September 2015


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Some 3,523 first-year undergraduate students are currently enrolled at The UWI St. Augustine Campus for the academic year 2015-2016, a 10.6% increase from the September 2014 intake. As has been the tradition, the Campus welcomed a sizeable contingent of students from the region – hailing mainly from Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and The Bahamas. The Campus also welcomed students from Venezuela, Yugoslavia, Tunisia, Turkey, Tanzania, Fiji, Solomon Islands and New Zealand.

The new students took part in the formal Matriculation Ceremony on September 17 at the Campus. Among those who welcomed the new intake were Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat, Vice-Chancellor of The UWI, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles (via video), and Reverend Daniel Teelucksingh, who delivered this year’s feature address.

The Campus Principal told the students about the UWI family they have joined. “…We are all one big family. So look out for each other, encourage each other, motivate each other, consult each other, and study together! This is how a family functions and is able to achieve great success…. So ensure that you all work together – this is key to our collective success as a university, as a nation and as a region,” he said.

The UWI’s Matriculation Ceremony is the traditional ‘rite of passage’ for new students, as they are formally recognized as members of the academic community of The UWI. It takes place at the physical sites of campuses across the region. The event is marked by an academic procession and the symbolic signing of the Matriculation Register. The register is one of the prized archival records of the University. Bound in beautiful leather with golden inscriptions, it features the names of all the undergraduates who have studied at the University.

This year, the signing was done by Campus Registrar, Richard Saunders and first-year student in the Faculty of Engineering, Gabryelle Gunness, who represented the incoming class. The recital of the Academic Vow is also integral to the ceremony and was led by President of the Guild of Students, Makesi Peters.