Release Date: July 29, 2021
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The National Association of Jamaican and Supportive Organizations (NAJASO) and SUNY-UWI Health Research Consortium have established a new scholarship program that enables students from the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Kingston, Jamaica, to participate in certificate programs offered by the University at Buffalo School of Management.
The initiative will open the UB Leadership Empowerment Academy Program (LEAP) to students in the UWI Mona School of Business and Management.
UWI students will propose business plans to help turn community-based research into sustainable business models for Jamaican health systems. They will also work on innovative new initiatives with the SUNY-UWI Health Research Consortium in a dynamic environment of academic-business partnerships.
Health research areas explored by the program include diabetes management, HIV prevention, telemedicine with mobile phones, and electronic health records. A databank of volunteer mentors will provide guidance to scholarship recipients, and the pairing of students between UWI and UB is expected to lead to new areas of discussion and future projects.
Eight health care/MBA students (five from UB and three from UWI) have just completed the 10-week summer program, working on two health-related projects. A new cohort will begin in September.
LEAP is a collaboration between the UB School of Management’s Global Programs and its Center for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness. It was created for students at partner universities in Ghana, Kenya, Jamaica and Latvia.
Faculty and leaders who partnered across organizations to make the scholarships possible include Joyce El-Ali, DM, president and CEO of NAJASO; John Lindo, PhD, professor at UWI and co-chair of the SUNY-UWI Health Research Consortium; Gene D. Morse, PharmD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and co-chair of the SUNY-UWI Health Research Consortium; Lila Rao-Graham, PhD, deputy and executive director, UWI Mona School of Business and Management; Dorothy Siaw-Asamoah, PhD, clinical associate professor and faculty director of global programs in the UB School of Management; and Paul Tesluk, PhD, dean and professor in the UB School of Management, and chair of the Sustainable Development committee in UB’s Center for Integrated Global Biomedical Sciences.
The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school also has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes and U.S. News & World Report for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.
Contact
Jacqueline Molik Ghosen
Assistant Dean and Director of Communications
School of Management
716-645-2833
ghosen@buffalo.edu