Approximately 90 students have signed up as volunteers under the Digital Acceleration Ambassadors Programme, coordinated by the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology (MIST). The pilot project will see The UWI Cave Hill students assisting taxpayers with registering for the Barbados Revenue Authority’s (BRA) online tax system, TAMIS.

They will be working alongside BRA staff at various tax clinics being held across the island from January 22- February 24, 2019. The Authority’s staff has been on campus this week to train students in the system, prepare them for customer service duties and discuss good practices for interfacing with the public.

Last July, Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Santia Bradshaw, said that tertiary students benefiting from free tuition would be required to volunteer a minimum of 100 hours, for part-time students, and 150 hours for full-time students in approved community service project during their course of study.

Director of the Office of Student Services (OSS), Dale Lynch, said the response from students was “heart-warming” and spoke to the kind of engaged citizen the University aimed to cultivate.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for students to assist with the development of the country. These students are also digital natives, so they are the ideal candidates for this type of initiative,” she said. “ . . . It also helps to bring to their awareness that they can be change agents in their communities.”

CAPTIONED: Students receive training in TAMIS from staff of the Barbados Revenue Authority.