The University of the West Indies Council, at its May 31 – June 1 meeting approved a new Strategic Plan for the period 2007-2012. In introducing this Plan, Vice Chancellor, Professor E. Nigel Harris described it as transformative, seeking to re-position the University as “an innovative, contemporary international University, deeply rooted in the Caribbean and committed to creating the best possible future for all its stakeholders. The University will seek to produce graduates and postgraduates who are distinctive and well grounded in their discipline, articulate, possessing problem solving and critical thinking skills, and career ready.”

Major targeted areas will be teaching and learning, research and innovation, and graduate programmes. A fourth area will be creation of an “Open Campus” aimed primarily at providing pre-university, undergraduate, postgraduate and professional development programmes for students in the UWI-12 (the 12 contributing countries without campuses) as well as to students in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago who have no access to a campus.