarship recipients are “entrepreneurial…innovative” and “go-getters,” qualities she values because they contribute to her own success.

Concluding the session, Pro-Chancellor Mr. Aldrick McNab and President Dr. Kevin Brown thanked Dr. Bailey and her team for engaging with the university’s leaders. Dr. Brown emphasized that the real honour of having Dr. Bailey visit UTech, Ja, is that “she is an example of what students can aspire to achieve” and will inspire them to excel.