THE next two months will see students from various tertiary institutions locally engaged in research on the island’s exports in the Jamaica Exporters’ Association’s (JEA) Export Paper Competition.

The competition was announced on September 19, at the JEA’s Winchester Road Secretariat in Kingston. The four institutions to participate are the University of Technology (UTech), the University of the West Indies (UWI), the University College of the Caribbean (UCC) and the Northern Caribbean University (NCU).

“We felt it was very important to bring the matter of exports to the academic community, firstly to reinforce the association’s strong commitment to education and also to encourage career options in the field of export,” said JEA president Dr Andre Gordon. “The message needs to reach out to the rest of Jamaica that without export, Jamaica has no future.”

He noted that the JEA had a responsibility to raise the education bar and to focus not only on the export of products but also on the export of services, inclusive of accounting, architecture, law and information technology.

“There are a range of options for current graduates, and this competition will open their minds to the different areas of exports,” he said.

Grace Silvera, international marketing director at Red Stripe, which is one of the major sponsors of the competition, said her company knew no bounds when it came to support for education and was more than delighted to sponsor the first prize for the competition.

Its sponsor package, valued at approximately $1 million, includes a laptop computer, a one-year salaried internship at Red Stripe and a $30,000 tuition grant. Other sponsors include Scotia Bank, CMA CGM Shipping Limited, and Wisynco.

Papers should be between 5,500 and 7,500 words. They will be assessed on the basis of creativity, innovativeness and the practicality of the export idea that is put forward. Also forming a part of the assessment will be the extent to which the papers, some of which will be published, could impact the export industry, as well as the strength of the students’ written communication and analytical skills.