PHOTOS: ANEEL KARIM
As Robert Riley presided over the 2025 annual Campus Council meeting for the first time since his appointment as its chair in September 2024, he was moved to hail the theme, UWI MADE, as a masterful one, because he considered himself to be exactly that.
Mr Riley, a respected figure in the business world, particularly in the petroleum sector, had been conferred with an honorary degree by his alma mater in 2009. As he opened the proceedings on March 11, and invited St Augustine Campus Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine to present the annual report for the period 2023–2024, the essential purpose of the event, it was clear that he had made a smooth transition from the corporate world into the academic one.
Given the focus of The UWI on implementing its strategic goal of a revenue revolution, his selection to the Campus Council was in keeping with this target.
Professor Antoine was quick to identify the new direction, declaring that during the year in review the focus had shifted from strategic planning stages to arriving at tangible outcomes.
She identified four key areas where that progress could be clearly discerned: translating research into entrepreneurship, fostering employee engagement, advancing a green agenda, and strengthening stakeholder relationships.
The mission, she said, harking back to the theme of leveraging strengths for growth and sustainability, was to create UWI-made solutions that drive economic, social, and environmental transformation.
As she identified specific areas, she noted that innovation without application is wasted potential, noting that the thrust has moved towards research commercialisation, and that researchers were developing market-ready responses to national and regional challenges.
She cited the establishment of UWI Seal-It Ltd, which produces asphalt-based sealants suited for tropical climates, including heavy-duty grease for heavy equipment and bearings; a multipurpose plastic cement which can be used to seal cracks in concrete, metal, walls and roofs; lubricants that can be used in open gears and wheels and as a catalyst for thickening other oils; and marine sealant.
Already, she said, the demand has grown so significantly that a larger factory has become necessary.
Another area that she saw as a solid income earner for the campus was the opening of a chocolate factory at Farm Road in St Joseph. This factory, an offspring of the internationally acclaimed Cocoa Research Centre at St Augustine, is now completed and is ready to take the bean-to-bar concept much further along the value-added chain of cocoa. UWI Fine Cocoa Ltd, she said, will not only buy beans from farmers, but will assist chocolatiers to develop their chocolates and see them through the administrative and logistical processes to get their delectable goods to markets, both locally and internationally. The Cocoa Research Centre also recently launched their Spirit brand of dark chocolates.
The third member of this entrepreneurial eco-system is Biophyt, an eco-friendly pesticide and plant-growth stimulant which fits into the green policy of the university.
Professor Antoine also mentioned a “shark tank”, the process of assessing projects before they are given approval and funding, like the real Shark Tank with potential investors in the US.
She outlined other initiatives, one involving greater alumni participation, and another for The UWI Global School of Medicine, and the intensifying of green research throughout the region. She also spoke of the work that had been done internally through the strengthening of staff engagement and human resources improvements, like the regularisation of temporary contracts.
Overall, the implementation of the various initiatives, she said, depends on strengthening stakeholder engagement; that is, building partnerships with industry, governments and alumni—a point that was echoed by both the Council Chair and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, who was present at the meeting and spoke about his visions for the university at the end of the open session.
“We cannot ask more of a university than to be out there saving lives in the community,” he said, as he set out his guiding principles.
Mr Riley followed Professor Antoine’s presentation with, “Partnership, partnership, partnership. Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration... How people come together and work together is the magic of this region, and I think it is the magic that will continue to make us more resilient.”
But to go back a bit, Professor Antoine had given way to the deans of the various faculties: Professor Bheshem Ramlal, Engineering; Professor Mark Wuddivira, Food and Agriculture; Professor Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw, Humanities and Education; Dr Alicia Elias-Roberts, Law; Professor Hariharan Seetharaman, Medical Sciences; Professor Brian Cockburn, Science and Technology; Dr Acolla Lewis-Cameron, Social Sciences, and Dr Akshai Mansingh, Sport. Each dean gave a brief outline of the activities of their faculties for the period in review and future prospects, before Professor Antoine resumed her presentation.
Budgets, a fundamental aspect of running any institution, had to be discussed. The Principal made it clear that there were hurdles to overcome, some of which, she said, were unique. Government subventions had been cut by 50 percent over the period from 2016, nine years of decline. She said that the university had long-outstanding receivables to the tune of $1.4 billion. Tuition fees are outdated with no increase in the last 24 years.
She ended on a positive note, saying the UWI MADE brand is synonymous with excellence, ingenuity and resilience, and it will continue to serve the region as well as it has done for the past 65 years. With its new entrepreneurial spirit, who knows? Once it’s UWI MADE, consider it UWI SOLD.
