May 2010


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CAMPUS NEWS

Tobago partners with UWI

“Our collaborative partnership has been a very natural one, defined by synergy and mutual support for the national and regional development agenda,” said Professor Clement Sankat, UWI Pro Vice Chancellor and St Augustine Campus Principal as he and the Honourable Orville London, Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) signed two MOUs on behalf of their organisations and the Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute (THTI).

The UWI-THA MOU provides for cooperative relationships between The UWI and the THA in several areas, including delivery of formal courses and informal training programmes in areas of mutual interest, and jointly sponsoring and conducting conferences, workshops, seminars and training programmes. The UWI-THTI MOU facilitates the delivery of UWI programmes in Tobago by granting UWI the use of THTI facilities and infrastructure.

“In fact, you will recall that it is in the THTI, that the Tobago initiative first got off the ground in August 2003. The THA allocated an entire block of the THTI to the project, which included four large classrooms and by mid-2004, the THTI made more space available for a computer lab in a separate block. Because of demand, the UWI programmes offered have expanded from the initial B.Ed. programme to the B.Ed. Primary Education (Early Childhood Care and Education), the Diploma in Education for secondary school teachers and the Diploma in Education (Science option) which was fully launched in Tobago for the first time last May. Decisions and actions such as these, on the part of UWI, the THA and THTI, are what contribute to the success of an initiative and translate into tangible benefits for our students in Tobago.”

Professor Sankat thanked Mr London “for his support for this initiative and more broadly, for the unwavering support of the Tobago House of Assembly for the activities of the UWI St. Augustine Campus in our efforts to strengthen tertiary education in Tobago.” Also present from the THA were Dr Elton Bobb, Chief Administrator, and Mr Oswald Williams, Secretary of Tourism and Transportation. Representing the THTI were Mr Kenneth Sardinha, Chairman of the THTI Board and Mr Wayne Pierre, Chief Executive Officer of THTI.

Professor Funso Aiyejina, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education, echoed the Principal’s sentiments, adding that, “The signing of these two MOUs has shifted our relationship from an arrangement between the Faculty of Humanities and Education and the THTI to being an understanding between the St Augustine Campus and the THA. This allows UWI to set up a physical presence in Tobago. By extension, any UWI Faculty can now run programmes at that site. In fact, the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business is already taking advantage of this special arrangement.”