UTT gets new president

The University of Trinidad and Tobago has selected Professor Sarim N Al-Zubaidy as its new president after an exhaustive international search, a UTT release has said.

Al-Zubaidy assumed office on August 7, 2017.

Al Zubaidy, a chartered engineer and a chartered environmentalist, is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, UK, the largest and most prestigious international learned mechanical engineering societies in the world.

He is also a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Institution of Engineers Australia.

As an educational innovator and experienced administrator, Al-Zubaidy has taken the leadership position at UTT on the retirement of Professor Dyer Narinesingh, becoming the university’s third full president over the past 13 years.

Narinesingh has served the university well throughout the last four years as president and acting provost for the last eighteen months. UTT acknowledged Narinesingh’s valuable contribution and thanked him for all that he has done to move the university forward and for providing a solid foundation for Al-Zubaidy.

Professor Al-Zubaidy will continue the work that Narinesingh has championed at UTT - ensuring stability of the university during a time of economic constraints and organisational

transition, building closer relationships with stakeholders both internally and externally, ensuring that UTT’s programmes remain relevant to the needs of Trinidad and Tobago.

A Mechanical Engineer with over three decades of experience at both senior academic and administrative levels within international higher education institutions, Al-Zubaidy is widely published in leading peer-reviewed, high-impact factor journals and international conferences.

He was awarded the Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) in 2015 for a “sustained, effective record of strategic impact at the institutional, national and international level … for his commitment to wider strategic leadership in teaching and enhancing

the student learning experience.”

He is familiar with the Caribbean, having worked in Jamaica for a few years.