August 2015


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Traditionally, higher education in the Caribbean region has been viewed predominantly in a regional context. However, in a globalized era, higher education has now become a global phenomenon as universities worldwide not only strive to prepare their graduates to become productive global citizens, but also endeavour to attract foreign students by the use of information communication technology (ICT) for the delivery of education. In addition, we now adopt a collaborative approach to building internal capacity and conducting meaningful and impactful research. The UWI also views Internationalisation as a means to building diversity in its staff and students, enhancing its quality by embracing international best practices and extending its reach beyond the shores of the English-speaking Caribbean.

It is within this context, that the 2012-2017 Strategic Plan of The University of the West Indies identifies ‘Internationalisation’ as one of its six strategic perspectives. This strategic plan is now in its fourth year, and since then, The UWI St. Augustine Campus has made, and continues to make tremendous strides in its internationalisation thrust through its Office of Institutional Advancement and Internationalisation (OIAI) and its Office of Research Development and Knowledge Transfer (ORDKT).

In June, I was invited to the 19th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) in the Bahamas where I was privileged to make a presentation entitled, “Internationalisation of Higher Education – The UWI Experience”. My presentation highlighted The UWI St. Augustine Campus’ involvement in its internationalisation thrust; showing our geographic and thematic diversity as it relates to our partnerships with India, China, the EU, the ACP region, the Caribbean Basin/Latin America, Canada and the United States.

It is critical that I convey the value of Internationalisation of Higher Education, as I am of the firm belief that the success of any university depends on its ability to forge strategic alliances with global international partners. Internationalisation of higher education is one of the ways a country responds to the impact of globalization, yet at the same time respects the individuality of the nation. Internationalisation of higher education can also be considered the process of integrating an international/intercultural dimension into the teaching, research and service functions of the institution. However we define internationalisation, it is undeniably important. Universities engage in internationalisation for a number of reasons; such as: to foster human development through understanding and respect across nations; to expand and sustain various avenues for economic competitiveness; to promote academic entrepreneurialism; along with preparing citizens for employment by foreign-owned firms. Equally as important are its benefits of being able to prepare citizens to operate in a multi-cultural and diverse work environment.

What has The UWI been doing to internationalise?

Given the importance of internationalisation of higher education, The UWI has been working steadily at enhancing its internationalisation agenda. We have done so through - institutional partnerships, new programmes, student mobility (both ways), staff recruitment, research partnerships, quality & accreditation, external examinations, co-supervision of students, study/travel grant & institutional visit allowances. Further we have established the Centre for Language Learning (CLL), and the Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean (DAOC). Incorporated in our programme is an added component where we facilitate visiting professors. The UWI has also adhered to the implementation of the ACS Initiative (a special tuition fee arrangement for countries of the wider Latin America and Caribbean region), along with establishing three international offices.

Some of our internationalisation initiatives and efforts are as follows:

Partnering with India
In January 2012 I was pleased to be part of a 12-day state visit to India. Our university’s relationship with India is one of the longest-standing international partnerships for The UWI. This state visit to India climaxed with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of India for three chairs at UWI St. Augustine, located across various disciplines including Chairs in Ayurvedic Medicine, Indian History, and Hindi. The chairs are selected from some of the most senior professors in India and rotate every two to three years. This project is therefore a model arrangement of inter-institutional and inter-governmental partnership.

Partnering with China – Confucius Institute
In early June 2013, we had an official visit from the Director General of Hanban, Madam Xu Lin. During this visit we signed an MOU with the Confucius Institute Headquarters of China for the establishment of a Confucius Institute at The UWI St. Augustine Campus in the presence of the President of the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Xi Jinping, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Although the Confucius Institute can be considered to be in its early stages of development it is with great pride that I can say that we have achieved much and made significant strides in just one year.

Partnering with China – China Agricultural University
The UWI St. Augustine Campus took our relationship with China even further, as we embraced the China Agricultural University (CAU) as our partner institution through our arrangement with the Confucius Institute. I must say that our partnership with CAU is very unique. This is because, although our institutions are partnering in the main areas of language and culture, we have taken it a step further to collaborate in the area of sustainable agricultural development. China Agricultural University is the most important university in agriculture and nutritional sciences in China and UWI St. Augustine has a long history in agricultural teaching, research and innovation. Our partnership is therefore a natural fit. I also wish to note that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago awarded our institution 200 acres of land at Orange Grove on the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway. These lands are now being utilized by our agricultural field station to support a robust approach to sustainable agricultural development informed by recent research and integrated with commerce, business and entrepreneurship techniques. We are currently partnering with China Agricultural University to create an Agriculture Innovation Park at Orange Grove. We are confident that this will be a model to re-engineer the way our country, and the wider region, produces food and how agriculture will be perceived in Small Island Developing States in the future. This is a great example of technical cooperation at work for capacity development.

International Partnerships – Academic Programmes
The UWI St. Augustine Campus has also been building global partnerships to build quality and capacity in the academic programmes we offer. For example, in response to the lack of professional sports management currently experienced in the Caribbean, The UWI St. Augustine Campus, in collaboration with the Centre International D’Etude Du Sport (CIES), and under the auspices of FIFA, introduced a Postgraduate Diploma and MSc in Sports Management. We also continue to partner with the University of Flensburg, and the Flensburg University of Applied Sciences, in Germany to deliver an MSc in Renewable Energy. Recently, UWI ROYTEC also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International American University (IAU), to deliver several new medical programmes such as the Associate and Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy; the Pharmacy Technician Certificate, the Emergency Medical Technician Diploma; the Hospitality Certificate; and the Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing among others.

Partnering with Trinity College
The UWI St. Augustine Campus also signed an MOU with Trinity College, Connecticut which cemented years of institutional collaboration we had with that institution. This was a Student Exchange Agreement which allowed for “Trinity in Trinidad” students (part time) to be counted against full time UWI students going to Trinity for a semester or a year. Trinity College faculty has also conducted multiple visits to Trinidad and to the St. Augustine Campus in order to develop collaborations.

More recently, we had a historic ‘sod turning’ ceremony for “The UWI Trinity House” to be located right at The UWI St. Augustine Campus. We are indeed breaking new ground with this initiative, as the construction of The UWI Trinity House allows another institution - in Trinity College - to have a physical presence on the grounds of our own UWI St. Augustine Campus. This is testimony not only to the strength of our relationship, but also to the commitment of our university to develop and support teaching, learning and research, particularly in the areas of the arts and culture (the humanities) - areas such as - cultural arts, the performing arts, film, heritage and entertainment.

Student & Faculty Mobility Schemes
Finally, it is important that I mention that The UWI was selected to manage the approximately €2 million euros of funding from the European Union to facilitate the movement of Masters and PhD students and staff between a consortium of six universities from the Caribbean and Pacific regions as part of the Caribbean-Pacific Island Mobility Scheme (CARPIMS). This is the largest South-South mobility project ever funded by the EU. We have managed three consecutive projects (CARPIMS I, II, & III). This project continues to create a cadre of highly trained and committed citizens in a wide range of disciplines.

The Canada–CARICOM Leadership Scholarships Program and the Emerging Leaders in the Americas Programme (ELAP), is another very good example of student and faculty mobility schemes. These programmes provide students and researchers from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) with short-term exchange opportunities for study or research at the college, undergraduate and graduate levels in Canada.

In conclusion, it is the accepted opinion that The UWI St. Augustine Campus has done significantly well as it relates to the internationalisation of higher education which has resulted in tremendous benefits for the students and faculty of our university and, by extension, the people of our region. Nonetheless, there is still much room for further collaboration and partnership to continue to build our capacity to serve our region. I firmly believe however that, for internationalisation to be successful, it must be based on a leadership ethos that is focused on active engagement and support for such an institutional thrust. Leaders must connect with relevant individuals and institutions and open doors, and this must be followed by prioritization and action. Casual relationships hardly bring success.

Professor Clement Sankat is the Campus Principal of The UWI, St Augustine.