The 6th iteration of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s signature Research Symposium is set to get underway this Tuesday, with an in-person opening ceremony scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m. local time at the John E. St. Luce Building. For attendees unable to join the event in person, the Ministry’s Education Broadcasting Unit will stream the entire opening ceremony live, expanding access to the discussions and presentations for remote participants across the country.
Organized around the core theme “Plan it! Execute it! Share it! Use it!”, the symposium is crafted to advance a clear strategic goal: cultivating high-quality research that directly shapes evidence-based education policy, enhances instructional practices in K-12 and higher education classrooms, and fosters systemic innovation across the national education sector. Beyond academic output, the event is designed to create open spaces for cross-sector dialogue between researchers, educators, policymakers, and student innovators, encouraging collaboration that turns research findings into tangible on-the-ground impact.
The opening day’s program centers on two key research themes: mathematics education achievement and family-focused education research. Leading the presentations at the opening ceremony are researcher Shoya Hurst and student researcher Kelsey Cochrane, with Allison Ledeatte stepping in to moderate discussions following the talks.
Following the launch, the symposium’s first full formal session for 2026 will be held virtually on Wednesday evening, running from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time. This cross-disciplinary session showcases research projects beyond the education sector, reflecting the symposium’s commitment to supporting innovative inquiry across all fields. Featured topics include sustainable conversion processing for sargassum seaweed, advances in cancer diagnosis and disease staging, best practices for community-centered unused medication disposal, and a review of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) music education curriculum.
Presenters for the virtual session lead with established researchers Resa Nelson, Dr. Andre Bovell, and Ellisa Zakers, alongside three rising student researchers: Nivron Browne, Sheneela Deane, and Jedidiah Christian. Sharifa George will moderate the virtual session, guiding audience questions and cross-presenter discussion throughout the two-hour program.