The lecture on "The Future of Tertiary Education and its Impact on Economic Growth: the Marriage between ICT and Education" marked the key event in the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI) National Services Week and took place on 11 November at the Island’s National Bank.

An influential commentator and consultant in the eLearning and learning technologies world, David’s presentation, among other things, drew on information contained in Learning Light’s major report on some the world’s leading eLearning markets "A Review of the eLearning markets of the UK, EU and China 2014", which was published this summer.

David Patterson commented, "The Services in Action Lecture Series aims to create an annual national forum where leading thinkers and professionals discuss the challenges and share solutions for economic growth as it relates to Barbados’ service sector. It’s this sector which is the primary contributor to the island’s gross domestic product (GDP).

"The focus for this year’s lecture series is on changing the dialogue from merely ‘the cost of education’ to education as big business, facilitated through eLearning, as an economic driver for Barbados."

The BCSI hopes that the lecture series will encourage multi-sectoral dialogue and the formation of a national committee dedicated to "education as big business". It is also hoping that the lectures will prompt a number of practical education-related strategies and solutions.