Shannon Smith has an educational background in Biology. She obtained both her Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology from Howard University in Washington DC.
She is a very experienced tutor/teacher having served as a graduate teaching assistant for Genetics, Animal Physiology and Neuroscience courses during her masters program.
She also served as a science teacher for the Howard University Upward Bound (HUB) programme. HUB is a college preparatory programme for high school students, that targets especially low income or first generation college bound students, intended to develop the skills needed for success at collegiate level.
She is currently promoting informal science education as a project assistant at the National Institute for Higher Education, Research and Technology where they incorporate technology in order to enhance educational programs. She has worked on several projects namely, CYSF (Caribbean Youth Science Forum, a week long educational programme for sixth form students in the Caribbean where they attend lectures, workshops and field trips in order to assist them in pursing a career in Science, Technology and Innovation), COMDESI (Community Centred Design and Innovation project for secondary school form 3 students where they design an invention to address a problem in the community), YouthBuild (a STEM project similar to COMDESI but with a focus on electronics and computer programming) and science vacation camps where young students are introduced to science and technology through interactive, hands-on activities and demonstrations.
​
Kerwin Harper has an educational background in Biology. Having obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a minor in Marine Biology from The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.
Currently he is promoting the popularisation of science and technology as a project assistant at the National Institute for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology in the Innovation Department, where the incorporation of cutting edge technology is used to enrich the education of the public.
In this capacity, he is working on several projects, geared at secondary school students, namely CYSF (Caribbean Youth Science Forum). This is a week-long educational programme for sixth form students in the Caribbean region, where they are exposed to various scientists in a wide variety of fields, attend lectures and engaging workshops, and field trips in order to steer them towards pursuing career in the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) field. COMDESI (Community Centred Design and Innovation) a project catered towards form 3 students, where they are mentored and produce an innovative invention addressing an issue within a target community. Also science vacation camps, where young students are introduced to science and technology using interactive and fun activities and demonstrations.
​
André Sun has an educational background in International Relations. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in International Relations with a minor in Psychology from The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus.
André has always had a passion for languages. He studied Spanish at St. Mary’s College before continuing his studies at the Centre for Language Learning (CLL) at the University of the West Indies. He has completed all 4 levels of the Certificate in Spanish at CLL. He has also completed the first level of French, and Portuguese.
Along with Shannon and Kerwin, he is currently promoting science education as a project assistant at the National Institute for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (NIHERST) where they incorporate technology in order to enhance educational programs.
His expertise at his time at NIHERST is their vacation camps. These camps use innovative technologies and creative ways to educate children between the ages of five and twelve, using all four learning styles to ensure a better understanding by campers.
Roberta Bello has 19 years of professional experience in the field of science popularisation honed at the Science Education Unit of the National Science Centre, Trinidad.
Her educational background in the sciences began in high school, where she undertook studies in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. This was later developed in the attainment of a Bachelor of Science degree, double major in Biology and Chemistry, from The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus.
Roberta joined the NIHERST family as one of the first Science Demonstrators at the NIHERST/NGC National Science Center in 1997 and was promoted to Assistant Science Educator after completion of her degree.
During her 19 years at NIHERST, Roberta has been involved in numerous science popularisation programmes, including school visits to the National Science Centre, a Road Show exercise in primary schols, Community Science Weeks and the country's only science festival, Sci-TechKnoFest. These activities were not limited to Trinidad and Tobago, but also included science popularisation outreach activities in other parts of the Caribbean.
She has developed hands-on activities and written material which has been used in science camps, workshops and the science centre's science club, for a wide range of age groups. Experienced in the field of informal science education, her skills include the ability to develop activities for children of all learning styles.