The UWI Regional
Headquarters Jamaica. Tuesday,
January 7, 2020—The
University of the West Indies (The UWI) and the University of
Coventry in England have launched a UWI-Coventry Institute for
Industry-Academic Partnership, dedicated to the promotion of an
innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem across the Caribbean region.

The
new Institute will complement The UWI’s leadership role in
promoting innovation as a key driver of economic growth. It also
supports the University’s quest to become more entrepreneurial by
fostering and increasing partnerships between The UWI and industry,
among other strategies.

The
UWI-Coventry Institute will aid the enhancement of international
competitiveness in the Caribbean private sector through research and
economic partnerships. It follows consultations by The UWI with the
private sector in a range of areas including research and innovation,
entrepreneurship and commercialisation, and university and industry
collaboration.

Speaking
at the launch of the Institute at The UWI Regional Headquarters on
December 19, 2019, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor of
The UWI, said that the University is committed to “demystifying how
academia and entrepreneurship can intersect to achieve the economic
growth”.

He
stated also, “one of the challenges across the region, is that we
have not achieved any measure of consistent growth.  It remains
a mystery why this economic growth is eluding us despite
entrepreneurial engagement, public policy advancement and
macroeconomic stabilisation.”

He
said that The UWI was putting increased emphasis on strategies which
place high priority on entrepreneurial activity, building bonds and
bridges between capital and organised knowledge.

Coventry
University, he noted, is highly regarded in the area of
industry-academic alliances and is a suitable partner “to help The
UWI improve its contribution to Caribbean entrepreneurship, industry
innovation and professional training for the 21st
century global economy.”

Noting
that the Institute will provide research training at the postgraduate
level and host a raft of master’s degrees in the Caribbean,
Coventry University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Latham said
that his university, which is consistently rated among the top
universities in the world, is pursuing a global agenda which includes
“working with sister institutions around the world to come up with
new approaches to achieving innovation and entrepreneurial success.”

Dr
Graham King of the Faculty of Engineering at The UWI, St. Augustine
campus said that work is underway in several key areas including in
agri-engineering and petroleum-engineering.

Dr
Luz Longsworth, Principal of the Open Campus also reported
collaborative talks with Coventry University including the
establishment of dual online degrees and professional certification
programmes in entrepreneurial studies using the online platforms of
The UWI Open Campus and Coventry University’s Online International
Learning (OIL).

Ambassador
Dr Richard Bernal, Pro Vice-Chancellor Global Affairs at The UWI,
noted that collaborations between the two universities had also
already begun with projects such as the establishment of a Climate
Smart Zone in Trinidad & Tobago and a Technology Park in Jamaica.

Discussions continue towards the development of postgraduate dual and double degree programmes as well as student mobility programmes and undergraduate double/dual degree programmes in engineering at the new Institute

Photo
Caption:

Vice-Chancellor,
The UWI, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles (2nd right), greets the
Vice-Chancellor of Coventry University, Professor John Latham (2nd
left) at the launch of The UWI-Coventry Institute for Industry –
Academic Partnership held at The UWI Regional Headquarters on
Thursday, December 19, 2019. Also pictured are Dr Luz Longsworth,
Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal, The UWI Open Campus (left), and
Ambassador Dr Richard Bernal, Pro Vice-Chancellor Global Affairs at
The UWI (right).

About
The UWI

For
over 70 years The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has
provided service and leadership to the Caribbean region and wider
world. The UWI has evolved from a university college of London in
Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948 to an internationally
respected, regional university with near 50,000 students and five
campuses: Mona in Jamaica,
St. Augustine in Trinidad and
Tobago, Cave Hill in
Barbados, Five Islands
in Antigua and Barbuda and an Open Campus. As part of its robust
globalization agenda, The UWI has established partnering centres with
universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Africa
including the State
University of New York (SUNY)-UWI Center for Leadership and
Sustainable Development; the Canada-Caribbean Studies Institute
with Brock University; the Strategic Alliance for Hemispheric
Development with Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES); the UWI-China
Institute of Information Technology, the University of Lagos
(UNILAG)-UWI Institute of African and Diaspora Studies and the
Institute for Global African Affairs with the University of
Johannesburg (UJ). The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma,
undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food &
Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical
Sciences, Science & Technology, Social Sciences and Sport. 

As
the region’s premier research academy, The UWI’s foremost
objective is driving the growth and development of the regional
economy. The world’s most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher
Education, has ranked The UWI among the top 600 universities in the
world for 2019 and 2020, and the 40 best universities in Latin
America and the Caribbean for 2018 and 2019. The UWI has been the
only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists. For
more, visit www.uwi.edu.