Events Releases

UWI Life 2007 – Orientation for students & parents

For Release Upon Receipt - August 17, 2007

St. Augustine


The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus (UWI) will offer a special orientation period which not only targets first-time UWI students but also focuses on their parents, spouses, family members and close friends.

The University’s student orientation programme, called UWI Life 2007, will consist of the three parts taking place over a two-week period. The first segment, entitled UWI Life Support Network, is a two-hour programme targeted at the incoming students’ parents, spouses, close relatives and close friends, who will make up the students’ “support network” (hence the name of this part of the orientation event) during their years on Campus.

UWI Life 2007 will kick off with the UWI Life Support Network on Tuesday 28th August, 2007 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at The UWI Sport and Physical Education Centre (SPEC). This year, UWI Life Support Network will include a presentation by psychologist Dr. Dianne Douglas, as well as a Panel Discussion designed to give participants the opportunity to learn more about the University by posing questions directly to UWI administration and staff.   Parents of UWI students have described UWI Life Support Network as “extremely informative” and “of paramount importance for academic proficiency.”

The main event, UWI Life Student Orientation, will take place two days later, on Thursday, August 30th, 2007 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the UWI SPEC. The SPEC indoor court will function as an auditorium, where students will have the opportunity to meet key members of Campus staff and management, mingle with their classmates and receive giveaways from several companies who have provided support for the event.  Entertainment will be provided by local music group, Kes the Band.

Meanwhile, the SPEC outdoor courts will be transformed into an adjoining “village” with a Food Court providing complimentary refreshment on site, and an “Information Village,” where representatives of University faculties and departments will stand ready to respond to many of the common concerns of incoming students. The UWI Life event will be hosted by Popular media personalities.  Participants in UWI Life 2006 describe last year’s Student Orientation as “entertaining” and “informative.”

UWI Life Extension, the last of the three events, will take place on Thursday 6th September, 2007 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at The UWI Learning Resource Centre (LRC), rounding off the suite of UWI Life 2007 events. At this event, part-time, mature, distance and postgraduate students are invited to learn more about practical ways of exploiting UWI facilities, resources and services to help balance family, employment and academics.  One participant in UWI Life Extension 2006 commented, “The presenter’s tips were truly helpful while the testimonials from past students were invaluable because I could really identify with their experiences.”

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