PHILIPSBURG:--- From Monday, 26 June through Friday, 30 June the University of St Martin (USM) will facilitate the local daily live-streaming and networking sessions of the third annual Dutch Caribbean Research Week (DCRW 2023). Research projects on the six Caribbean islands Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St Maarten, Saba, and St Eustatius will be presented in the form of lectures, poster presentations, and panel discussions. This year six researchers from Sint Maarten will present their work and ideas.
In collaboration with and sponsored by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), USM welcomes everyone interested in research on our Caribbean islands to view the daily live stream in its conference room 208 from 8 am to 2 pm. Following each presentation, USM will offer networking opportunities on campus and a special Happy Hour on Friday evening to close the Dutch Caribbean Research Week.
From Sint Maarten, Eugene Hoogstad will present on Food Security and Economic Diversification; Local pediatrician at Sint Maarten Medical Center Lilly M. Verhagen will share her research on respiratory tract infections in children; USM lecturer Dr. Delroy Pierre, will present his doctoral research findings on mathematics teaching in Foundation Based Education in country St Maarten, while independent researchers Carla Vlaun and Tadzio Bervoets will participate as panelists. USM President Carmona Báez will deliver the final keynote address of the five-day symposium on Friday, 30 June at 10.30.
In written statements delivered to the press, USM president Dr. Antonio Carmona Baez called the live streaming of the DCRW on campus another milestone celebrating USM’s achievement of bringing the arts and sciences to the community at large.
“By USM co-hosting the DCRW for the first time, everyone here in St. Maarten interested in research on our islands can come to USM and participate in this event. It is not because we are providing live streaming from Holland; rather, it is because we are celebrating the contributions of our Caribbean researchers within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.”
USM Research Coordinator drs. Raymond Jessurun is delighted with the opportunity to welcome the community to learn about what research is being carried out on our islands. “Coming to the in-person sessions at USM creates the opportunity to discuss and critically assess what is being presented. The opportunity to network after the sessions is also a service of USM to the country Sint Maarten.”
With this annual one-week event, NWO wants to provide a platform to bring researchers from the Caribbean science community together. The former Dutch Caribbean research weeks largely served audiences residing in the Netherlands. With USM co-hosting the research week, just as with the USM Science Café activities held at Axum on Front Street, the university wants to involve the local public more and more in critical reflection on our development issues.
Visitors can access DCRW’s scheduled program at https://www.nwo.nl/en/meetings/dutch-caribbean-research-week and choose which sessions are most interesting for them.
