News Releases

UWI cohort returns from India

For Release Upon Receipt - August 15, 2012

St. Augustine


On Friday August 3rd a group of senior Faculty, Administrators and Alumni returned from a 3 week academic immersion in India.  This project was organized by The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine’s Office of Institutional Advancement and Internationalization and led by Prof. Kapil Kumar, a visiting lecturer holding the post of Chair of Contemporary Indian Studies.

The group completed an extensive schedule in eight cities and visited some of India’s leading academic institutions and cultural centres including the Indira Gandhi National Open University, the National Museum, the Centre for Electronic Communications, Amity International University, the National Institute of Design, the Institute of Hotel Management and the Indian Institute of Travel and Tourism Management. The group was lectured by prominent Indian academics in the fields of education, history, agriculture, science, small industry, businesses, mythology and culture in an effort to understand and internalise the complexity and uniqueness of contemporary India. They were also hosted by various private and public organizations and networked with a wide range of Indian leaders. Among the unique activities they engaged in was a panel discussion that was televised live all over India where they discussed their experiences and perspectives in the country as West Indians. The group members spoke from their areas of expertise that included engineering, the humanities, management, mediation, social sciences and medicine.

This academic immersion experience was the first of a new project started at the St. Augustine Campus called ‘UWI Discovers’ where groups of University students, staff and alumni will be exposed to the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries over the next four years.  After this inaugural visit to India in 2012, Brazil, South Africa and China will each be added over the next 3 years.  The purpose of the “UWI Discovers” series is to further the internationalisation agenda of The University, an issue which is central to its new strategic plan for the period 2012-2017.  Participants will be immersed in all contemporary aspects of these global powers with the aim of ensuring that cadres of Caribbean leaders (current and future) are not only sensitive to these countries, but are also versed in their uniqueness, cultures, customs and most importantly, the opportunities for the Caribbean to engage in constructive partnerships.

The Indian High Commission in Trinidad & Tobago and the Trinidad & Tobago High Commission in India played critical roles in helping to develop the programme and secure opportunities for the group while on the trip.  Participants have expressed an extremely positive reaction to the project and The UWI looks forward to “Discovering” Brazil, South Africa or China in 2013.

For further information, please contact the Office of Institutional Advancement and Internationalization at 662-2002 ext.84151or via e-mail at internationaloffice@sta.uwi.edu.

For the latest UWI News, click http://sta.uwi.edu/news.

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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