USA Ambassador Pays Courtesy Visit to Texila American University!

The Members of the Executive Management Committee of Texila American University (TAU) comprising the Vice President - Mr. Ashok Kumar, Vice Chancellor - Dr. Dilip Patnaik, Director of Operations - Mr. Sreebalakumar, Registrar - Mr. Julius Romarate and the Dean - Dr. Sanyal Sanjoy met with the Charge’d  Affaires of the Embassy of the United States of America, Charge’Bryan Hunt and their Assistant Public Affairs Officer - Mr. Albert Razick on September 10, 2015 at East Coast Campus.

The Vice Chancellor provided an overview of the University and talked about its contributions to the communities and economy of Guyana, primarily through research, fostering human capital and creating a skilled workforce.  Education Tourism is a major contributor to the economy of a number of countries around the world which consist of offshore Universities that focus on foreign students.  It is estimated that TAU’s foreign student spend approximately US$5,000-US$6,000 annually on food, transportation, entertainment and recreation in the city.  They also engage in travel and tourism within Guyana and are frequently visited by friends and family from abroad; this bodes well for the tourism sector and development of Guyana.

The Vice President indicated that TAU was successful in attracting people who might not otherwise meet Guyana and currently has 438 students from 35+ different countries studying in the University.  He further noted that the current academic infrastructure is equipped with modern learning facilities and the new campus which is being built in Providence will be on par with international standards.

The Assistant Public Affairs Officer inquired about the Accreditation of the University and in response, the Vice President noted that TAU is affiliated with the following key organisations: 1) National Accreditation Council of Guyana; 2) WHO (World Health Organization); 3) IMED (International Medical Education Directory) among others.  He also indicated that TAU, one among the rapidly growing Medical Schools in the Caribbean will soon be affiliated with the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP).

The Director of Operations informed that TAU currently conducts Clinical Rotations in

1) Guyana

•       Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation
•       St. Joseph Mercy Hospital and
•       New Amsterdam Hospital

2)      United States of America
3)      Philippines

Additionally, he explained that through the Ministry of Health, the students are working with the Community Health Centers on some outreach programmes.

Further, mention was made about existing partnerships with Hospitals and Universities located in the United States. These include: the Concordia College, South Shore Hospital, Cook County Hospital and Weiss Memorial Hospital. The Charge’d Affaires commended the University officials on these initiatives and gave his wishes for continued success.

After the meeting, TAU representatives presented the Embassy officials with tokens and provided a tour of the facilities. The Embassy officials were impressed at the scale model of the new campus as well as the campus facilities.