The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) has had a surge in student enrolment since its inception, with nearly 200 students enrolled for the current spring semester, up from its early days when enrolment ranged between 50 and 60 students.  

Dr Raveenia Roberts-Hanna, BAMSI’s president, said that as of September, the institution will begin offering four-year degree programmes. Currently, BAMSI offers two-year programmes with a flexible hybrid model of in-person classes and online certifications tailored to the needs of full-time, part-time, and working students.  

“If I can say one good thing about the pandemic is that it really brought people into realization that we really need to feed ourselves, and so the interest has grown since then,” said Dr Roberts-Hanna.  

Dr Roberts-Hanna said BAMSI is also building international partnerships to bolster its programmes, such as an upcoming collaboration with Stanford University for an agriculture initiative.  

“Our students are exposed to cutting-edge, real-time research,” she said. “Also, all of our credits transfer so wherever in the world that they apply, they go in, they get into it. And so that speaks to the integrity of our training and our curriculum, and that we are very proud of.”