 
At the opening of the first Innovation Conference to be held at The UWI, Campus Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian Copeland, told the gathering that a major element of the day was that it had managed a coalescing of vital forces, so to speak.
“What is significant about today, though, is the wide cross-section of participants – a coming together of individuals with differing perspectives – from the public and the private sectors, from academia and government, from international agencies. Yet, we come together with one common cause: the need, no – absolute imperative – to increase Research, Development and Innovation in (RDI) Trinidad and Tobago.”
Professor Copeland, who was formally inducted as Campus Principal yesterday (July 8), outlined his vision for The UWI, saying students should be better equipped with the tools for survival in a highly competitive and dynamic world.
“We know that many UWI graduates are facing hitherto unseen levels of underemployment, even in the high-demand professions such as medicine and law. We have accepted the challenge of utilising our resources to help younger generations learn how to survive in the new dynamically changing world. In such a world, we believe it is of the utmost importance that our citizens be educated and trained to meet and beat every challenge that nature or humankind throws their way. They must be endowed with the ability to spot and exploit commercial opportunities, while deriving novel, ingenious, and workable solutions to our economic, societal and ecological challenges. This would be a legacy of self-sustainability.
“Such a legacy would be an enduring one. It would completely obliterate the debilitating cultural impact of slavery and indentureship. But, even more, it would determine the ultimate survival and growth of our region as a whole.”
Click for Professor Copeland’s address >>
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