UWI honorary graduand urges graduates to think global, act local

UWI honorary graduand Dr Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted urged graduates of The UWI St Augustine’s Faculties of Science and Technology and Food and Agriculture to think and learn globally and act locally as they explore life outside the institution.

An honorary doctor of science (DSc) degree, honoris causa (as a mark of esteem), was conferred on her by the university for her dedication, scientific genius, and immeasurable contribution to global well-being.

At the graduation ceremony on Thursday at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya, Thilsted, who was born in Reform Village, remembered her graduation ceremony. She said when she graduated in 1971, all UWI faculties were able to graduate in one day.

She said, presently the global situation is dominated by the disruptions and hardships caused by covid19, conflicts, and climate change. She said at the UN Food Systems Summit 2021, there was a unified call for transforming food systems for nourishing people and the planet, with a particular call to focus on youth.

“Your short-term goals for yourself and the more long-term goals for contributing to all people, including your community, your nation, and our planet can surely complement each other. Build on the support of your family and friends and make full use of the networks and platforms which you have developed. Make full use of the present-day data technologies, science and innovations which are accessible to you, however, combine them with the richness and diversity of traditional and local knowledge and culture to arrive at the best solutions that are appropriate for you. Think and learn global and act local. There are many opportunities to do this, learning about the innovations and solutions from islands in the Pacific as well as countries in Caricom.”

She said when she graduated, she realised she had the opportunity to explore many pathways, including untraditional ones.

“I decided to work as an agricultural officer in Tobago, in the field, with small-scale farmers. I was the only female agricultural officer in Tobago. This work experience showed me new horizons, and gave me the opportunity to spread my wings further afield, and with higher education, being comfortable to take on global assignments. My first, after acquiring my PhD, was as a junior professional officer with FAO posted in Tanzania. You can do the same as I did.”

UWI public orator Dr Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw said Thilsted is the winner of the 2021 World Food Prize, an award considered to be the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture. Her research on the nutritional composition of small native fish species commonly found and consumed in Bangladesh and Cambodia demonstrated that these affordable, locally available foods, offered life-changing benefits for children’s cognitive development in their first 1,000 days of life.

From 1960 to 1967, Thilsted attended Naparima Girls High School in San Fernando, and went on to study at The UWI St. Augustine. In 1971 she graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture with a BSc in Tropical Agriculture, and received her Doctorate in the physiology of nutrition from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Denmark. She holds several high-level positions in organisations dealing with food security and nutrition globally.

Valedictorian Ashleigh Ali said returning to campus after two years was surreal, and said she experienced longing and a wish to take back the last two years. She said she and her fellow graduates overcame this year’s obstacles because of their co-dependency on each other’s powers.

“I came to realise that each and every one of us has their own special powers. To our chemists, biologists, and physicists: you are the pioneers for future scientific progress and the discovery of life’s unanswered questions. These findings will allow our future agricultural economists and food scientists to be the catalysts for change. You will ensure that policies are implemented for food safety and guarantee that our Caricom nations have equal access to affordable and nutritious food.

“To my fellow nutritionists and dietitians: we will then share this evidence-based nutritional knowledge and safeguard the health and wellbeing of everyone on a local and regional level.”

UWI chancellor Robert Bermudez commended the graduates on completing a significant part of their programmes under trying circumstances.

“Higher education plays a role in the democratisation of societies by encouraging graduates to be critical thinkers, to be objective in assessing the information available, to be open to other schools of thought, in the hope that that information will be used for the advancement of the societies in which you exist. I ask that whatever you do in the future must be impactful, done at a high quality, with commitment to advancing not only your personal interests but those of the wider community.

“I urge you to be kind to yourself. We often forget the importance of taking care of our own health. In today’s new operating environment, mental health is as critical as physical well-being. Hold fast to your dreams, but remain rooted in reality.”

Graduation ceremonies for The UWI St Augustine will continue until Saturday.