KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Students of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts now have access to a fully equipped computer laboratory.

The facility, which was upgraded by the Universal Service Fund (USF) at a cost of $17 million, boasts 32 new iMac computers, air-conditioning units, Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), networking equipment, and furniture.

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Andrew Wheatley, who officially reopened the lab on Tuesday, said the project represents an investment by the government in the future of Jamaica.

“It is the government’s commitment to capacity building and increasing opportunities for enhanced academic pursuits across all levels of the education spectrum,” he noted.

He said the up-to-date technology platforms provided will better prepare students for job opportunities across the globe as well as to start their own businesses.

“I am pleased that this institution is preparing our young people to take their place in the global village where there is an open platform for ingenuity and skill, especially in the technology-related fields,” Wheatley noted.

He encouraged more students to look to opportunities in the animation industry.

He noted that the global industry, which is valued at US$222.8 billion, provides prospects for creative and talented young people to contribute to their own development and the country’s economic growth.

Edna Manley College, which is located on Arthur Wint Drive, St Andrew, is the premier arts tertiary institution in the English-speaking Caribbean, providing professional and technical training in the visual arts, drama, dance, and music, among other areas.

The USF, an agency of the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology, has a mission to facilitate the provision of universal access to information technology by stimulating and accelerating the deployment of broadband services islandwide.