Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Special Report: Building an Entrepreneurial UWI

This Special Report, prepared by the School for Graduate Studies and Research (SGSR) in collaboration with the University Marketing & Communications Office documented the developments in innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the University. Over the last academic year, The UWI has been leading the charge in fostering a more entrepreneurial ecosystem across our regional university, expanding educational courses and training on entrepreneurship, promoting knowledge exchange through workshops, symposia and consultations with industry, and establishing a range of robust collaborations with industry partners.

This Special Report, presented to the 2020 Meeting of University Council, highlighted activities surrounding building an entrepreneurial culture, education and engagement, the One-UWI Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, and The UWI and Industry Alignment.

Entrepreneurial UWI Webinar Series

The SGSR continued its Entrepreneurial Webinar Series to maintain the spotlight on The UWI's transition to an entrepreneurial university. Topics were chosen to stimulate discussion and promote the 'entrepreneurial university' mind-set, and the audience included members of the university community, regional industry and governmental agencies.

• "A UWI Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem for Revitalising Caribbean Economies", delivered by Professor Brian Copeland, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the St. Augustine Campus, November 27, 2019. Professor Copeland shared ongoing strategies and initiatives at the St. Augustine Campus, aimed at developing commercialisation of its intellectual property with the ultimate goal of a new economy, a 'Caribbean Mittelstand'. By 2034, he forecasts this would comprise foreign exchange earning companies.
• "Bridging the Technology Transfer Gap", delivered by Professor Daniel Coore, Professor of Computer Science, Department of Computer Science, Mona Campus, March 4, 2020. Professor Coore shared his experience in licensing the patent for The UWI Cardiac Surgery Simulator, a device which uses software to animate a pig's heart in a mock (human) chest cavity to simulate the conditions of the operating theatre during open heart surgery for the purposes of cardiac surgery training. He highlighted many of the gaps in technology transfer capabilities, discussed how those gaps could be closed, and outlined parallel activities required if The UWI is to achieve its goal of becoming an entrepreneurial university.

Launch of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Webpage

The SGSR launched the Innovation and Entrepreneurship webpage, which provides information about the university's entrepreneurial thrust, the various innovation and entrepreneurship committees, information on upcoming webinar sessions and recordings of the previous sessions, and general information on upcoming conferences and training opportunities.

UWI-TSTT-Huawei Agreement

An agreement was signed in September 2019 to establish the TSTT-UWI Innovation Laboratory powered by Huawei within the Department of Electrical & Computer, Faculty of Engineering, St. Augustine Campus. The contributors, the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) donated US$ 0.5 M for operational expenses and Huawei donated US$ 2M in equipment support.

This laboratory, the first of its kind in the region, will enable students and staff to engage in innovative activities in information and communications technology, as well as provide opportunities for internships and industry exchanges. The Laboratory will also be used in teaching and experimental work.