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The UWI and India’s Rajasthan Royals professional cricket team partner to create educational course

For Release Upon Receipt - October 9, 2023

UWI


 

 

 L-R: Project Officer at The UWI Faculty of Sport, Daren Ganga, Jake Lush McCrum, Rajasthan Royals Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Akshai Mansingh, Dean of The UWI Faculty of Sport and Dr. Rudolph Alleyne, Head of The UWI Cave Hill Academy of Sport.

The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica W.I. Monday, October 9, 2023—In a landmark partnership, The University of the West Indies (The UWI) and India’s Royals Sports Group-owned franchise, Rajasthan Royals have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for both parties to work together to co-create specialised educational courses for budding sports scholars worldwide.

 The MoU signing occurred last month when Jake Lush McCrum, Rajasthan Royals Chief Executive Officer, visited The UWI Cave Hill Campus in Barbados. Dean of The UWI’s Faculty of Sport, Dr. Akshai Mansingh, signed on behalf of Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles in the presence of the Faculty’s Project Officer, West Indian cricket legend Daren Ganga.

Since the 2020 inception of the Royals School of Business (RSB), its online platform, which offers educational courses covering 360-degree aspects of the sports industry, the IPL franchise has developed 16 world-class programmes contributing to the development of more than 40,000 scholars and budding present and potential professionals keen on working in the sports industry. This new alliance, combining The UWI’s prestigious university ranking as #1 in the Caribbean and among the top 1.5% in the world, will see the co-creation of an Advanced Sports Nutrition Programme for young athletes and professionals. The programme aims to help participants better understand the vital role nutrition plays in developing and sustaining an athlete's career.

 The course will be designed by industry subject matter experts from both entities and consist of various assignments, assessment tests, and live athlete testimonials to help prepare scholars to excel in sports nutrition.

 At the signing ceremony that formalised the agreement, Dr. Akshai Mansingh expressed his excitement to partner in delivering UWI courses to a franchise with a fan base much larger than the West Indian population. He disclosed, “We were able to bring together the best experts across our many faculties at The UWI to produce high-quality programmes, and Advanced Sport Nutrition is hopefully just the start.” He lauded the commitment shown by the franchise in deepening its footprint in the region, noting that scholars have already enrolled in the myriad courses on offer at RSB.

 Commenting on the milestone association, Jake Lush McCrum, Chief Executive Officer of the Rajasthan Royals, said, “One of the driving pillars for the Royals School of Business has been the abundant potential for growth that lies within the talent that is either working in or dreams of working in the sports industry. This exciting association with The University of the West Indies comes from the vision of combining the best brains from various parts of the world to create learning modules that impart deep knowledge and live testimonials from professionals to budding individuals. Our presence in the Caribbean through our franchise group has certainly helped connect us with one of the best universities in the world, and we are delighted at the prospect of further contributing to the sports education ecosystem together.”

Following the MoU signing, The UWI and the Royals School of Business have been finalising the Advanced Sports Nutrition programme and will announce its launch in the next few months.

 END

 

   L-R: Jake Lush McCrum, Rajasthan Royals Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Akshai Mansingh, Dean of The UWI Faculty of Sport.

 About The University of the West Indies

The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development; residing at the centre of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region for the past 75 years.

From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with near 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and its Global Campus, and global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe.

The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbean’s leading university, it possesses the largest pool of Caribbean intellect and expertise committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and wider world.

The UWI has been consistently ranked among the top universities globally by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE). The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists since its debut in the rankings in 2018. In addition to its leading position in the Caribbean in the World University Rankings, it is also in the top 25 for Latin America and the Caribbean and the top 100 global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old).  The UWI is also featured among the leading universities on THE’s Impact Rankings for its response to the world’s biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Wellbeing; Gender Equality and Climate Action.

2023 marks The UWI’s 75th anniversary. The Diamond jubilee milestone themed “UWI at 75. Rooted. Ready. Rising.” features initiatives purposely designed and aligned to reflect on the past, confront the present, and articulate plans for the future of the regional University.

 

Learn more at www.uwi.edu 

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