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February 2012
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In January 2012, The UWI embarked on a mission to India to deepen and expand its cooperation with Indian higher education institutions. This had been in the making for over a year, but when the opportunity arose to be in India at the same time as the State visit by the Honourable Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, planning shifted towards implementation. The UWI’s focus for its mission was in the three main areas of building capacity, internationalizing the institution and ensuring financial sustainability. The UWI is aggressively pursuing strategic and focused collaborations with selected universities around the world with a strong focus on India, China, Brazil and South Africa. These partnerships are meant to complement existing collaborations in North America and Europe.
In New Delhi, the team met with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Delhi), the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the Energy Resource Institute (TERI), the ShriRam Institute, the Agricultural Scientists Research Board and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AAIMS). From Delhi the team went to Jaipur to participate in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conference which was attended by many leading academics, business people and politicians both from within India and from the global Indian diaspora. Whilst in Jaipur, the team visited the Shankara group of Colleges and the National Ayurveda University. The team then went on to Bangalore where meetings were held with the National Law School of India University and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM – Bangalore) after which they visited the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. The packed itinerary then concluded in Mumbai with meetings at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT – Mumbai) and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahlaya (Prince of Wales Museum).
The UWI signed an agreement with the Government for a Chair in Ayurveda, a significant number of opportunities for staff exchanges were developed, agreements were made for technical assistance to be provided to The UWI for expanding existing programmes and setting up new ones (especially at the post-graduate level), possibilities for joint-programmes were explored and most recently, The UWI is organizing a ‘study tour’ to India in the summer of 2012 which will be open to faculty, students and staff of all tertiary education institutions in Trinidad. This study tour will be led by one of the Academic Chairs sponsored by the Government of India at The UWI and will allow participants to be immersed in the fascinating culture, history, society, biodiversity and business of India. In order to ensure maximum benefit from the many possibilities developed from the mission, the St. Augustine Campus is taking the lead to assign dedicated resources to the various follow-up activities with each Indian institution. |
The UWI team to India comprised Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat and the Director of the Office of Institutional Advancement and Internationalization, Mr. Sharan C. Singh. The visit took place from January 3rd to the 15th and covered New Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai. In total, the UWI team met with 15 of India’s leading and globally recognized higher education institutions. 
This mission was based on a history of collaborating with India for over 15 years in the areas of education and culture which has been facilitated largely by the Indian High Commission in Trinidad and the Trinidad and Tobago High Commission in New Delhi, India. The UWI St. Augustine Campus currently hosts two Academic Chairs in Hindi and Contemporary Indian History which are sponsored by the Indian Government. The Campus has worked closely with the Indian High Commission in Trinidad to mount a wide range of conferences, symposia and cultural events including performances and even a film festival. UWI Staff have benefitted from scholarships under the ITEC programme to obtain professional development training in India and the outcomes from this mission have open an extremely significant range of opportunities for further collaboration.