News Releases

UWI signs MOU for steelpan collaboration with Pan Trinbago

For Release Upon Receipt - June 9, 2014

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – On Wednesday June 4, 2014, at the Office of the Campus Principal, The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine, a formal ceremony saw the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) between The UWI and Pan Trinbago. The signing took place at the Office of the Campus Principal.

The MOU relates to the following general areas for collaboration between these two bodies:

  • - Collaborative research programmes relating to the steelpan;
  • - Support in quality control, certification and analyses relating to the steelpan instrument;
  • - Undergraduate and graduate internships in various areas of marketing, business management, engineering, IT and other relevant disciplines relating to the steelpan;
  • - Collaborative research in manufacturing and marketing of the steelpan;
  • - Joint initiatives relating to the international commercialisation of the steelpan instrument.

Specifically, with the upcoming International Pan Conference (IPC) and Panorama, the parties have agreed to host joint activities relating to the hosting of the IPC and Panorama to be held in August 2015. In this regard UWI has agreed to be Patron of the Conference and to lend support to the Conference by providing human resources to the Conference Steering Committee in the planning of activities relating to the conference.

Both parties have also agreed to the following:

  • - With regard to the Steelpan Manufacturing Facility at Trincity, joint activities relating to a cooperative framework for steelpan entrepreneurs for the marketing of their products as well as for the continuous development of human resources and innovation in steelpan will take place.
  • - The UWI St. Augustine will host collaborative activities relating to the teaching and research programmes involving the steelpan undertaken through the Music Unit of the Department of Creative and Festival Arts of the Faculty of Humanities and Education of The UWI.
  • - The UWI St. Augustine will provide venues and conferencing facilities for the purpose of undertaking joint collaborative activities.
  • - Both parties have agreed to explore further collaborative opportunities in the area of commercialisation of the steelpan inclusive of manufacture, sales and distribution.
  • - The parties will develop and implement an international administrative structure for formalisation of a global steelpan industry as well as research and development activities in steelpan technology involving scientist’s engineers and other relevant personnel associated with each party.

Speaking at the signing, Professor Sankat said he was honoured to be working with Pan Trinbago because he always felt that The UWI could support and play a role in ensuring that the organisation carries out its mandate.

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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 over 50,000 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. Website: www.uwi.edu 

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