News Releases

UWI to work with Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

For Release Upon Receipt - July 23, 2012

St. Augustine


The Ecuadorian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Integration, His Excellency Mr. Ricardo Patiño, accompanied by his delegation, visited the St. Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies (UWI) on Tuesday 17th July, 2012, to meet with the Campus administration, as well as with representatives of Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss forging a relationship between the two countries.

Acting Campus Principal and Dean of the Faculty of Science and Agriculture, Professor Dyer Narinesingh, as well as representatives of the various Faculties, Departments and Units on Campus, greeted the visitors at the Campus Principal’s Office where they discussed UWI’s role in this partnership.   

Mr. Patiño stated that this meeting was the first step in his country’s efforts to attain diplomatic relations with Trinidad and Tobago. Ecuador especially wants to develop its “human talent,” he said, and this can be achieved by providing its students with learning opportunities in other countries, hence the effort to cultivate strong ties with UWI. Of particular concern is the deficiency of English language teachers in Ecuadorian schools. They’d also like to take advantage of The UWI St. Augustine’s strengths in the areas of science, sports administration and tourism.

Ecuador also has much to offer Trinidad and Tobago, said Mr. Patiño, citing examples of his country’s prospering shrimp, banana and flower industries. Mr. Sharan Singh said The UWI is also interested in Ecuador’s University of Excellence project, which would support the movement of students between Trinidad and Tobago and Ecuador.

Among those present at the meeting were Dr Beverly Carter, Director of the Centre for Language Learning; Professor Brian Copeland, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering; Dr Monica Davis, Lecturer at the Faculty of Medical Sciences; Mrs Deborah Charles-Smythe, Senior Assistant Registrar at the Office of Graduate Studies and Research; Dr Anthony Gonzales, Director (Interim) of the Institute of International Relations; and Mr Sharan Singh, Director of the Office of Institutional Advancement and Internationalization.   

The meeting ended with an official agreement to begin collaborations as soon as possible.

For further information, please contact the Office of the Campus Principal, at 662-2002 ext.82182, 83182, or via e-mail at principal@sta.uwi.edu.

 

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. (Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

 

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