The Open University of Mauritius (OUM) signed an agreement with Landscope (Mauritius) Ltd for a lease of land at Côte-d’Or. It has secured 10 arpents of land with the objective of building several blocks that will cater for classrooms, offices, digital labs and student centres, among others. The construction of the first phase of this campus will kickstart within next year.
The signing ceremony was held, this afternoon, at the Mauritius Institute of Training and Development House in Phoenix in presence of the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun.
The signatories were the Director-General of OUM, Dr Kaviraj Sharma Sukon; the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Landscope (Mauritius) Ltd, Ms Naila Hanoomanjee; the Chairperson of Landscope (Mauritius) Ltd, Mr. Preetam Boodhun; and the Chairperson of OUM, Mr Rajeswara Duva Pentiah.
In her address, VPM Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun stated that the signing of the agreement is the first step towards establishing the Côte-d’Or – Réduit education corridor for the provision of quality higher education services. She expressed gratitude to Landscope (Mauritius) Ltd for its support for the setting up of this education hub, which she stressed, will positively impact the university experience of students.
Lauding OUM’s stand, she pointed out that it is simply taking the lead and heralds major moves with the construction of the campus. The campus, she added, will provide learners with the right infrastructure and environment that are supportive of the best learning experience and will enrich student life.
Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun also dwelt on her expectations of the OUM, which are to facilitate acquisition of knowledge, adaptability, creativity, leadership, problem-solving skills, and the development of open education resources.
For his part, Dr Sukon thanked the Ministry of Education for allowing the OUM to be part of Government’s project at Côte-d’Or, and was grateful to Landscope (Mauritius) Ltd for their support to spearhead this initiative. He stressed that the OUM aims at setting up a campus for tomorrow, with all the digital tools and a conducive environment for learners.
“We are having an increasing number of students who have high expectations, especially following internationalisation, and we seek to accompany them on their journey of lifelong learning”, he added.
As for Ms Hanoomanjee, she recalled that Landscope (Mauritius) Ltd owns a total of 2,000 arpents of land in Côte-d’Or, and has prepared an integrated masterplan for its use. “Two major components of the masterplan are the education and health hubs”, she indicated.
She further stated that Côte-d’Or is a very rapidly developing region and will undergo additional transformation over the next few years with key projects such as a cardiac centre, a national laboratory, a medical warehouse, and a data technology park.
