Making a Difference

The Gleaner ran an article on Friday on Making a Contribution from Oxford, written by some young folks I’ve had the privilege to have recently met. As a former Oxford Scholar myself, I can attest to the credentials of these young Jamaicans, and what it takes to succeed in Oxford. As someone who’s come back home, I implore them to back up this talk with meaningful contributions back home. Because these guys are going to be our future here, and I look forward to that.

However, there’s something I want to comment on here as it relates to this blog category on science and technology. There’s a lot more to Oxford than law, medicine, and social studies. And there’s a lot more to studying overseas than studying Jamaica. Here’s an Oxford centre looking at alternative energy solutions at a global scale – the Institute for Carbon and Energy Reduction in Transport. One of the first challenges hurled my way at Oxford was a very direct and explicit “What’s the BIG picture?” question. The answer may lie in either the direct solution and its benefits and spinoffs. Or the answer lies in the journey, the methodology and concept developed, that extends beyond the final application in Jamaica or elsewhere.

It can be argued that Jamaica needs a kind of economic and social Marshall Plan. But it can be similarly argued that we also need a scientific and technological Marshall Plan as well. We’ve had fits of innovations here and there, bits that have been showcased in the media and vanished into thin air. These have been typically individual achievements, and not the products of dedicated think tank-type firms (the most obvious exception, I think, would be the NCU Imagine Cup champs, though I’m waiting to see the mainstreaming of their ideas in everyday life here). Let’s hear from our scholars, at Oxford  or anywhere else (at MIT, there have been more than a few exceptional Jamaicans who went there and have returned home and continue their scholarship with tangible results and measurable impacts), doing cutting-edge research in engineering, IT, or any other field.

While the Oxford Scholars’ contributions while at Oxford are welcome and well-informed, and show a remarkable willingness for engagement, I consider this as their first salvo in changing Jamaica. Part Two is when they come back and start implementing their plans. Now that’s when change will start!