SUNDAY 4TH OCTOBER, 2015 – UWI TODAY
3
EDITORIAL TEAM
CAMPUS PRINCIPAL
Professor Clement Sankat
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
Dr Dawn-Marie De Four-Gill
EDITOR
Vaneisa Baksh
CONTACT US
The UWI Marketing and Communications Office
Tel: (868) 662-2002, exts. 82013 / 83997 or email:
OUR CAMPUS
55 Years of Accomplishment
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
This October, I am
proud to state
that
t he St . August i ne
Campus of The UWI
is celebrating its 55th
anniversary, having
emerged from the
iconic Imperial College
of Tropical Agriculture
(ICTA) in October
1960. This is indeed
a special occasion as
we celebrate our successes, but at the same time,
also engage in critical thought as to how we can
improve our service to our diverse stakeholders
across the world.
While we have seen considerable expansion
throughout our 55 years of history, I do wish to point
out that in the last five years (since our golden jubilee
in 2010), the St. Augustine Campus has seen perhaps
its most significant period of growth. Indeed,
expansion continues to take place in all directions at
a phenomenal rate as we naturally evolve to ensure
that we remain relevant and responsive to all of our
stakeholders.
The first significant achievement of that last
five years is that St. Augustine, the second Campus
of the UWI System to be created, is now the largest
with approximately 18,000 students, of whommore
than 5,000 are postgraduate students. We have seen
major newphysical spaces emerge, newpartnerships
with the private sector, internationalisation that has
led to strong links with India, China, Canada, Cuba,
Brazil, etc, and opportunities for our students; major
research funding from international agencies like
the European Union, and an exponential growth
in commercialisation activities on the Campus to
enable us to earn income, leveraging on our assets.
We were the first Campus of the regional UWI
to attain institutional accreditation for the period
2011-2018. This speaks to our leadership in total
quality management, both in academic and service
related issues. Another significant achievement is
the establishment ofThe UWI-Trinidad and Tobago
Research and Development Impact (RDI) Fund in
2012 – a unique multi-million dollar scheme that
bridges university research and academic outputs
with development outcomes. Just last week we had
a triple research event.
Our campus hosted the UWI-NGC Research
Expo, a resounding success again, and we took
the opportunity to launch our second research
publication, “Advancing Knowledge: Impacting
Lives” as well as a series of UWI Research Impact
films.
Over the last five years, we launched the
Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean; the Academy
of Nursing and Allied Health; a state-of-the art Dental
Teaching facility; the expansion of the Mt. Hope
School of Dentistry (the first expansion since its
inception); together with the Faculties of Law; Science
and Technology; and Food and Agriculture. Emerging
from the latter, is the Agricultural Innovation Park at
our East Campus inOrangeGrovewhichwe are certain
will bring agriculture alive in Trinidad and Tobago and
the Caribbean. We have made significant progress
at The UWI St. Augustine South Campus which we
expect to be completed and operational by early next
year. This South Campus will be utilized by all of our
Faculties, starting with Law, as well as our associate
institutions such as UWI-ROYTEC and UWI-Arthur
Lok Jack Graduate School of Business. The Campus
is being transformed with an entrepreneurial mindset
like never before as we maintain our core mission and
values as a University. We also value the partnership
we have had with national and regional Governments
over the years.
It would be remiss of me, however, if I do not
mention that one of UWI’s greatest contributions
to society remains our consistent ability to produce
leaders for every sphere of society. Many of our
graduates are heads of government, captains of
industry, entrepreneurs and scholars in many
disciplines, and we are certain that the thousands of
students enrolled at our Campus will follow in the
footsteps of those who have gone before.
I must mention the consistent quality of
our members of staff (both administrative and
instructional) whose dedication to duty has allowed
us to achieve such an excellent record of service.
Without the commitment and support of our staff, our
institutionwould not enjoy the success we enjoy today.
I salute all staff members of The UWI St. Augustine
Campus, both past and present. The St. Augustine
Campus has continued to attract very talented students
from our communities and our students and their
accomplishments are a source of considerable pride.
We are working hard to engage our Alumni, through
a new re-connect campaign that will bring immense
value in the years ahead.
On this, the 55th anniversary of The UWI St.
Augustine Campus, let us reaffirm our commitment
to strengthening The UWI as a necessary beacon of
light that will guide our country and region towards
a brighter future.
CLEMENT K. SANKAT
Pro Vice-Chancellor & Principal
In the photo above,
Professor Vijay Narinesingh receives a painting from
Melrose Yearwood at a function hosted by the Faculty of Medical Sciences
at The UWI on September 4, to mark his retirement fromThe UWI.
Saying he was “overwhelmed by the celebration of my career,” Professor
Narayansingh thanked Professor Dilip Dan, Head of the Department of
Clinical and Surgical Sciences, for organizing the affair, which was attended
by colleagues from throughout the UWI system, as well as students and
administrators.
A Professor of Surgery and former Head of the Department of Clinical
and Surgical Sciences, he was named as one of The UWI’s outstanding
researchers, lecturers and surgeons, in the publication: “Advancing
Knowledge: Impacting Lives” launched to coincide with the 55th
anniversary commemoration of The UWI St. Augustine Campus.
“Internationally, ProfessorNaraynsingh has been a pioneer in the design
of twelve new operations, never done in the world before,” says his entry,
adding that in the Caribbean region, he has been credited with a number
of other firsts as well, citing replantation surgery (1984), vascularized free
tissue transfer (1984), myocutaneous flaps for breast reconstruction (1981),
laparoscopic cholecystectomy (1991), retroperitoneal aortic surgery (1984),
and minilaporotomy cholecystectomy (1992).
Sounds complicated to everyone, but the medics, doesn’t it? The
publication tried to portray his enormous accomplishments in less technical
terms.
“Professor Naraynsingh is an educator, community leader, mentor,
scholar, adviser, author and surgeon. He has taught and administered
programmes at The UWI for more than 30 years, and has started the
postgraduate surgical specialties and sub-specialties in Trinidad and Tobago.
He exhibits outstanding work ethic, professionalism and leadership. He is
passionate about teaching and improving the quality of instruction and his
contribution to surgery in the West Indies is remarkable.
He revised the surgery curriculum and radically changed the structure
of the final MBBS examination ten years ago.”
It also looks at his research, saying he is one of The UWI’s most
published academics.
“He has co-authored five book chapters on vascular, thyroid and leg
ulcer surgery by international publishers and has authored over 250 indexed
articles in peer-reviewed high impact factor journals.”
Since he graduated in 1974 – just over 40 years ago – his has been
a career full of superlatives. The UWI acknowledges his tremendous
contribution and wishes him continued success in this new chapter of his
life.
PROFESSOR VIJAY
NARAYNSINGH RETIRES
PHOTO: DEXTER SUPERVILLE
