News Releases

Home of Madiba and birthplace of Samba for UWI’s 2014 Discover series

For Release Upon Receipt - April 24, 2014

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – For 2014, The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine Campus continues its academic tour series, UWI Discovers, and has set its sights on the birthplace of Samba and the home of Madiba: Brazil and South Africa, in August and December, respectively. 

UWI Discovers is the institution’s outbound academic immersion project. It gives participants the opportunity to be engrossed in all contemporary aspects of the global powers of the BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The programme has a primary aim to develop globally-aware and connected Caribbean citizens by immersing them in the contemporary realities of these emerging world powers, through a range of activities led by academic experts from The UWI and host universities in each country. All students, staff and alumni of Caribbean tertiary level institutions are eligible to take advantage of special rates to access what is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. All UWI Discovers tour packages include the associated costs for airfare, ground transportation, breakfast, academic and study tour coordinators, sightseeing tours led by expert local guides and academic experts and monument and entrance fees. 

In 2012, the inaugural year, the first contingent travelled to India; a trip which was revisited in 2013 and extended to Brazil. Now in its third year, Brazil is again on the agenda and the tour will expand its reach to South Africa.

 Under the themes “Economy and Entrepreneurship; Architecture, Innovation and Development; Culture and Lifestyle”, Discover Brazil 2014 will be a 13-day tour to the land of perpetual sunshine and exotic rainforests. Brazil, the host of the 2014 World Cup, is the fifth largest country in the world after Russia, Canada, China and the US. This year, the tour will again take participants to four cities: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and Salvador. This tour begins on August 1st. 

Discover South Africa 2014 will take visitors to the breathtakingly diverse landscape of Johannesburg, Stellenbosch and Cape Town for 14 days, beginning December 26, 2014. The tour features visits to higher education institutions like the University of Johannesburg and the University of Western Cape; city and monument tours, including the Anti Apartheid Museum, Robben Island and SOWETO; and leisure and entertainment trips.  

The Office of Institutional Advancement and Internationalisation (OIAI) at The UWI St. Augustine conceptualised the series. Under Director, Sharan Singh, the OIAI is the focal point for the internationalisation efforts of the campus and serves as the major portal between the campus and the rest of the world. The series forms part of the internationalisation agenda of the University, a central element of its 2012-2017 Strategic Plan.

For further information, interested persons should contact the OIAI at 622-2002 ext. 84184, 224-3708 or log onto www.sta.uwi.edu/discover.   

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About The UWI

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation.  

(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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