“We are here to expand our excellence and our service to rural communities and underserved communities.”
These were the words of UWI St Augustine Campus Principal Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine at the official launch of the UWI Optical Store on February 27, 2026.
The store, which will provide affordable eyewear and state-of-the-art optometric care to communities, students and staff, is located at the Couva Hospital and Multi-Training Facility in Preysal.
In her address, Professor Antoine said that the campus’s commitment to South Trinidad was key, adding that the campus “remained committed to the health and well-being of the country”.
UWI Optical is an extension of UWI St Augustine’s eye health services under the Optometry Unit of the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FMS). The store will also be a centre for student training, integrating academic and practical environments.
UWI Optical is part of the UWI Made Initiative, a drive to fortify the campus’s self-sustainability through innovative, revenue-generating products and services. The UWI campuses are all governed by its Triple A Strategy, “Revenue Revolution”, which serves to raise funds through these and other profit- making efforts.
The strategy uses the institution’s potential, knowledge, research, and resources to fulfil their funding target and ensure sustained, long-term growth.
Principal Antoine said the addition of UWI Optical to UWI Made enhances the university’s entrepreneurial footprint while ensuring quality standards.
“We know that we are not just here to compete. There are lots of other clinics. We are also here to maintain a high standard of optical care in the country and to enhance it as far as we can,” she said.
Head of the Optometry Unit, Dr Kingsley Ekemiri noted this addition to optometry services represented a milestone for his unit and FMS.
“[UWI Optical] reflects a continued advancement of our academic, clinical, and service commitments, and most importantly, it chronicles our institutional dedication to excellence in medical education and service delivery,” Dr Ekemiri said.
He also pointed out that the integration of academic learning with direct clinical service such as the UWI Optical, is essential in health profession education.
In delivering the feature address, the Dean of FMS, Professor Hariharan Seetharaman, said there must be a balance between revenue generation for profit and social outlook.
“We teach our students not to practice medicine with profit motives, however the reality is many branches in healthcare come under the so-called ‘industry’,” he said.
Prof Seetharaman suggested greater priority be placed on the social benefits of healthcare.
“In [UWI Optical’s] case, the profits are channelled back into bringing about positive change and assessing activities to the benefit of the society. Then, the entrepreneurship evolves from a business venture into what we call social entrepreneurship— which blends financial goals with a desire to create positive social outlooks.”
Dr Ravi Maharaj, Department Head of Clinical Surgical Sciences echoed these sentiments. UWI Optical, he said, should be viewed as a service to the community and the public.
“Having the ability to see should not be a luxury to any citizen in this country, and we need to offer accessible, high quality health care,” he said.
UWI Optical is an extension of UWI St Augustine’s eye health services under the Optometry Unit of the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FMS). The store will also be a centre for student training, integrating academic and practical environments.
Before its official launch, UWI Optical initiated a pilot project in July 2025, with the dispensing of more than 100 spectacles to staff, students, and the public. One example was an 11-year-old student from Moruga who received his first pair of glasses during that period. UWI Optical gave his parents the opportunity to afford a pair of glasses to help improve his very severe eyesight problem, greatly improving his primary school experience.
During the pilot period, UWI Optical also hosted a progressive lens-measuring workshop to Year Four students and clinical demonstrators.
Koscina Sookram-Quintal, manager of The UWI Optical Store, shared some of the plans for the store, including the completion of an in-house dispensing lab.
"This,” she said, “would allow us to move from simply supplying eyewear to producing and managing key aspects of the finishing process right here in Couva.”
She added, “It would provide valuable, hands-on training skill opportunities for our students in cutting and fitting spectacle prescriptions.”
There are plans to introduce a course for dispensing opticians, creating a pipeline of trained professionals who can serve the region while raising standards in vision care. A structured contact lens programme is also included in UWI Optical’s expansion. Through partnerships with healthcare firm ARG, Eye See You, and Lens Tech Labs, the store carries fashionable high- quality frames and lenses. In addition, the retail space uses optical software for point-of-sale, inventory management, financial reporting, and customer relationship management.
