Carnival has ended, and The UWI St Augustine campus community returns to work. On March 11, we held our annual Campus Council meeting, where we presented our annual report to council members, government and the wider national and regional community.
As Campus Principal, it was my role to give a review of the period 2023-2024, sharing some of the highlights of what has been a transformative year for the campus. (Editor’s note: See article on the Campus Council meeting in this issue of UWI TODAY. For links to the full annual report and highlights, see links below).
It was a year in which the campus moved from planning to execution. We transformed some of the persistent challenges we face into new and truly exciting opportunities. I use “we” not by accident. Most critically, we came together, members of the campus community from all levels, to take these plans that have been formulated over time and realise them.
The theme of the 2023-2024 UWI St Augustine annual report is “UWI Made: Innovating for Tomorrow”. UWI Made is the name of the brand under which members of the campus community from the different faculties and departments have developed several commercial projects. However, UWI Made is also a statement of collective ownership by this institution in a paradigm that is, if not new, evolved.
As part of The University of the West Indies, the St Augustine campus is guided by the institution’s overall strategy, The Revenue Revolution. In brief, this strategy calls upon the university to be more entrepreneurial, efficient and effective. UWI St Augustine’s own campus strategy reflects these goals. We had four areas of focus: translating research into entrepreneurship, fostering employee engagement, advancing the green agenda, and strengthening stakeholder relationships.
In the area of innovation and entrepreneurship, we made major progress in several of our commercial projects under the UWI Made brand. These include UWI Seal-It, a line of asphalt-based sealants for tropical climates, developed by members of the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Science and Technology; UWI Fine Cocoa Ltd, a manufacturing centre for cocoa-based products established by the Cocoa Research Centre; Biophyt, an eco-friendly pesticide and plant stimulant developed by the Faculty of Food and Agriculture; and Humankind Studios, a multimedia production house created by the Faculty of Humanities and Education.
There are several other commercial projects in development, and the campus looks forward to sharing updates on their progress with the public. The work to develop and refine these projects involves numerous people on the campus at the departmental, faculty, and administrative levels. A Team-Building Enterprise
In the period 2023-2024, we carried out several initiatives to increase employee engagement. These included Principal’s Open Hours, which encourage direct communication between leadership and staff; management training to help senior academics in areas such as process mapping and media engagement; the return of the annual Principal’s Research Awards; and the return of the campus’s annual end of year staff social.
Likewise, we advanced the green agenda by investing in energy-efficient air conditioning systems, a solar-powered electric vehicle charging system, and a geospatial Earth observation data cube (funded by Mexico). In addition, our Campus Environmental Committee drafted an environmental policy for UWI St Augustine, reduced the usage of single-use plastics at events and meetings, and engaged in sustainability promotion and messaging.
It should be noted as well that, apart from these strategic achievements, we undertook several projects to enhance the educational and campus life experiences of our students. These efforts showed great success, resulting in an increase of student satisfaction from 49.8 percent in 2022 to 61.1 percent in 2024, as revealed in the Student Satisfaction Survey.
We carried out several initiatives to enhance the student experience, including investments in infrastructure and student services, such as a new medical school building, upgrades to the gym and seating in the School of Pharmacy, and improved internet services for some of our halls of residence.
One particularly impactful programme that was implemented in 2023-2024 was First-Gen STAR (Successful Transition and Academic Readiness), which provided first generation UWI students with mentorship, financial aid, counselling, and more.
This council meeting was the first with our new Campus Council Chair, Mr Robert Riley. Mr Riley is well known internationally as a leader in business, particularly in the energy industry. He is a national award winner for his decades-long contribution to the development of the nation. His relationship with The UWI goes all the way back to his student days. Yes, he is a proud Pelican. On behalf of the campus, it is my pleasure to reiterate our welcome of Mr Riley, and commend him for his debut as our Council Chair.
I wish as well to express gratitude on UWI St Augustine’s behalf to Ms Sharon Christopher, who served as the previous Council Chair. Her steady voice and demeanour were a boon to the proceedings, and her perspectives on the campus and its role in society were always insightful.
This Campus Council meeting was also the first in years that UWI Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles was able to attend in person, following the pandemic restrictions on movement and its aftermath. Sir Hilary’s presence, whether in person or remote, is always impactful and appreciated, but it is truly a pleasure to host him at St Augustine.
As mentioned, below you will find links with all the details of our activities for the academic year 2023-2024. We invite you to peruse at your pleasure. As a service institution, you are all our stakeholders. Exciting things are happening at UWI St Augustine. We want you to be informed and engaged, and if you have a green thumb of your own, to contribute to this campus of tomorrow.
UWI St Augustine Annual Report 2023-2024:
sta.uwi.edu/resources/documents/UWI_AnnualReport_23-24.pdf
UWI St Augustine Faculty Report 2023-2024:
sta.uwi.edu/resources/documents/UWI_FacultyReport_23-24.pdf
Annual Report Highlights:
sta.uwi.edu/annualreport/report.php
