'IGNITE' - Mentorship Programme

The ‘IGNITE’ Mentorship Programme launched on May 6, 2021, is an initiative of the Office of Administration at The UWI Regional Headquarters located in Jamaica.  The programme which underscores our commitment to the well-being of staff members aims at enrolling our colleagues in a formal system of guidance as provided by mentors who themselves have excelled in their own careers. The mentors will share their knowledge, skills and experience with mentees so that they can develop both personally and professionally.  Secondly, the programme is designed to enable mentees to ‘give back' and pass on good practice when they eventually become Mentors. This ensures that the benefits are widely spread.

Currently, we have Mentors and Mentees located in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad. Our Mentors are selected from among our senior staff members and from corporate Jamaica.  IGNITE is a pilot programme for one year, beginning officially on June 1, 2021.  Periodic evaluations will determine the extent to which the programme will thereafter be expanded.

The coordinator of the programme is Mrs. Deon Nicely-Simpson, Senior Assistant Registrar, Office of Administration, The University of the West Indies, Vice-Chancellery.

Below are our Mentors:

 

Director, Latin American Caribbean Centre, The University of the West Indies

Year Served:
2021 to 2022

Retired Chief of Section, Communications and Technology, United Nations peacekeeping service

Year Served:
2021 to 2023

Director Corporate Communication, Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd

Year Served:
2021 to 2023

Assistant Registrar, Human Resources, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus

Year Served:
2021 to 2023

IGNITE Testimonials

IGNITE is in its 2nd year of existence. During the first year (2021-2022), we had fourteen (14) Mentors and twenty-one (21) Mentees.  Currently, we have seventeen (17) Mentors and 25 Mentees. Our Mentors are internal to The UWI, and external from Industry. The Mentorship program is structured and standardised to facilitate professional and personal growth.  The payback from this programme is just immeasurable.  It’s the kind of programme where you can develop and learn through someone who has been through the trenches and who has learned professionally and personally.

Here’s what some of our Mentees had to say about the first year of the programme: