News Releases

Strengthening ties between The UWI and Canada

For Release Upon Receipt - September 4, 2013

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad & Tobago – On Wednesday July 14, His Excellency Gérard Latulippe, High Commissioner for Canada to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, paid a courtesy call on Professor Clement Sankat, Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus.  

Mr. Latulippe was warmly welcomed by Principal Sankat, who stated that The UWI has shared deep links with Canada “from the genesis,” and that Mr. Latulippe’s presence and support were greatly appreciated. This was the High Commissioner’s first visit to the University since assuming the post in February. 

During the discussions, which focussed mainly on the existing relationships between The UWI and various Canadian universities, and the possibilities of expanding and deepening such relationships, Principal Sankat described The UWI as a very receptive, friendly campus which has a well-founded relationship with Canada, and will continue to do so. The High Commissioner echoed the Principal’s sentiments by stating that it is his intention to increase closeness with The UWI, as he is just starting to see the relationship’s potential. 

Mr. Latulippe mentioned that Canada had three priorities for the Caribbean region: investment, security, and education, a field in which it aims to become a global actor. He also expressed interest when the conversation turned to The UWI’s plans for reviving the agricultural industry with the expansion of its Field Station to Trincity, and the wider implications for food security and domestic production and expansion.  

The UWI currently has agreements with 18 different Canadian universities, and because of the University’s frequent activity with its Canadian partners, new agreements are developed on a regular basis. There are a number in progress, including several academic programmes, research initiatives and new opportunities for exchange. It was noted that there has been an exponential increase in collaboration between The UWI and Canada in the past 4-5 years, in no small part due to magnanimous Canadian Government funding. 

Perhaps one of the strongest links that The UWI currently has with Canada, it was said, is the partnership agreements with the University of New Brunswick through the UWI School of Business and Applied Studies Limited (trading as ROYTEC), which offer internationally recognised qualifications and study abroad opportunities. Canada has also provided significant assistance through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), which has long supported UWI in various initiatives.

CIDA has in the past provided funding for the University’s infrastructure, and has made possible the staff and student exchange programme to Concordia University. Perhaps the most notable, was a CDA$20 million grant from the (CIDA) to The UWI’s Open Campus to increase the number and diversity of distance education programmes. In 1975, Principal Sankat was the recipient of a CIDA-funded scholarship, which enabled him to return to Trinidad and assist with the development of new Agricultural and Industrial Engineering courses, also made possible by a CIDA grant. He is a long-standing member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and was recently elected to the grade of Fellow of the Canadian Society for Biological Engineering (CSBE). 

As a token of gratitude, Mr. Latulippe was presented with a signed copy of Professor Emerita Bridget Brereton’s book, “From Imperial College to University of the West Indies: A History of the St Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago,” and afterwards was given a tour of the Campus, stopping along the way to admire the newly refurbished South Block of Canada Hall, which was the University’s first Hall of Residence, generously funded by the Canadian Government.

End 

Notes to the editorMore about Gérard Latulippe

Gérard Latulippe (LLL, Montréal University, 1966; D.S.A., Post-Graduate in Business Administration, Montréal University, 1979) was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1967, and he practiced administrative and labour law before entering provincial politics. From 1985 to 1989, he served as a member of the Québec National Assembly. He also served as solicitor general of Quebec. In 1989, he served in Mexico City as the Quebec general delegate in Mexico. Subsequently, from 1994 to 1997, Mr. Latulippe served in the same capacity in Brussels, where he was responsible for relations with the European Union and Benelux.  In 1997, he returned to Quebec and was deputy minister of the Quebec Ministry of International Relations, where he developed the Francophone Business Forum. In 2003, Mr. Latulippe joined the Washington-based National Democratic Institute, where he served as Morocco country director and senior representative in the Maghreb region, and, subsequently, as resident director in Haiti until 2010. In March 2010, Mr. Latulippe was named president of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy) in Montréal.  

About THE UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with over 50 physical site locations across the region, serving over 20 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Pure & Applied Sciences, Science and Agriculture, and Social Sciences. 

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.) 

For the latest UWI News, click http://sta.uwi.edu/news.

Contact