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July 2014
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The UWI team, led by Vice-Chancellor Professor Nigel Harris, sought to strengthen its positioning in the global landscape as an authority on small-island state development and as an ideal international partner. This was done by targeting potential partners, based on The UWI’s pre-identified strategic projects, and highlighting its uniqueness and major strengths, notable programmes and accomplishments. The UWI’s location through its three physical campuses and accessibility via its virtual campus were important selling points. The UWI exhibition at the conference, “An Engine of Regional Development,”was well located in the centre of the exhibition hall and attracted many visitors. University representatives from Colombia, Mexico and Brazil, were very keen to explore English language mobility opportunities. A recent major thrust within The UWI is the strengthening of links with HEIs in Latin America. Vice-Chancellor Harris was a lead presenter in three well-attended sessions. The first was a workshop organised by the International Association of Universities to define the meaning of “Inclusive Internationalisation” as a means of ensuring a common approach by universities. His second presentation, “Beyond the Rhetoric of Partnerships,” attracted a considerable crowd. He discussed the criteria used by The UWI in determining its engagement with significant partners. The UWI, he said, served the Commonwealth Caribbean particularly through research, training and public service, and it was an important source of technical expertise for the public and private sectors, that it provided a gateway to the wider Caribbean region in terms of the impact of its work and that it engaged in the marketing of its expertise. His third presentation derived from the workshop, “Inclusive Internationalisation,” and elicited much debate. The UWI’s participation at Going Global 2014 was facilitated by the support of the Caribbean Export Development Agency. This collaboration, Vice-Chancellor Harris said, was an excellent case study of how the private sector could support institutions such as The UWI. Some 1,000 delegates, presenters and exhibitors from 70 countries, including 500 heads of organisations and 16 education ministers, met to share best practices, network and strategize about the future of higher education. In addition to universities from Europe, the United States, Asia, Latin America, Africa and Australia, there were representatives of international development agencies, associations of higher education administrators, companies in the fields of higher education marketing, recruitment, and research rankings. More than 3,400 people watched the proceedings online. Nine pieces of research were launched at the meeting, ranging from the role that higher education can play in creating jobs in Africa to trends in South East Asia. The conference proceedings will be published in a book to be edited by Mary Stiasny and Tim Gore of the University of London.
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The UWI was one of only two Caribbean tertiary level institutions represented at a higher education conference staged by the British Council in Miami in April.