The DAOC was launched on 6 May 2014. Its realization stems from an exemplary partnership between The UWI St. Augustine Campus and the government of the day of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

A first-of-its-kind, practitioner-focused centre, the Diplomatic Academy aims to provide high-quality, immersive learning and short-term, hands-on practical training in modern diplomacy education, as a complement to formal training and on-the-job training in that area.

Integral to the DAOC's mission is its commitment to help close human resources capacity gaps in international affairs and diplomacy in the Caribbean, by providing capacity-building and skills development training in diplomacy to up and coming diplomats and to aspiring diplomats from the Region.

This diplomatic learning and training facility also strengthens the University's capacities for research/analysis, knowledge‐sharing, advocacy, and partnerships and dialogue on the relationship between diplomacy and the Caribbean broadly conceived, with the goal of helping to facilitate policy-relevant awareness-raising on internat-ional affairs issues of import (and that are topical) to the Region.