KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – The Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) will begin offering engineering degrees in mechatronics and automation next year September.

This will be facilitated through the establishment of a new School of Engineering at the CMI, at which a state-of-the-art simulation-based training facility is to be established.

Making the announcement, Minister of Transport and Mining Michael Henry said the facility, the first of its kind in the region, is expected to “change the way engineers are trained”.

“Graduates will be provided with qualifications that have global currency,” the minister said.

Henry was making his contribution to the 2016/17 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 8.

The facility, to be called the Festo Authorised and Certified Training (FACT) Centre, will deliver international certification in mechatronics and automation to meet the changing needs of the engineering industry.

Mechatronics integrates the disciplines of mechanical, and electrical engineering and informatics.

Establishment of the training centre is being undertaken in partnership with Festo Didactic, a world-leading company in the field of industrial automation and mechatronics.

The project, which is being supported by a US$2-million grant from the Petrocaribe Fund, also involves collaboration with the University of the West Indies and the University of Technology.