SUNDAY 22 JANUARY, 2017 – UWI TODAY
11
UWI IN THE COMMUNITY
CARICOM has mandated
the
tertiary education sector review
its systems to enable it to act
more effectively as an engine of
economic growth in the region.
To this end, a consultation
between CARICOM member
states took place at the St
Augustine Campus of The UWI
in early November of last year.
It included representatives of regional and national
tertiary level institutions (TLIs), associations of
TLIs, international development partners (IDPs and
governments).
The consultation was a response to the mandate
received from the Heads of Government of CARICOM
member states at their Regular Conference in July
2015. At that time, the Vice-Chancellor of The UWI,
Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, made a presentation that
highlighted the importance of tertiary education to
national and regional development.
The UWI was asked to collaborate with other TLIs
inCARICOMon the revitalisationof the tertiary sector.
Part of this process involves convening a conference
with regional and international development partners
to address the development agenda in CARICOMand
the sector’s role. The anticipated results would be the
effective and efficient realignment of academia with
industry, the transformation of higher education into
a significant area of economic activity, structured and
designed to attract investments, and able to foster the
necessary innovation leap to drive competitiveness and
resilience. It would thus support the implementation
of the CARICOMStrategic Plan which emphasises the
mainstreaming of knowledge creation and transfer into
all aspects of regional development and contribute to
the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs).
In taking their decision, CARICOM Heads
recognised that TLIs are significant sources of
technical expertise at the national and regional levels.
They have considerable strengths in matters relating
to development andmuch experience in working with
all the public and private sectors in research, training
and development. By pooling their expertise in a
mechanism that can facilitate the transfer of knowledge
and capacity, TLIs can work with national and regional
entities and the IDPs in identifying development
projects where their strengths and regional reach
can ensure sound conceptualisation, and designing
projects that are realistic and capable of successful
implementation.
Based on the mandate of the CARICOM Heads,
The UWI convened a representative Working Group
of tertiary education institutions and the CARICOM
Secretariat. The Group met virtually from December
2015 to plan a consultation that was expected to
increase their impact nationally and regionally.
Thediscussions at theconsultation laidthegroundwork
for a renewed role for the tertiary education sector.
Presentations were made by a number of individuals
including the Vice-Chancellor ofThe UWI who provided
an overview of the imperatives for strengthening the
tertiary education sector. He emphasised that sustainable
economic growth is a major priority in CARICOM and
called on the IDPs to support research that would result
in commercialisation and innovation.
Other presentations addressed issues of capacity
building and the project implementation deficit. These
included, among others (i) the Africa Centres for
Excellence, supported by the World Bank, that provide a
template tomeet the need for building capacity in research
in TLIs and facilitate alignment between industry and
academia; (ii) the creation of a research management
capacity in CARICOM TLIs to support the reinvigorated
thrust in research; and (iii) the support that the tertiary
education sector can provide to CARICOMGovernments
throughout the project cycle and the creation of a
mechanism that would facilitate this activity.
Spurring Revitalisation and
Growth in the Tertiary Education Sector
Dr David Rampersad is the chairman of the Working Group and may be contacted at
for more information on this project
The decisions at the end of the consultations
reflect agreement on the role of the tertiary
education sector.
These include:
Identification of opportunities for
development programmes/projects where
regional approaches are likely to be more
effective and efficient
The need for a survey of TLIs to determine
strengths, weaknesses and areas of particular
interest, and to identify the institutions that
have capacity to lead programmes/projects
Identification of capacity-building required
to improve implementation/aid effectiveness
Preparation of an action plan for
presentation to the CARICOM InterSessional
Heads of Government in February 2017.
It was agreed that the consultation will be
followed by others that will include the private
sector and governments.
B Y D A V I D R A M P E R S A D
David Rampersad (standing), chairman of the Working Group, engaged with colleagues during sessions aimed at making education
the engine of regional growth
