University of the West Indies at Five Islands

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The University of the West Indies, Five Islands
MottoOriens Ex Occidente Lux (Latin)
Motto in English
A Light Rising From The West
TypeRegional, public, autonomous university
Established2019
Chancellor Mr. Robert Bermudez
Vice-Chancellor Sir Hilary Beckles
Principal Professor Densil Williams
Students147 [1]
Undergraduates 147
Location,
Colors
Affiliations Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
Caribbean Community
Association of Atlantic Universities [2]
Website UWI Five Islands

The University of the West Indies at Five Islands is a public research university in Five Islands, Antigua and Barbuda. It is the newest of 5 general campuses in the University of the West Indies system.

Contents

History

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne approached the UWI to establish a campus in the country. In fact, the Prime Minister stated that if the UWI was not willing to be a partner to establish a university in Antigua and Barbuda, he would seek another partner. [3] As the UWI vice-chancellor noted, the post-secondary education participation rate of students of the OECS sub-region was significantly below that of the countries with landed campuses and even the rest of the hemisphere. [4] Data backs up that the average tertiary gross enrolment rates (GER) for Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago are much higher than the GERs for other contributing countries that do not have a landed campus. [5] Other attempts to establish UWI campuses, such as in Grenada, have been considered but not yet fulfilled. [6] [7]

The ability to complete the first one or two years of a degree or even a full degree in a student's home country is a significant cost saving for the student and the government, where it provides student financial assistance. Positioning the UWI campus at an already constructed complex reduces the needs for new construction, saving the government further money. However, the Prime Minister is continuing to seek funding to expand the campus, including a possible USD 20 million donation from China. [8]

On 27 May 2019, the University Finance and General Purposes Committee (UF&GPC) of the UWI System approved the establishment of Five Islands campus. The first group of 147 admitted students were matriculated on 27 September 2019 and are currently pursuing studies in the Schools of Humanities and Education; Management, Sciences and Technology; and Health and Behavioural Sciences. [1]

Campus

The UWI Five Islands campus is sited 7.5 km from the capital, St. John's, co-located with a campus of the Antigua State College. The building itself was originally built by a Chinese state construction firm for a secondary school that was never opened, due to a change of government. Instead, it was retrofitted and transferred to the College. Built to accommodate up to 750 students, it consists of 6,450 square-metres and has various regular and specialised learning spaces. The College's schools of business, education and nursing are presently located in the complex. As many of these students are enrolled in the first two years of franchised UWI programmes, they will be able to complete their degree programmes without having to leave the country. [4]

Global initiatives

Harvard University has expressed willingness with UWI Five Islands to work out cooperation arrangements that would benefit the University, in acknowledgment of Harvard University’s historical relationship with slavery, particularly confronting past injustices and their legacies. The Harvard Law School was founded on an endowment in 1815 that was funded from slavery on the Isaac Royall Jr.’s plantation on Antigua. [9]

Schools and programmes

Tuition for Bachelor’s degree programmes at UWI Five Islands is the lowest among all the landed units of the UWI System. [10] In an effort to make the University more attractive, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda said it will be offering scholarships to students from across six countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). [11]

Unlike the other landed campuses of the UWI, which have faculties, the Five Islands campus is composed of three schools:

School of Humanities and Education

School of Business and Management

School of Health and Behavioural Sciences

See also

Related Research Articles

Antigua and Barbuda Country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies

Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign island country in the West Indies in the Americas, lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major islands, Antigua and Barbuda separated by around 40 km (25 mi), and smaller islands. The permanent population number is about 97,120, with 97% residing on Antigua. The capital and largest port and city is St. John's on Antigua, with Codrington being the largest town on Barbuda. Lying near each other, Antigua and Barbuda are in the middle of the Leeward Islands, part of the Lesser Antilles, roughly at 17°N of the equator.

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Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Intergovernmental organisation

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance between countries and territories in the Eastern Caribbean. It also performs the role of spreading responsibility and liability in the event of natural disaster.

University of the West Indies International university in the Caribbean

The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands. Each country is either a member of the Commonwealth of Nations or a British Overseas Territory. The aim of the university is to help "unlock the potential for economic and cultural growth" in the West Indies, thus allowing improved regional autonomy. The university was originally instituted as an independent external college of the University of London.

Caribbean Examinations Council Caribbean-based examination board

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is an examination board in the Caribbean. It was established in 1972 under agreement by the participating governments in the Caribbean Community to conduct such examinations as it may think appropriate and award certificates and diplomas on the results of any such examinations so conducted. The council is empowered to regulate the conduct of any such examinations and prescribe the qualification requirements of candidates and the fees payable by them. It is now an examining body that provides educational certifications in 16 English speaking Commonwealth Caribbean Countries and Territories and has replaced the General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations used by England and some other members of the Commonwealth. The CXC is an institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); it was recognised as an Associate Institution of the Community in the 1973 treaty that created the Caribbean Community. Members of the council are drawn from the 16 territories and the region's two universities, the University of Guyana and the University of the West Indies.

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Caribbean court system established under the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and three British Overseas Territories. It has unlimited jurisdiction in each member State.

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  1. Deepening economic integration by advancing beyond a common market towards a Single Market and Economy.
  2. Widening the membership and thereby expanding the economic mass of the Caribbean Community.
  3. Progressive insertion of the region into the global trading and economic system by strengthening trading links with non-traditional partners.
CARICOM passport Passport

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Education in Antigua and Barbuda is compulsory and free for children between the ages of 5 and 16 years. The system of education in Antigua and Barbuda is based on the British educational system. The school year begins in September and ends in June of the following year. In order to ensure that all costs related to schooling are covered by the government, there is an education levy on all basic wages in Antigua and Barbuda, with the funds used toward such costs as supplies, transportation, and school infrastructure maintenance.

The Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP) is an accrediting body for the education programmes and schools of medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, nursing and other health professions in the 15 member nations of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). CAAM-HP was established in 2003 and is headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica.

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Dame Bernice Lake QC was an Anguillan-born jurist and legal scholar whose career spanned more than forty years. In 1985, she became the first woman from the Eastern Caribbean to be appointed Queen's Counsel. Lake was also the first graduate of the University of the West Indies to receive the honor.

Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority

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References

  1. 1 2 "UWI Five Islands officially accepts first students". Jamaica News. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  2. "About AAU". Association of Atlantic Universities. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  3. Price, Sanka (10 May 2019). "Browne is not helping with unity". Nation News. Nation Publishing. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  4. 1 2 "UWI's fourth campus to open 'in three months'". Barbados Today. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  5. Martin, Michaela; Bray, Mark (2011). Tertiary education in small states : planning in the context of globalization (PDF). Paris, France: Unesco Pub. ISBN   978-92-803-1358-1 . Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  6. Government hands over land to UWI Friday, July 20, 2012, St. George's, Grenada
  7. Grenada Hands Over Land for University of the West Indies Campus
  8. Joseph, Carl (28 Nov 2019). "PM looks to China $20 million more for UWI expansion". The Daily Observer. NewsCo. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  9. "UWI in Possible Link-up with Harvard U." St. Kitts Observer. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  10. "UWI Five Islands Boasts Lowest Tuition in Region". Caricom Today. CARICOM. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  11. "Sixty students to benefit from scholarship to UWI Five Islands". Antigua Observer. Retrieved 17 December 2019.

Coordinates: 17°07′08″N61°52′50″W / 17.11889°N 61.88056°W / 17.11889; -61.88056