News Releases

The UWI appointed as Hub Chair for Climate Action by United Nations Academic Impact

For Release Upon Receipt - January 28, 2025

UWI


The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica W.I. Tuesday, January 28, 2025—The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has been appointed as the new Chair of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Hub Chair for SDG 13 (Climate Action).

 United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) is an initiative that has engaged higher education institutions since 2010 in supporting and contributing to the realisation of the Organisation's purposes and principles, including the promotion and protection of human rights, access to education, sustainability (including the SDGs since 2015), and conflict resolution.

 UNAI SDG Hubs are designated institutions of higher education within the UNAI network that actively work to promote the SDGs by leveraging the power of academia to create positive social, economic, and environmental change that would bring the world closer to achieving the SDGs. In addition to incorporating sustainability considerations as a general policy and supporting the overall SDG agenda, each UNAI SDG Hub will focus on a specific SDG, fostering research, education, and global collaboration to advance that goal, while recognising the strong interdependencies across all 17 SDGs.

 The UWI will lead the UNAI SDG 13 Hub for three years, from January 2025 to December 2027. Through this leadership role, The UWI will continue to play a crucial part in advancing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by focusing on innovative education, impactful research, and strategic partnerships as part of the larger UNAI network, which comprises over 1,700 universities and colleges across more than 150 countries.

 Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the new UNAI SDG Hub Chairs cohort (2025-2027) on January 23, Sandrea Maynard, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Affairs at The UWI, noted that The UWI's selection as the UNAI's Hub Chair for SDG 13 further reinforces the global recognition of its work on climate action and the respect of the University's academic leads who will join a fellowship of dedicated researchers to deepen global efforts to address climatic changes.

 "This is a role that The UWI accepts with great appreciation as we strengthen our global positioning as the University leads on SDG-13 with the International Association of Universities and The Global University Consortium." Our dedication to advancing the SDGs also led us last year to launch the International School for Development Justice (ISDJ)—the world's first global business school dedicated exclusively to online graduate programmes that emphasise leadership in the SDGs," she stated.

 The UWI joins 16 other universities across the globe with UNAI SDG Hub Chairs for 2025 to 2027, including the University of Sao Paulo (SDG 1), York University (SDG 10) and Tsinghua University (SDG17).

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For more information about the new UNAI SDG Hub cohort and their activities please visit: UNAI SDG Hub Network | United Nations

 United Nations Academic Impact

UNAI is an initiative that aligns institutions of higher education with the United Nations in supporting and contributing to the realisation of United Nations goals and mandates. For more information about the UNAI, please visit: https://www.un.org/en/academicimpact

 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. In 2024, The UWI launched a first-of-its-kind global online graduate business school focused on leadership within the context of supporting the SDGs.

 Learn more at www.uwi.edu   

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