Pro Vice-Chancellor, Graduate Studies and Research
The School for Graduate Studies and Research (SGSR) continued its main functions of providing oversight and direction to graduate studies, promoting its growth and quality assurance, as well as enhancing the capacity, quality and relevance of research across The UWI academy and supporting its various Research Institutes and Centres. Central to these defining roles is the School’s important work in catalysing and supporting revenue earning grant funding and international research collaborations for The UWI in general, and for individual campuses. Student-centredness and a desire to improve the overall student experience remained focussed elements of these functions. The SGSR also implemented initiatives as part of its new mandate to entrench entrepreneurship within The UWI, in keeping with the University’s Triple A Strategy, and played a lead role in The UWI’s focus on digital transformation.
The Board for Graduate Studies and Research (BGSR) reviewed and approved a total of twenty new graduate programmes. Twenty-four programmes revised in content, nomenclature and delivery modes were also considered and approved.
Graduate Enrolment
Enrolment in graduate programmes was 9,237, an 11% decrease over the previous year’s enrolment. This was largely due to decreases at both the St. Augustine (17%) and Mona (10%) campuses. The reduction in enrolment brought it in line with the figures of two to three years ago, and was no doubt in large part due to the impact of COVID-19. Enrolment in research degrees as a percentage of total enrolment increased slightly to 15%, with 46% of these registered as full time students. The Faculties of Social Sciences (40%) and Humanities and Education (27%) continued to account for the majority of registrations across all campuses.
Graduate Scholarships
A total of BDS$1,122,183 (a 48% decline over the previous year) was allocated to graduate scholarships across all campuses, which allowed for twenty-six three- year awards to research students.
CCRIF Scholarships
Five scholarships, with a total value of US$49,500, were awarded to students registered in Master’s programmes across the campuses.
OAS Scholarships
Two partial scholarships, valued at US$7,000 each, were awarded under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2013 between The UWI and the OAS Partnerships Programme for Education and Training (PAEC). Students were able to register for select Master’s degree programmes at The UWI. A PhD candidate
in Applied Physics was approved for a continuing scholarship under the OAS LASPAU-administered programme.
Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Scholarships (QECS)
There were two categories of this award, tenable at The UWI for citizens of low/middle income Commonwealth countries (valued at over US$40,000). For the general award, the successful candidate was from Nigeria (MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice, St. Augustine Campus). For the Climate Resilience Award, the successful candidate was from Vanuatu (MSc Natural Resources and Environmental Management – Tropical Coastal and Marine Resource Management, Cave Hill Campus). Both awardees deferred acceptance for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lisa Gore-Seifart Scholarships
Sponsored by the Gore Foundation, two partial scholarships, valued at US$5,000, were awarded to psychology students at the Mona Campus.
Implementation of the Grade Point Average (GPA) System for Graduate Students
With the approval of the GPA Policy for Graduate Students by the BGSR in the previous academic year, a Committee, chaired by the Director, Graduate Studies and Research (GS&R), St. Augustine Campus, and comprising colleague
Directors, the (Senior) Assistant Registrars (GS&R), and Student Administration System personnel, worked through various issues arising from the implementation of the graduate GPA system. Regulations that required amendment were identified, modified and approved
by the BGSR, and these were referred to the Standing Committee on Ordinances and Regulations (SCOR), which reviewed and finalised them. A communications strategy was developed by University Marketing and Communications, and the Chair worked with the CETL Directors to develop videos on the introduction of the GPA system to be made available across all the campuses in time for its application to new graduate students in the 2021/2022 academic year.
Amendments to Ordinance 8
The School submitted an application to the University Registrar’s Office on an amendment to Ordinance 8, to include in Part 2, Appraisal, Assessment, Evaluation and Promotion, a section 14(b)(ii) entrepreneurial activities by the staff member. Incorporating entrepreneurial activities formally in the promotion process at The UWI is a critical tool for moving towards an entrepreneurial UWI. The Revised Ordinances and Statutes are currently subject to University-wide consultation.
Regulations, Guidelines and Forms
A number of amendments to the Regulations for Graduate Certificates, Diplomas and Degrees (2018 Edited), the Manual of Procedures for Graduate Certificates, Diplomas and Degrees and the Thesis Guide were approved by the BGSR. These include amendments to accommodate the electronic submission of theses for examination, and to allow for
the option of rejecting a thesis found to be inadequate after re-examination. The amended Regulations were presented to SCOR for review and final approval.
BGSR also developed and approved a Declaration
of Interest Form for Internal and External Examiners nominated to evaluate research theses: a Research Student Assessment of Supervisors form which research students would be asked to complete at the end of their academic programme; Procedural Guidelines for Examining PhD Theses; and Guidelines for Examining Professional/ Competency-Based Doctoral Theses. The latter two were rubric instruments developed to assist objectivity in the evaluation of both PhD and professional doctoral theses.
As part of its strategic initiative to build research capacity across the University, SGSR hosted two SPSS Data Analysis Training Sessions facilitated by Dr. Loraine Cook and Ms. Lamoine Samuels-Lee, both from the School of Education, Mona Campus. Collaboration continued with Dr. Loraine Cook for the promotion of the ProSuite Software, and included University-wide sensitisation of the tool through flyers, short videos, a webinar, and presentations to Faculty Board Meetings; and the training of at least two persons from each Faculty across the five campuses.
As in previous years, the Directors, GS&R, continued to undertake various initiatives and developmental activities to improve throughput and for the all-round development of graduate students. Virtual orientation sessions for new graduate students, as well as workshops and seminars covering such areas as The UWI’s Intellectual Property Policy, research tools and strategies, writing projects, writing research papers, and avoiding plagiarism, were held throughout the year. Resources were also devoted to aid staff and students to cope with the impact of COVID-19 and working/studying from home.
The Quality Assurance Unit (QAU) organised and coordinated several reviews during the reporting period. These included reviews of research and taught graduate programmes in those disciplines/departments in which these programmes are offered.
The Quality Assurance Review Follow-up Committee for Centre Funded Centres and Institutes, which oversees the implementation of recommendations arising out of the quality assurance reviews of UWI-wide Institutes, Centres, Units and School (entities not linked to an academic Department) met several times over the year to consider reviews of the Cocoa Research Centre; Caribbean Institute for Health Research (CAIHR); DM Psychiatry programme (Cave Hill, Mona and St. Augustine Campuses and the Bahamas); Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management; Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM); Cultural Studies programme and Hugh Wynter Fertility Management Unit.
UWI Graduate Research and Research and Publications Funds
The SGSR continued to oversee the provision and
use of the Postgraduate Research and Research
and Publications Funds across the campuses. There were significant reductions in the budgets made available from the University Centre – BDS$503,946 for Postgraduate Research, representing a 65% cut, and an 11% reduction for Research and Publications to BDS$212,903.
The University Office of Research, SGSR (at St. Augustine) continued its developmental thrusts in the research landscape at The UWI.
Donor-funded Projects
The Office’s strategic interventions in donor research funding resulted in continued transformation of the Caribbean’s research landscape through our expanded international research partnerships; strengthening
of the Caribbean’s knowledge economy through contemporary research and knowledge exchanges; and advancing funding thrusts to aid financing of The UWI’s research agenda.
The proposals and projects supported spanned a range of disciplines across The UWI. Relationships with international donors were strengthened through dialogue and subscribing to their calls for advancing and finding solutions to key intra- and extra-regional developmental constraints. Most of these donor agencies are repeat funders of The UWI’s collaborative applications, a glowing testament to their validated confidence that The UWI provides best-value research outcomes and developmental impact in return for the funds they expend on these projects. Through these projects, the Office has continuously advanced The UWI’s Triple A Strategy of Revitalising Caribbean Development.
Research Proposals Developed and Submitted to International Donor Agencies
The Office worked with research staff across the campuses in identifying funding opportunities and preparing and submitting sixteen international research grant applications, valued at over US$27.9 million to several international donor agencies.
The Office also assumed responsibility for the Erasmus+ Mobility Programme after funding ended for the project staff.
Research Projects Won
The Office won nine collaborative international research projects during the reporting period, valued at over US$15.5 million, funded primarily through larger international donor agencies. These projects were funded in spite of the agencies’ experiencing significant resource constraints and cutbacks caused by the unexpected devastating negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, validating their continuing approval of the research deliverables and outcomes generated in UWI projects.
Management/Oversight of Ongoing Research Projects
The Office continued to manage several ongoing multi- million dollar research and grant projects from donor agencies such as the European Commission, National Institutes of Health, USA, Belmont Forum, and others.
A Policy on Research Misconduct and a Policy on Financial Conflict of Interest were developed by the SGSR’s Project Office; these were accepted by the National Institutes of Health as part of their compliance requirements for disbursing funding when The UWI is the lead organisation. This is an ongoing initiative as donor agencies improve upon, and expand, compliance requirements for their funds.
Management and Maintenance of Key Donor Grant Management Portals
Most of the key international donor agencies have implemented electronic Proposal and Project Management Systems, and The UWI must be registered in them to apply for funds. In the review period, the Office maintained a number of these donor management portals for The UWI.
Key issues discussed at The University Ethics Committee were an assessment of the current UWI Policy and Procedures on Research Ethics to identify the gaps and proposed issues to be considered for a review of the Policy; discussions on the liability coverage for members of staff and students, and for Ethics Committee members; and an update on the roll out of the Online Ethics Assessment System across the campuses.
The Campus Research Ethics Committees
The University Office of Research, SGSR (at Cave Hill) serves as the Secretariat of the Cave Hill Campus Research Ethics Committee, which also services the Barbados Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH). Seeking ethics approval for research projects has now become an accepted part of the operational culture
on all campuses and is a prerequisite in competing
for research grants from international donor agencies. The Office collaborates with the St. Augustine Office of Graduate Studies and Research in operating the Campus
Research Ethics Committee at St. Augustine and on the development and implementation of the Online Application System across The UWI campuses.
The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
As part of its thrust to generate and incentivise entrepreneurship, the SGSR successfully drafted and received F&GPC approval for the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which will form part of the existing Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence programme.
The Entrepreneurial UWI Webinar Series
The School’s Entrepreneurial Webinar Series continued to turn the spotlight on The UWI’s transition to an entrepreneurial university. In November 2020, the SGSR facilitated a presentation titled, “Towards an Entrepreneurial UWI: Navigating Your Journey in Entrepreneurship Education”, hosted by Dr. Natasha Ramkissoon-Babwah, Lecturer in Entrepreneurial Studies, and Mr. Julian Henry, Programme Manager, Entrepreneurship Unit, both of the Department of Management Studies, St. Augustine Campus.
Faculty Chairs Entrepreneurial Workshop
Engagement with the members of The UWI’s Entrepreneurial Committees were maintained, and two meetings with the Faculty Entrepreneurial Chairs were held in the 2020/2021 academic year, in November 2020 (deferred from June 2020 due to COVID-19) and June 2021. These presentations captured commercial activities, consultancies, entrepreneurial education, funding, partnerships and challenges.
The UWI Intellectual Property Committee
The University Office of Research, SGSR (at Cave
Hill) serves as the Secretariat of The University Intellectual Property Management and Commercialisation Committee. A Sub-Committee
of the University IP Committee was established to conduct a comprehensive review and revision of the current UWI IP Management and Commercialisation Policy. The revision was completed and the Revised UWI IP Policy submitted to the BGSR for approval.
Intellectual Property Protection and Management
The University Office of Research, SGSR, serves
as the central repository and manager of all
UWI patents across the campuses. This involves facilitating the registration and maintenance of the patents, for example monitoring when maintenance fees become due and when revenue is generated.
It also involves communication with the patent holders to assess whether progress towards commercialisation is in the time frame required by the UWI IP Policy.
The SGSR is leading the Academic Domain of The UWI’s Digital Transformation Project. The work of this domain captures the operations of the undergraduate, graduate, continuing and professional education, open and distance learning programmes and services. The Discovery phase of the project, currently underway, is focused on understanding the University’s business operations through an intensive and systematic data gathering process.
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