Siad is now a certified institute |17 August 2020
Mrs Payet proudly displays the certificate of accreditation (Photo: Louis Toussaint)
The Seychelles Institute of Art and Design (Siad) is a fully fledged accredited local institution after officially obtaining full institutional accreditation status by the Seychelles Qualifications Authority (SQA) on June 24, 2020.
The chief executive of SQA, Fiona Ernesta, officially presented the institutional accreditation certificate to the director of Siad, Christine Payet, in a small ceremony last Thursday at the International Conference Centre (ICCS) to mark the auspicious milestone.
Present at the ceremony were the principal secretary for tertiary education and human resource development, Linda Barallon; chief executive officers; the chairperson of Siad Benjamine Rose and other board members; management, staff and students.
The institutional accreditation of Siad means that all of its programmes are henceforth recognised locally and internationally. The accreditation is for five years.
In her opening remarks, Mrs Payet said that the certificate of institutional accreditation is an important document which represents a very important milestone in the history of Siad.
“The accreditation of an institution is both an opportunity to demonstrate compliance with the national quality assurance criteria for accountability purposes and an opportunity for quality improvement,” she said.
“While gaining accreditation status signifies a significant milestone in the life of an institution, the work does not stop upon receiving a certificate of accreditation. There will be a need to put in place a change of management strategy in order to transform the institutional culture and make it one which promotes continuous improvement,” she added, noting that an action plan will be crucial to achieving this and to continue to enhance quality in Siad.
She thanked the staff, learners and partners for helping Siad to achieve its objective.
The institutional accreditation journey started in 2012, only one year after the Siad, formerly known as the School of Visual Arts, became an entity on its own following the phasing out of the Seychelles Polytechnic in March 2011. The first encounter with SQA resulted in a provisional accreditation status further to a same provisional accreditation status for 2016- 2017 following a second request by Siad and followed by visits to the institution by SQA. Further to a third visit from April 23-25, 2019, Siad was required to improve its infrastructure among other health and safety issues. It was after months of renovation works to transform Siad into a healthy and safe teaching, learning and work environment that it finally attained its objective in June 2020.
Siad currently offers programmes at certificate and diploma levels. The various programmes are aimed at providing learners with necessary knowledge, skills and outlook required for a career in the visual arts. So the mandate of Siad is to prepare and train learners to service the growing needs of the creative and cultural industry in Seychelles, create employment and also promote innovative thinking.
Patrick Joubert
