Regional
Headquarters, Jamaica, Friday, July 17, 2020. Just
short of a year ago, The
University of the West Indies (The UWI) Vice-Chancellor, Professor
Sir Hilary Beckles indicated the intention of the University, “to
be located in the top 3% of ranked universities by the end of the
current strategic planning cycle in 2023.” Referencing
an energetic and proactive leadership team of campus principals, pro
vice-chancellors, multi-layered administrators and academics,
research professors and student leaders, the Vice-Chancellor
expressed confidence in the team’s ability to remove doubt from the
institution in respect of its capacity to break new ground.

On Friday, July 17,
2020, Vice-Chancellor Beckles declared a resounding surpassing of
this target by the Caribbean’s leading university, as Times
Higher Education (THE) the
globally recognised and most prestigious ranking agency for higher
education, announced its 2020 rankings, and The UWI secured top spots
on its three latest lists—Latin
America University Rankings,
Golden
Age University Rankings,
and Impact
Rankings.

“Triple Firsts”,
as coined by Vice-Chancellor Beckles, marks “The UWI’s breaking
into the top 1% of universities in the Latin America and Caribbean
region; the top 1% of Golden Age universities—i.e. the category of
global universities between 50 to 80 years old; and retention of its
number one position as the only Caribbean University to be ranked.”

“This remarkable
achievement puts The UWI in an elite band,” Vice-Chancellor Beckles
said. “We are elite, but not elitist.” He went on explain that,
“the magnitude of this achievement is further contextualised within
a landscape comprised of at least 209 Caribbean-based higher
education institutions, an approximate 5,497 universities within
Latin America and the Caribbean, and over 30,000 universities
registered worldwide.”

In 2016, when
Vice-Chancellor Beckles conceived and began rolling out the strategic
plan together with The UWI’s leadership, he set an immediate
objective to radically upgrade and globalise the regional
University's reputation and enhance its international visibility and
competitiveness. THE’s Latin
America University Rankings
and Golden Age University
Rankings have both allowed for
The UWI to be assessed by standardised indicators that judge
research-intensive universities worldwide across all their core
strategic missions of teaching, research, knowledge transfers and
international outlook.

According to Pro
Vice-Chancellor, Planning, Professor Densil Williams, who is credited
with overseeing the implementation of The UWI’s strategic plan,
“The UWI’s excellent performance in these rankings demonstrate
the success of a series of deliberate strategic initiatives
implemented under the framework of its Triple
A Strategy (Strategic Plan
2017-2022). These include but are not limited to global expansion
through partnership with internationally recognised universities to
establish centres and institutes across the globe; advancement in the
entrepreneurial ethos of The UWI through greater linkages with the
corporate sector; and production of impactful research to address
societal problems in climate change, nutrition, economic development
inter alia.”

Vice-Chancellor
offered special commendation to the entire UWI community,
recognising, “the tremendous work being done university-system wide
to meet the Triple A targets, which has not only driven overall
productivity, but has stirred an upsurge in engagement and brand
reputation regionally, internationally and in scholastic advocacy on
multiple issues of global significance.”

He concluded, “In
spite of this year’s myriad challenges for the Caribbean community
and the wider world, our University has had some high moments,
signalling our strength and the success of our strategic plan and
efforts. This is yet another of The UWI’s finest hours.”

The ranking
criteria used by the UK-based agency provide comprehensive and
balanced comparisons which are trusted and utilised by students,
academics, university leaders, industry and even governments. The
UWI’s continued appearances and progressions in these rankings
affirm its prestige and leadership as a now familiar and consistent
name in the global higher education arena.

End.

Access
to the video recording of the Virtual
event: Recognising Our Triple Firsts
hosted on Friday, July 17, 2020 is available here.

Related
News

The
UWI surpasses high reputation with new top 100 Universities’
ranking

More
about The UWI’s THE 2020 Rankings

In the
THE’s Latin
America University
rankings The UWI placed at 18th,
which is its highest position ever since debuting on this hemispheric
list two years ago. In addition, The UWI was ranked in spot 92 in the
Golden Age
University Ranking,
and among the top 200 universities in the Impact
Rankings.

About
the Times Higher Education’s Rankings Tables

• 
  Golden
  Age University Rankings:
  Rank the best universities established for more than 50 years, but
  less than 80 years.
  
• 
  Impact
  Rankings: Assess
  universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development
  Goals (SDGs).
  
• 
  Latin
  America Rankings:
  list the best universities in the Latin America and Caribbean
  region.
  
• 
  World
  University Rankings:
  provide the definitive list of the top universities globally.