SUNDAY 7TH DECEMBER, 2014 – UWI TODAY
3
This year, we pay tribute
to seven
extraordinary individuals who have
contributed significantly to our
country, the Caribbean region and
the world. They have all opened new
vistas for Caribbean people through
their accomplishments – scholarship,
innovation, creativity, determination
and care for those less fortunate – and
The UWI is pleased to confer on them
honorary doctorates in recognition:
His Excellency Anthony Thomas
Aquinas Carmona (LLD); Mr. Adrian
Camps-Campins (DLITT); Ms.
Catherine Rukmini Kumar (LLD);
Ms. Rhonda Mary Maingot (LLD);
Mr. Subesh Ramjattan (DLITT);
Sir Ronald Sanders (DLITT); Mrs.
McCar tha Linda Sandy-Lewis,
Calypso Rose (DLITT).
This year alone, we have conferred
degrees on a total of 4,232 graduates,
of whom 3,008 received first degrees
and 1,224 received higher degrees
(including 37 MPhils, 21 PhDs and
20 MDs). Our Campus has never
before done this well. Over the last
seven years, The UWI St. Augustine
Campus has nowproducedmore than
EDITORIAL TEAM
Campus Principal
Professor Clement Sankat
Director of Marketing and Communications
Dr. Dawn-Marie De Four-Gill
EDITOR
Ms. Vaneisa Baksh
CONTACT US
The UWI Marketing and Communications Office
Tel: (868) 662-2002, exts. 82013 / 83997 Or email:
Agile, Responsive and Ready
FROM the Principal
In the highly competitive
globalizedmarket for tertiary
education, the challenge for every university is how
best to strategically extend its international reach. The
considerations are enormous – what partnerships will
bring the greatest benefits to staff and students, what
values do the disciplinary strengths of possible partners
add to our core programmes, what benchmarks do we
adopt to improve, how do we enhance and protect our
brand even as we seek to partner with institutions of
wider repute.
The UWI has been steadily working to achieve its strategic objectives
against a mission which values global recognition, international competitiveness,
Caribbean integration, innovation and excellence. At the St. Augustine campus,
we are enhancing our competitiveness by improving our quality against global
benchmarks and internationalizing our operations by engaging in a series of
partnerships with other universities, such as in India, China, the Pacific, Europe
and Brazil very recently. We have created new opportunities for students from the
wider Caribbean (ACS) to access the regional UWI, bringing diversity into our
student population. Language learning (which we offer) in several of the languages
for widening business in this globalized world is also essential.
In global recognition terms, we have been benchmarking our key performance
indicators, processes, services and programmes with globally ranked peer
universities from among several world university rankings, leagues and indices.
Through institutional and programme accreditation, we have been learning from
the organisational excellence, quality assurance and institutional effectiveness
processes and indicators of global peers to transform how we plan for and deliver
continuous improvement. We have learnt considerably fromour local and regional
accreditation through the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago, the
Barbados Accreditation Council, and the University Council of Jamaica and need
to press ahead from here to steadily build our quality and reputation. This is a
necessary precursor to doing even better in the global rankings of universities. Our
successful international experiences in institutional accreditation in Engineering,
Medical Sciences and Business Studies have strengthened our capacity and
confidence here.
One of the hallmarks of today’s world is that it demands extreme agility –
both minds and bodies have to be flexible and responsive to challenges, while
constantly planning for the future. We are mindful that this is what, ultimately,
we want to create in our graduates, because when they leave our campus, this is
the world they will inhabit. But as an institution, we must demonstrate this ability
to be agile and responsive, looking to the future.
Clement K. Sankat
Pro Vice-Chancellor & Principal
OUR CAMPUS
Changing Lives
UWI GRADUATION 2014
The seven honorary graduands with UWI Vice-Chancellor Professor E. Nigel Harris,
and Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat at a
reception hosted in their honour.
25,000 graduates; and we remain
confident that these graduates will
continue to follow in the footsteps
of the many who have gone before
them and assume their place in
society, nationally, regionally and
internationally as exemplary and
responsible global citizens who
are able to make a meaningful
contribution. Everywhere I go and
meet citizens of Trinidad andTobago,
I hear of my son or daughter going
to The UWI, or graduating, or is a
graduate of The UWI. I hear this
being proudly stated by farmers,
fisher folk, taxi drivers, teachers,
cashiers, etc.
I feel a deep sense of pride in
what our University has been able
to accomplish, and the power of
education and especially tertiary
education to change lives. We at The
UWI have been doing so for 66 years,
and hearing these comments from
our citizens, especially fromall walks
of life, encourage us at The UWI to
continue to work even harder to
create a better future for all – the
Ivory Tower has been shattered!
This is an excerpt of the remarks of Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal,
Professor Clement Sankat at the Graduation cocktail reception in honour of
The UWI’s Honorary Graduands on October 24, 2014.
