News Releases

UWI Symposium focuses on Research, Enterprise and Impact

For Release Upon Receipt - September 26, 2013

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad & Tobago – The University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine Campus has partnered with the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited to host an historic UWI Research Expo from October 1-5.  The multi-faceted event will appeal to a wide range of stakeholders including university researchers, teachers, high schools students and entrepreneurs.   

One of the highlights of the week is the Symposium on Research, Enterprise and Impact at the Learning Resource Centre on Wednesday October 2 from 1-6pm.  Presentations and panel discussions that showcase the key findings of some of the projects that benefitted from dedicated research funding from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as other UWI projects, will focus on the various initiatives that have contributed to national and regional development by creating enterprising solutions, engaging our communities or facilitating evidence-based policy-making. 

Speakers at the Symposium will include: Professor Dave Chadee who will share his research on the development of a new dengue control strategy to break transmission within three days of an outbreak and the development of an innovative surveillance tool for dengue fever; Dr. Laura Roberts-Nkrumah will focus on the development of modern tree crop production and fruit utilization systems for improved breadfruit commercialization; and Prof. Surujpal Teelucksingh will present his research on diabetes. 

Several research projects have been focused on engaging our communities: including Dr. Ronald Marshall’s study on Poverty Alleviation; while Dr. Jerome De Lisle’s has been focused on examining the evaluation of primary school education practices through the use of performance indicators and measurements.  Prof. Patricia Mohammed will speak on the development of gender policies for Trinidad and Tobago and three Caribbean countries (Dominica, BVI and the Cayman Islands).   

There will also be a focus on initiatives that have impacted on evidence-based policy making including Prof. John Agard’s research in which his collaboration with national and international agencies and funders led to the introduction of ecosystem accounting services into the Trinidad and Tobago national accounts. This project has attracted over US$1m in UNEP-GEF funding and more than US$11m total research funding (2009-2012).  Prof. Richard Robertson’s work on Hazard Mitigation, with particular focus on seismic and volcanic hazards has also led to greater community awareness and mobilization in Trinidad and Tobago as well as the Eastern Caribbean. Dr Kim Mallalieu’s mFisheries project has led to the development of new applications for mobile technology for targeted beneficiaries, with special focus on local fishing communities. 

The UWI Research Expo 2013, which also includes activities linked to cocoa research and its commercialization at World Chocolate Day, over 30 mini-workshops, the interactive Expo itself, the Symposium and the UWI Market Place and Kids Fun Park, is an opportunity for the entire family to learn more about the many ways that UWI research has made a valuable difference in our lives. 

For further information, please email uwiresearchexpo@sta.uwi.edu or visit the website at www.sta.uwi.edu/researchexpo

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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.

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