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Moulding the next generation of Caribbean media professionals

For Release Upon Receipt - August 25, 2011

St. Augustine


UWI Principal welcomes new Certificate in Journalism students

On Tuesday 6th September 2011, The UWI St. Augustine Campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat, will host a welcome for the students who have been accepted into the inaugural Certificate in Journalism programme at The UWI.  

The private commencement ceremony marks the actual “teaching start” to the programme which was launched in October last year. This new, one-year, full-time programme is designed for prospective and practising journalists who want to be prepared to perform more effectively in a 21st century media environment.  

Programme Coordinator, Patricia Worrell, said that the response to the programme was overwhelming and several applicants had to be deferred to next year’s session. 

“The Programme office received numerous applications, but we stayed true to our intention to maintain a small intake. We want to ensure that all new students receive individual support and experience optimal personal development in a high-quality inaugural programme,” said Worrell. 

Ms. Worrell also gave some insight into the structure of the programme. “We provide many opportunities for students to integrate theories of journalism with practical experiences that will help to make the theory more concrete. The course orientation is intensely practical, and assessments will primarily be by coursework, with only two of the ten courses in the programme requiring an end-of-semester exam.  

The Certificate in Journalism programme is designed to give students greater independence as time goes by. In the first semester, it will deliver a somewhat structured learning experience, with more in-class or directed course activity. In the second semester, most of the courses will have students going out into the field, where they will get to practise what they’ve been taught. In the last part of the programme, students will be expected to do most of their work independently, as they carry out assigned projects with fairly simple supervision.  

“The proof of what our students can do is always going to be, primarily, that they can do those things in real-life working contexts. We’re committed to turning out people who can hit the ground running when they enter media organisations,” Worrell said. 

For more information on the programme, please contact Patricia Worrell, Programme Coordinator, at patricia.worrell@sta.uwi.edu or cert.journalism@sta.uwi.edu or (868) 663 1334 Ext. 83983 or (868) 388 6299. 

 

About the Certificate in Journalism Programme

The UWI Certificate in Journalism programme is GATE-approved. It includes nine compulsory courses: Fundamentals of Journalism, Media in Caribbean Society, Law and Ethics for Journalists, Interviewing as Art, Science and Culture, Reporting the News: Telling the Story, Telling the Story II, Presenting the Story, Introduction to Investigative Reporting, Project in Investigative Reporting. As an elective, students will choose between Journalism and Business, and Introduction to New Media Technologies. Candidates who are accepted primarily on the basis of their professional experience will be expected to present a portfolio of at least six pieces of their recent work, and to have at least five years work experience as practising journalists and at least five years secondary education, with a minimum of three passes in CXC CSEC examinations, at the General Proficiency level.

 

About UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with over 50 physical site locations across the region, serving over 20 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Pure & Applied Sciences, Science and Agriculture, and Social Sciences.

 

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