The Virgin Islands Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR) is holding its free annual conference, “Supporting the Territory’s Future through Capacity Building in Research, Technology and Education,” Sunday and Monday on St. Croix.

The goals of the conference are to create a forum for examining current and future challenges, opportunities, and research needs for the territory, and to present information on the Joint Institute for Caribbean Marine Studies, Salt River Bay Marine Research and Education Center (MREC) initiative and its relevance to the community. The conference also hopes to promote the development of the territory’s science and technology resources through targeted research, education, and outreach activities.

Participants will examine the future challenges facing the U.S. Virgin Islands, discuss initiatives, and present solutions. The conference is being held in collaboration with the U.S. National Park Service (USNPS) and the Joint Institute for Caribbean Marine Studies (JICMS).

According to VI-EPSCoR’s website, the conference highlights the partnership between the National Science Foundation (NSF), higher education, government, and the business communities of the Virgin Islands

Attendees will have the opportunity to take a guided tour of the Columbus Landing historical site, provided by the National Park Service’s staff. Those planning to take the tour should wear comfortable walking shoes.

Following the tour on Sunday, there will be a presentation at 3:30 p.m. On Monday, there will be a full one-day session of presentations and discussions.

In addition to the Conference presentations, there will be a day-long poster exhibition featuring the JICMS-MREC initiative, UVI student research, and VI-EPSCoR Incubator grant research activities.

The conference is open to government officials, the general public, educators, the private sector, green technology researchers, entrepreneurs, and students.

The conference will be held at the Salt River National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve’s Visitor Contact Center at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4, and at the Great Hall of the University of the Virgin Islands at 8 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 5. There is no registration fee to attend.

For additional information, contact: Nick Drayton, Program Coordinator, VI-EPSCoR at 340-692-4068, or via email at [email protected].