November 2015


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Another brood has left the nest

The St. Augustine Campus of The UWI is extremely proud to recognize our graduating class of 2015. As Principal, I always feel a great sense of pride in witnessing the fruits of the labour of these students. We had approximately 4,000 students graduating at the six ceremonies in October. I congratulate you, and your parents, guardians and loved ones who have supported you throughout your journey.

This year, eight distinguished individuals were conferred with honorary doctoral degrees: Justice Jean Angela Permanand, Mr. Norman Sabga, Mr. Gérard Besson, Dr. Marjorie Thorpe, Mr. David Rudder, Justice Ralph Narine, Mr. Rajkumar Krishna Persad, and Mr. Hollis Raymond Charles. I congratulate these eminent members of our society, many of whom have also contributed significantly to our University. The UWI is honoured to have them in our company of scholars, teachers, administrators and students.

At this special time, it is important to reflect on the arduous journey that our undergraduate and more than 1,000 graduate students have endured, to be finally able to hold their certificates in their hands. The UWI experience is an extremely unique one, demanding, at best, but bringing with it a distinctive perspective and experience of regional connectivity.

Many of our graduating students will attest that the journey for them began a long time ago; as far back as when they were in primary school; as several of them from this tender age already knew what they wanted to be as adults. One can also contend that the degree of difficulty in getting into The UWI was also quite apparent from a tender age; being fully aware of the competitive nature of our education system here in the Caribbean. In fact, getting into the best educational institutions is never an easy journey anywhere in the world and therefore one must begin preparations from very early.

As many are aware, the marathon for our young children in the Caribbean begins with the SEA and continues with CSEC and CAPE. Only after demonstrating excellence in their academic achievements, are students eligible to enter The UWI. However, it is critical to mention that the percentage of students accepted to pursue studies in the seven faculties at UWI varies. Our faculty entrance committees, led by deans, deputy deans, academic staff, and senior administrative staff, are guided by the academic performance of our applicants.

Meritocracy is the word we often use to describe our system of entrance and eligibility. To this end, the discerning factor, with regards to the selection or eligibility process, resides primarily on the quality of the grades of the students who apply. It is heart-breaking to say the least, when students who have attained straight A’s in CAPE are not accepted into some programmes; especially in the Faculty of Medical Sciences. Some are given deferred entry because of our capacity limitations; but the Faculty of Medical Sciences always tries its very best, and for this I salute them. Engineering and Law are also very competitive Faculties. Nonetheless, this entrance evaluation process is an approach that has been adopted by many universities world-wide, and it has proven to be extremely valuable in guiding our committees across all Faculties in making transparent decisions for students applying to the more sought after programmes.

I must also say that in spite of the current economic challenges that confront the regional UWI at this time, we have made some positive strides in increasing the number of spaces available in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, in particular to the professions of doctors and dentists. The expansion of our student medical training facility to the ‘Teaching and Learning Hospital’ in San Fernando will see an increase of approximately 100 more students to be trained as doctors (into the new academic year 2016-2017). In addition, we have begun the construction of a new building at Mt. Hope, to expand the School of Dentistry. This will significantly allow the University to increase its intake of students to be trained as dentists, so as to double our intake to at least 60 students. It is our sincere hope that The UWI, will be able, in a reasonable period of time, to provide the capacity and service, in all faculties, to many more eligible students who apply to be part of this regional institution. This can only be achieved through the continued cherished support of our national and regional governments, and also the private sector partnerships that we are forging.

I reiterate my congratulations to our graduates, and wish them well in their future endeavours, as they embark on a new journey, one that may also bring with it new challenges.

EDITORIAL TEAM

Campus Principal: Professor Clement Sankat
Director of Marketing and Communications: Dr. Dawn-Marie De Four-Gill
Editor: Ms Vaneisa Baksh [vaneisa.baksh@sta.uwi.edu]

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