At the time of this writing it has been almost four weeks since we closed the campus in March.
This has been a strange and uncertain period for all of us at UWI St Augustine. Students and their lecturers have been required to move to virtual classrooms. Apart from their studies they no longer share a space with friends and social groups, an essential part of the university experience. Our researchers have limited access to the facilities and equipment necessary for their work. Our technical and support staff, the people who keep the campus running, can only work from afar or in some cases not at all. As Calypsonian Mighty Duke once sang, though not exactly in the same context, “de whole ting change up.” Just so!
For those who are not engaged physically or virtually, the stress of the physical disconnect from work has been compounded by concerns about whether their salaries will remain intact. I particularly empathise with those who have to work and/or study in this restrained environment while having to deal with young children who are now at home and having to do domestic chores. If they were among those privileged to have helpers, that privilege no longer exists. Yet, for the most part, their challenge pales in comparison to that of custodial grandparents, clearly a more vulnerable group, with young children to look after.
On a more serious note, across the nation this sudden and unprecedented change, has induced other forms of distress, even for those who were not in regular work. Early on, our researchers and others across the world, warned of the psychological impact of social distancing and the abruptness with which it had to be implemented. They pointed to the fact that the forced, close proximity of individuals has the potential of creating friction even among the best of relationships. As reports have indicated, this has aggravated polarised and abusive relationships. With COVID-19 the stress is not just intense, it is also multi-pronged.
Yet with all the dislocation, all the anxiety, the concern for ourselves and our loved ones, the worry for the future and the daily frustrations of life under lockdown during this pandemic, there must be a resolve to meet this crisis head on and on all fronts if we are to survive its social and economic impact. 72 years ago, The University of the West Indies was created to meet our people’s needs and solve their challenges through tertiary level teaching and research. COVID-19 is a challenge like we have not seen in many years. As I see it, it is our sacred duty to give of our time and expertise to support local and international efforts to save lives, care for the sick, curb the spread of this pandemic, and help our society recover from what many are now calling World War III. What good is a top 5 per cent ranked University if it cannot lend quality support to its people in a time of need?
One Of UWI’s core values is “Excellence”. Under that value we vow to deliver “consistently high-quality and relevant service”. That is what is required from us now, and I am pleased to say that members of the campus community are doing just that. From the outset, The UWI created a COVID-19 Task Force to “inform the Caribbean response” working in conjunction with CARPHA. The Campus is also contributing by sharing its medical and biological resources and expertise, spread across the Faculty of Medical Sciences and the Faculty of Science and Technology, in testing and in exploring treatments. There has also been frontline engagement as, for example, from 50 nurses who are students at the Faculty of Medical Sciences’ School of Nursing. These medical professionals are taking part in the Ministry of Health’s contact tracing exercise.
More recently, our engineers joined in the battle. For example, our experts are assisting the Ministry in broadening the scope and utility of its GIS maps, critical tools in this battle. Further, a team of engineers has embarked on a daring national effort to design and manufacture essential medical equipment such as ventilators and face masks, working in partnership with the Health Ministry, industry and the business community. This engineering initiative seeks to provide a readily accessible local fall-back in the supply of required equipment, in the likelihood of an escalation of the pandemic compounded by global shortage of these much needed items. Part of this manufacturing drive is a campaign to source donations from the national community, which will not only raise vital funds for the project, but also provide the wider population a chance to contribute to the COVID-19 campaign.
Our sister campuses are active in this fight as well. UWI Mona’s Faculty of Medical Sciences is representing the University at the World Health Organisation's “Solidarity Trials” to find drugs that help in the management of COVID-19. The George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre at UWI Cave Hill in Barbados is working with the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to model the expected impact of the pandemic. Finally, the Open Campus, well-versed in virtual and distance education, has started a training programme for more than 600 educators to prepare them for teaching in the new environment.
I could go on and on, detailing the work of the groups and individuals at St Augustine and our other campuses during this crisis. The point is that we are engaging the battle despite the distance we have been forced to maintain. At the same time, we acknowledge that “just so”, and as evidenced by UWI’s rapid transition to online delivery and remote work, this pandemic has brought the future to our doorstep.
We acknowledge as well, that at this time the world has the opportunity to reflect on its past and use the missteps of the past to forge a new future. In past issues, I have spoken of the need for our society to develop systems that would ensure that citizens can survive and thrive in three possible scenarios: catastrophic situations, such as in the aftermath of societal breakdown consequent to man-made or natural crises; in the “normal” state as defined by the pre-COVID-19 status quo; and in a future state with effective strategies for preparing the citizen of the future. COVID-19 has brought us face to face with questions on the preparedness of our citizens to take personal responsibility in response to a crisis as well as the level of resilience and responsiveness of our societies at large.
In more microscopic detail, questions on the need for greater focus on individual mental and physical health as well as the need for greater food security arise, for example. We cannot accurately predict the shape and form of the next crises. But we can say with 100 per cent certainty what aspects of our existence – physical and mental health, food and nourishment, housing and land, finances, etc – would be the targets for potentially catastrophic crises. The UWI will increase its endeavours to treat with that challenge. As 2018 Calypso Monarch Helon Francis sang, we need to “change the change for a better nation”.
I close by expressing my deepest gratitude to all staff and students of The UWI ST Augustine. I thank especially those members of staff who ramped up their training in online delivery, thus facilitating a transition from 34 per cent online course delivery to a minimum of 98 per cent in short order. I offer special thanks to the student body for their patience and understanding of our efforts to restart the process of academic education. We understand very well that most of you have undergone the trauma of relocation, many to a space that does not allow you to avoid the distractions and avail you of the access you need to complete your preparation for your chosen careers. We are doing our best to ensure quality delivery even under these unforeseen circumstances.
Best of health and strength to all.