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June 2013
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Answering that question led to The UWI collaborating with the National Entrepreneurship Development Company (NEDCO) and the Incubation Centre to host the first ‘Entrepreneurship Boot Camp’ in 2012 on the St Augustine Campus. Graduates found resources to build confidence in their ability to turn their business dreams into reality. It was such a success that The UWI and NEDCO solidified their partnership in October 2012 with a Memorandum of Understanding for a strategic working relationship on entrepreneurial development. The establishment of a NEDCO physical presence on The UWI St Augustine Campus, in the Student Activity Centre, marks the delivery of one of the promises made in that agreement. Campus Principal Clement Sankat was confident that NEDCO’s presence would embed the spirit of entrepreneurship in the Campus community, encouraging and supporting ideas for new products and services while facilitating the translation of these ideas into reality. It is a step further in the creation of an enterprising academy at The UWI. He urged staff, students and graduates to take Seth Godin’s advice in ‘Poke the Box’ and draw their own entrepreneurial maps rather than simply follow directions. An entrepreneurial culture is critical, he noted, if Trinidad & Tobago is to successfully diversify its economy. The St Augustine Campus and NEDCO will co-host a second ‘Entrepreneurship Boot Camp’ from July 1-6. Photo: Aneel Karim |
The UWI St Augustine is a hotspot for ideas, initiatives, new and innovative products. That’s the way a university should be, after all. The questions to ask though are: ‘what do you do with these bright ideas and are they at all commercially viable?’\