Regional
Headquarters, Jamaica. Saturday, 16 November 2019—How
can software engineering improve Jamaican society? Seven
Jamaican students from The University of the West Indies - China
Institute of Information Technology (UWI-CIIT)—and Mona lecturer Dr
Ezra Mugisa—had the chance to discuss this with the Prime Minister
of Jamaica, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, MP, during a
private reception at the Mandarin Oriental, Shanghai (China) on
November 3, 2019.

This was the Prime
Minister’s first, official visit to the People’s Republic of
China. 

Prime Minister
Holness encouraged the students to be on the lookout for
opportunities to transfer products and services from Jamaica to
China, and vice versa. He also encouraged them to recognise their
role in parallel diplomacy, as the friends and connections they make
in China can bode well in the future for trade, investment, and
innovation in Jamaica.

Students were keen
to share their BSc Software Engineering experience in China with
Prime Minister Holness. Discussing how software engineering could
help to improve Jamaican society in practical ways, the students had
an eager audience. The reception, organised by the Caribbean
Association of China, also included Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson, and
Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries—the
Honourable Audley Shaw, as well as President of Jamaica Promotions
Corporation (JAMPRO)—Diane Edwards, members of the Jamaican
Diaspora, and Chinese stakeholders.

Now in the final
year of The UWI-CIIT’s BSc in Software Engineering (Mobile
Application Technologies), the students are a part of a larger
contingent of 26 students from the Mona and Cave Hill Campuses who
are based at the Global Institute of Software Technology (GIST) in
Suzhou, China. GIST was established by Microsoft (China), Suzhou
Science and Technology Town, and Global EduTech Management (Suzhou)
Co. Ltd.

For this four-year
degree, Years 1 and 2 students are based at a UWI campus of their
choice in the Caribbean, and move to China for Years 3 and 4 to
benefit from GIST’s practice-based pedagogy. Students benefit from
classroom teaching, project training, and practicum, as well as
research, software technology and foreign language application
abilities.

Commenting on the
interaction, Khamoi White said, “It was quite an honour to be
greeted by the Prime Minister of my home country as well as the
Honourable Kamina Johnson-Smith. The efforts being made to maintain
and strengthen the established bond with China are highly motivating,
so I am excited to complete my studies and contribute to this
effort.”

The main idea from
the discussions was to create a software engineering clinic—much
like a legal clinic—where any government, statutory or private body
can approach The UWI-CIIT in Suzhou, China for technical assistance
and software solutions tailored to their needs. Justin Seale, The
UWI-CIIT’s Assistant Registrar stationed in China, agreed to
explore the idea.

Producing a
generation of software engineers for the Caribbean is the UWI-CIIT’s
primary goal, as it seeks to lay the foundation for a much-needed
digital revolution in the region. This was the impetus for
Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles’ push in 2015 to
solidify GIST’s and The UWI’s collaboration to create The
UWI-China Institute of Information Technology. It is also a part of
Vice-Chancellor Beckles’ aim to globalize The UWI’s brand, and
expand the region’s opportunities. 

With The UWI
recently climbing in the Times Higher Education (THE) global
rankings, and moving into the top four per cent of ranked
universities internationally, its steadfast value creation continues
to engender a progressive learning environment for its student body
and assist the Caribbean in its continuous development. The
University’s focal areas are closely linked to priorities
identified by CARICOM, and take into account regional concerns, such
as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the
critical importance of innovation—all areas in which software
engineering has an integral role.

Applications are
now open for the 2020 intake to the BSc Software Engineering (Mobile
Application Technologies), and potential applicants can
visit www.uwi.edu/softwareengineering for
more information.