Rekindling the Caribbean Development Revolution revolution expected to diversify the economy and enhance competitiveness. The UWI is well positioned to take command of this moment, and by an effective alignment of academia and industry foster a framework for the new economy. It is precisely these and such like expressions of the “activist university” that are required to rekindle the development revolution in the region. A critical component, however, is a corresponding consciousness that is required to forge the necessary actions. Such a mentality must originate in an historical reading of reality which says that this is “wartime” in the Caribbean, and only robust, coherent regional action can then win peace. The UWI has already sent a strong message of its intent to play its part. We have declared that activism on development issues will be its mantra. The five-year
strategic plan being conceptualised is framed around what will be called the “Triple A” agenda: Alertness to global opportunities, access to more affordable, flexible, and diverse education and training, and alignment of research to industry innovation and entrepreneurship. Alertness, alignment, and access will connect the academy to the impatience displayed by Sir Arthur, and affirm its ongoing commitment to an irretrievable sense of relevance. It’s within this context that we established two months ago The UWI-China Institute for Information Technology. This is the first occasion in our history that The UWI has partnered with another university in order to establish a third university which will be jointly owned and managed. It will offer this year a BSc degree in Software Technology with an applications-based pedagogy.
The UWI has taken an historic step with the GIST (Global Institute of Software Technology) in Suzhou, China to create a UWI-China Institute of Information Technology (UWICIIT) which will see its first cohort of students reading towards a BSc degree in software technology from September 2016.
(l-r): Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (The UWI); the Honourable Ronald Thwaites, Jamaica’s former Minister of Education; Dr Wang Bin Tai, Executive Chairman of the Global Institute of Software Technology, Suzhou, China; and Professor Archibald McDonald, Principal, UWI Mona Campus, following the press conference at The UWI Regional Headquarters to announce the establishment of the UWI-China Institute of Information Technology.
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