News Releases

The UWI Launches World of Work 2027 with ‘Career Blueprint’ for Final-Year Students

For Release Upon Receipt - October 29, 2026

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – October 29, 2026 – Final-year students at The University of the West Indies (The UWI), St. Augustine Campus were challenged to move beyond simply preparing for employment and begin intentionally designing the careers they want, as the Campus launched its World of Work (WOW) Programme 2027 edition on Saturday, October 10, at the Daaga Auditorium. 

Held under the theme “From Vision to Structure,” the Seminar and Launch introduced students to The Career Blueprint: Design. Build. Thrive., setting the foundation for a programme designed to strengthen their transition from university to professional life. The day combined career guidance with practical workshops in résumé development, LinkedIn, entrepreneurship and professional positioning.  

The World of Work Programme, delivered by The UWI St. Augustine Campus in partnership with Republic Bank Limited, is geared towards final-year students and takes participants through a structured series of career-preparation activities, including résumé development, interview preparation, mock interviews, networking and the Graduate Recruitment Fair.  

This year’s launch placed particular emphasis on helping students translate ambition into action, moving from identifying where they want to go professionally to building the skills, networks and professional presence needed to get there. 

Feature speaker Ms Kathryn Nurse, Founder and CEO of Immortelle Beauty, delivered the address, “From Vision to Structure.” Nurse is a cosmetic chemist and entrepreneur who founded Immortelle Beauty in 2010 after training in cosmetic research and development, bringing together her scientific background and interest in beauty to build a Trinidad and Tobago-based brand. Her participation reinforced one of the central ideas behind the 2027 WOW programme: that careers are not always linear and that students can draw on their education, interests and experiences to intentionally shape professional paths of their own. 

Students also heard from Ms Sabrina Mohammed, a former WOW participant, who shared her experience of the programme, providing a student perspective on the transition from university into professional life.  

The opening programme included remarks from Ms Nandi Mitchell, Manager (Ag.), Careers, Co-Curricular Community Engagement, Division of Student Services and Development, greetings from Professor Hariharan Seetharaman, Deputy Principal (Ag.), The UWI St. Augustine Campus, and partner remarks from Mrs Michelle Joseph-Dindial, Branch Sales Manager, Republic Bank Limited’s UWI Branch.  

Following the opening session, students moved into a series of workshops designed to turn the day’s central message into practical action.  

Mr Akeem Branford, Managing Director of Branford HR Solutions and Master Résumé Writer, facilitated “Crafting the Blueprint,” a résumé-writing workshop focused on helping students strengthen one of the most important tools in their transition to the workplace. Branford is an HR and industrial relations professional with experience across the public and private sectors and leads Branford HR Solutions.  

The journey continued online with “Digitizing the Design,” a LinkedIn workshop led by Mrs Karisse Sandy, Marketing and Communications Officer at The UWI St. Augustine Campus, whose remit includes digital marketing. The session helped students begin building and using their professional online presence as they prepare to connect with employers and professional networks. 

The day concluded with “Expanding the Design,” an entrepreneurship workshop led by Mr Julian Henry, Programme Manager in The UWI St. Augustine Campus Entrepreneurship Unit. Henry has extensive experience in entrepreneurship development and SME financing and has worked with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship programmes across the Caribbean. The session introduced students to a practical framework that they can use to both develop ideas into actionable plans as well as to critically analyse existing initiatives or businesses. 

Together, the sessions reflected the programme’s Design. Build. Thrive. approach: encouraging students first to think intentionally about their professional direction, then develop the practical tools to pursue it, and ultimately position themselves to navigate changing career opportunities with greater confidence.  

The World of Work Programme 2027 will continue with activities designed to strengthen students’ workplace readiness and engagement with employers as they move closer to graduation and the next stage of their professional lives. 

For final-year students, the message from the launch was clear: a career is not simply something to enter after university. It is something they can begin designing, with intention, purpose and the right tools, while they are still here. 

 

END 

 

Notes to the Editors 

Photo #1: Students attentively follow proceedings at the launch of the UWI-Republic Bank World of Work (WOW) 2027 programme, designed to prepare students for the transition from university to the professional world.

Photo #2: Mrs Michelle Joseph-Dindial, Branch Sales Manager, Republic Bank Limited’s UWI Branch, addresses attendees during the UWI-Republic Bank World of Work 2027 Seminar and Launch, held under the theme “The Career Blueprint: Design. Build. Thrive.”

Photo #3: Ms Nandi Mitchell, Manager (Ag.), Careers, Co-Curricular Community Engagement, Division of Student Services and Development shares opening remarks during the UWI-Republic Bank World of Work 2027 Seminar and Launch.

Photo #4: Ms Nandi Mitchell, Manager (Ag.), Careers, Co-Curricular Community Engagement, Division of Student Services and Development, Ms Kathryn Nurse, Founder and CEO of Immortelle Beauty, Professor Hariharan Seetharaman, Deputy Principal (Ag.), The UWI St. Augustine Campus, Mrs Michelle Joseph-Dindial, Branch Sales Manager, Republic Bank Limited’s UWI Branch, and Ms Kristy Mannette-Smith, Director (Ag.), Division of Student Services and Development all gather for a group photograph at the World of Work 2027 Seminar and Launch, marking another year of collaboration in preparing students for success in the workplace.

 

About The UWI

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.

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 Open Campus, and 10 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). In the latest World University Rankings 2022, released in September 2021, The UWI moved up an impressive 94 places from last year. In the current global field of some 30,000 universities and elite research institutes, The UWI stands among the top 1.5%.

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, it is also in the top 20 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.

For more, visit www.uwi.edu. 

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