Office of Research Programmes

INTER-CAMPUS AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

Inter-Campus Collaboration

Inter-Campus Collaboration is an important strategy for bringing regional resources to bear on national problems, and for ensuring that The UWI functions as one cohesive institution.

The Office places emphasis on:

• Facilitating inter-campus collaboration in research proposal preparation and submission with emphasis on Disaster Risk reduction, Biotechnology, Biodiversity, Environmental Management, Cultural Studies, Renewable Energy, Tropical Medicine.
• Facilitating the participation of The UWI teams in regional and international workshops and conferences; e.g. Climate Change, Caribbean Studies, the Caribbean Sea, Agricultural Risk Management, Sustainable Tourism, Crime Security and Justice.
• Facilitating The UWI teams in negotiations with donor agencies; e.g. The World Bank, the European Union, DFID, CIDA, IDB, USAID.
• Supporting and development of UWI Scholar, an online Researcher Database
• Facilitating Cross-campus Knowledge Transfer/Development for our Supervisors and Research Students

International Collaboration

International Collaboration with high quality partners is critical for developing graduate studies and research capacity at The UWI, for ensuring that The UWI operates at the highest standards, and for increasing competitiveness for research grants won from external donor agencies.

Examples of activities include:

• Facilitating joint research between The UWI and Universities of high research repute; Oxford University, UK, Duke University, USA; McGill University, Canada; Newcastle University, UK; Flensburg University, Germany; Hamburg University, Germany; The University of Puerto Rico.
• Serving as Secretariat for the University Consortium of Small Island States whose members include the University of Malta, the University of Mauritius, the University of the South Pacific, the University College of the Virgin Islands and Universidad de Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.
• Under the Erasmus Mundus Cooperation Programme, facilitating the exchange of staff and graduate students between UWI and the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation in the Netherlands, Algrave University in Portugal, Lund University in Sweden and Bilbao University in Spain.

RESEARCHER DEVELOPMENT AND RECOGNITION

Educating the Researcher

The Office collaborates with various Campus entities such as the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) to host and facilitate Researcher Capacity Development Workshops in:

• The Management of Research Projects
• The Protection of Intellectual Property
• Enhancing Competitiveness in the Publication of Research Results
• Writing Research Proposals for Enhanced Competitiveness for Donor Funds

Managing and Administering Research Projects

The Office provides management and/or administrative support to researchers in the implementation of grant-funded projects. This includes ensuring scientific integrity in project implementation, liaising with the Bursary for effective financial management of the project, ensuring consistency with the policies of The University of the West Indies and the Funding Agency and facilitating technical and financial reporting as required by the Award Document. The Office also negotiates with Campuses to ensure that adequate space and supporting facilities are made available to the researchers implementing the projects.

Recognizing the Researcher

In support of efforts to recognise and reward high quality research, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Graduate Studies and Research) chairs the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence Selection Committee.

Research Funding

Enhancing Competitiveness for External Research Grants

The Office is charged with developing research capacity and output at The UWI and guiding the University’s research agenda to increase its impact on regional development and to advance disciplinary knowledge internationally. The Office coordinates and assists the development and submission of large research proposals from The UWI staff to donor agency funding programmes which treat the University as a single institutional applicant.

An important component of advancing this mandate is supporting and facilitating research partnerships, both inter-campus and with international collaborators. Maintaining the integrity of the partnerships during project implementation requires continuous engagement to ensure collegial and harmonious relationships in the execution of research activities and in the Technical and Financial Reporting required.

Protection and Management of Intellectual Property

The University of the West Indies (UWI) Policy on Intellectual Property Management and Commercialisation provides the framework within which researchers developing innovative research products can be supported by the University, and provides guidelines on intellectual property ownership and financial returns between the researcher and The UWI should the intellectual property be commercialized.

The Office

• serves as the Secretariat to The University of the West Indies Intellectual Property Committee and contributes to the development of policies that enhance the commercialization of research output, and  
• supports researchers in the filing and maintenance of protection for their intellectual property and assists them in their efforts to commercialize their intellectual property.

Purpose of the University’s Policy on Intellectual Property Management and Commercialisation

The purpose of the University Policy on Intellectual Property Management and Commercialization is

• To prove a framework which will facilitate staff members and students to undertake research and to protect and exploit potentially valuable research results;
• To establish a proper basis for the transfer of technology from the University to the wider community;
• To encourage and develop institutional growth through the commercial application of research results and through ventures with industry and commerce;
• To ensure that the rights and interests of all parties concerned are fairly determined with full regard for the proper role of the University and the principles of academic freedom;
• To provide guidelines for the proper administration of intellectual property rights within the University

The Office of Research identifies areas in which policies and procedures need to be developed or clarified to provide a more enabling environment for researchers to develop research capacity and output at the University. The Office develops drafts of the policies and procedures required, facilitates their discussion within the University and guides them through the University’s approval processes.

The Office of Research, in collaboration with the Disaster Risk Reduction Centre, facilitates the University’s response to Governments in the Caribbean following the impact of natural disasters, particularly during the hurricane season. This requires the identification and deployment of UWI personnel, including engineers, public health specialists and psycho-social experts, inter alia, to affected countries upon their request. The Office also coordinates the development of UWI project teams to develop and implement rehabilitation projects in the recovery phase following the disasters. Additionally, it identifies and coordinates UWI teams to execute regional development consultancies at the request of Governments or international development agencies.

Management of Research Institutes, Centres and Units

All Centre-funded Research Institutes, Centres and Units at The University of the West Indies report to the Vice-Chancellor though the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Graduate Studies and Research). These include:

INSTITUTES

The Caribbean Institute for Health Research (CAIHR)

At Mona and Cave Hill Campuses

University Director: Professor Susan Walker

The Institute for Criminal Justice and Security       

At the Regional Headquarters Building

Director: Professor Anthony Harriott

The Institute for Gender and Development Studies 

At the Cave Hill, Mona, St. Augustine Campuses

Regional Coordinator: Dr. Opal A. Palmer

Institute for Hospitality and Tourism

At the Mona Campus [affiliated to the Institute for Sustainable Development]

Director: Dr. Carolyn Hayle

The Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies              

At the Cave Hill, Mona, St. Augustine Campuses        

University Director: Professor Aldrie Henry-Lee

CENTRES

The George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre (GA-CDRC)  

At the Cave Hill Campus

Director: Professor Thelma Alafia Samuels

The Centre for Environmental Management (CEM) 

At the Mona Campus [in the Institute for Sustainable Development]

Director:

The Centre for Policy Studies in Sustainable Development

At the Mona Campus [in the Institute for Sustainable Development]

Director:

The Disaster Risk Reduction Centre          

At the Mona Campus [in the Institute for Sustainable Development]

Director: Dr. Barbara Carby

The Seismic Research Centre        

At the St. Augustine Campus

Director: Dr Richard Robertson

UNITS

The Epidemiology Research Unit  

At the Mona Campus

Director: Professor Marshall Tulloch-Reid

The Hugh Wynter Fertility Management Unit (HWFMU) 

At the Mona Campus

Director: Dr. Vernon DaCosta

The Sickle Cell Unit (SCU)              

At the Mona Campus

Director: Professor Jennifer Knight-Madden

The Sustainable Development Policy Unit

At the Mona Campus

Director: Professor Anthony Clayton

The Tropical Metabolism Research Unit (TMRU) 

At the Mona Campus

Director: Professor Marvin Reid

Cluster Development and Management

The Office of Research has identified priority Cluster Areas for research emphases at The UWI.

The focus is primarily to provide oversight of the six (6) UWI Centre-funded Research Entities which report directly to the Vice-Chancellor and to operationalise the Research Clusters which were an outgrowth of the previous UWI Strategic Plan (2012-2017). 

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