During the year under review the Five Islands Campus continued its growth trajectory under the visionary leadership of Professor Densil A. Williams, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal, aimed at providing access to quality higher education for citizenry of Antigua and Barbuda and the wider OECS sub-region.

The UWI FIC hosted its inaugural public lecture, themed “Upgrading Antigua and Barbuda’s Diamond for Improved Global Competitiveness: Powered by Academic Enterprise/Partnerships” on July 21, 2022 in the Amazon Room at the Campus. Professor Densil A. Williams delivered the lecture. There were more than 100 in-person guests, who were drawn from government, academia, and industry.

Four members of the FIC team were invited to participate in the Harvard Business School’s Global Colloquium Programme. The team comprising Professor Densil A. Williams, Mr. Hyram Forde, Dr. Karen Murdock, and Dr. Cleopatra Gittens participated in the July 2022 cohort of the Case Writing Workshop held July 24 – 29, 2022. The second phase of this Professional Certificate workshop was completed during the period January 3–7, 2023. The aim is for the faculty to learn the methodology behind Harvard’s case study teaching method and eventually incorporate it into the teaching and learning activities at the FIC.

The Five Islands Campus (FIC) held its fourth Matriculation Ceremony on Thursday, September 15, 2022. The Campus welcomed over 300 new students as well as faculty, and celebrated the top matriculant, Ms. Alisha N. Clue, who will be pursuing a course of study in Accounting and Finance in the School of Business and Management. Student enrolment increased by 64.3% over the previous year, setting enrolment for the 2022/2023 academic year at 700. For the first time, the Campus recognised students at levels I, II, and III with the highest GPA across all schools with the establishment of the Principal’s Award and the FIC Honour Roll. Recipients of the Principal’s Award for excellence are listed below:

Level I

Claudette Hazelwood-Robertson,
School of Business and Management

Level II

Leticia Henry,
School of Humanities and Education

Level III

Nicole Hunte, School of Humanities and Education

In addition, a total number of 57 students made the Honour Roll for AY 2021/2022. The details are highlighted as follows.

• Level I - 19
• Level II - 9
• Level III - 29

The Executive Director of the Lifelong Learning Unit signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Environment for 30 scholarships to train personnel in several courses to include issues in climate change. The signing ceremony was held on Thursday, September 8, 2022. Later in the year, the Lifelong Learning Unit held its first graduation ceremony on October 27, 2022. A total of 132 students who successfully completed their programme(s), graduated from the 13 professional development courses offered and three cohorts of the Harvard CORe programme. It was noteworthy that the four inmates from the Seeds of Hope Initiative, who received scholarships to pursue a programme in Entrepreneurship, emerged with the highest scores.

The Campus held its third, but first full face-to-face ceremony for the Presentation of Graduands on October 8, 2022 at The UWI Five Islands Campus’ auditorium. A total of 96 students successfully completed their programme of study and were eligible to graduate (59 from the School of Business and Management, 27 from the School of Humanities and Education, which includes six postgraduate diplomas). A total of 112 graduands participated in the ceremony. This number included 69 from the Five Islands Campus, two from Mona, two from St. Augustine, six from Cave Hill, and 33 from the Open Campus. Eleven students received first class honours with GPA’s ranging from 3.60 to 4.11. Sir Richard Benjamin Richardson and Alston BECKET Cyrus were conferred with honorary doctoral degrees in recognition of their contributions to sports and music, respectively.

In an attempt to export training opportunities to the wider OECS sub-region, the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports in Montserrat hosted a delegation from the Five Islands Campus for a full day of meetings on October 10, 2022 to continue talks and plans for a strategic partnership between The UWI Five Islands Campus and areas of Public Administration and Human Development in Montserrat. The meetings, which were divided around technical lines and governance matters, involved the Minister of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports, Members of the Cabinet, the Deputy Governor, Ministry of Health (Nursing Programme), the principal of the Montserrat Secondary School, as well as technocrats in the area of social services. One immediate outcome of the engagement was for the Five Islands Campus to submit a proposal to the government to consider the Lifelong Learning Unit as a partner to offer training to public sector workers in Montserrat.

The 10th staging of the Campus’ Public Advocacy Series themed, “A Conversation with the Leaders” assumed the format of a double feature, showcasing the political leaders of the country’s main political parties. The first conversation was held on October 31, 2022 with the leader of the United Progressive Party, Mr. Harold Lovell. The second was held on November 14, 2022 with the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, the Honourable Gaston Browne, leader of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party. This particular format is a first for the Five Islands Campus and somewhat new to the public of Antigua and Barbuda. The focus of the series is to bring critical analyses to bear on matters of public interest to the people of the region. While the University is apolitical, it has a role as public advocate to educate the citizens on a wide range of issues.

Emeritus Professor Clinton Hutton, distinguished scholar, award-winning researcher, and author delivered the FIC’s first distinguished lecture on Friday, May 26, 2023 at the Campus. The lecture entitled “Caribbean Civilization: The Evolving Story of the Framing of a Sovereign People” was well received by the audience. The Governor General and Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda were in attendance.

His Excellency, Yutaka Matsubara, Non-resident Ambassador of Japan to Antigua and Barbuda, paid a courtesy call on the principal on October 31, 2022. Members of the senior management team and heads of Schools joined the principal at a small reception to welcome Ambassador Matsubara. His Excellency was accompanied by Second Secretary, Ms. Megumi Maekawa. Based on this visit, The UWI’s MoU with Sophia University in Japan is now being upgraded to include the Five Islands Campus. This will now allow the Campus to have stronger and greater partnership with the University in Japan.

The Academic Affairs Division has been actively engaged with a number of activities over the reporting period. Some of these activities included collaboration with other divisions and units. Specifically, during the year under review, a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between The UWI Five Islands Campus and the Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University of India (SRMU) on Monday, November 21, 2022. The MoU was signed by Professor Densil A. Williams and Vice-Chancellor of SRMU, Professor Devendra Kumar Sharma. The MoU will see the institutions collaborate on programmes in new and emerging areas at the undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral levels, as well as faculty and student exchanges. Also, both institutions will be carrying out joint research projects in areas of local and global interest, along with organising joint international conferences, seminars, workshops, and webinars. The virtual signing was witnessed by officials from both universities and included His Excellency, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa, Ambassador of India to Antigua and Barbuda and Mr. Vijay Tewani, Honorary Consul of India to Antigua and Barbuda.

Two members of the Strategy, Portfolio, Partnerships and Digital Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Mrs. Katherine Kissoon and Ms. Kathryn Paddock, paid a courtesy call on the Campus Principal on November 15, 2022. The team discussed the experiences and perspective of the University’s engagement with the Commonwealth Secretariat, particularly the work on establishing a Centre for Oceanography and the Blue Economy.

As part of The UWI’s 75th anniversary celebrations, The University of the West Indies celebrated UWI Day on January 7, 2023. To recognise the day, the Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda, Sir Rodney Williams, KGN, GCMG, KStJ, issued a Proclamation declaring the day UWI Day. On December 14, 2022 Professor Densil A. Williams received the Proclamation on behalf of the University. Joining Professor Williams were the Campus Council Chair, Mr. Aziz Hadeed; Mr. Hyram Forde, Director of Administration (Acting); Ms. Stephanie Cain, the Executive Assistant to the Principal; and Mr. Shavar Maloney, Marketing Officer.

On January 17, 2023 the Five Islands Campus, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted the signing ceremony for the expansion of the Campus with the Saudi Fund for Development at the Campus’ Auditorium. The loan agreement was signed by the Honourable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, and His Excellency Sultan Abdulrahman A. Almarshad, Chief Executive Officer, Saudi Fund for Development. Witnessing the signing of the loan were the Honourable Daryll Matthew, Minister of Education and Sports; Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor, The University of the West Indies; Mr. Aziz Hadeed, Campus Council Chair; and Professor Densil A. Williams, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal. Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda Sir Rodney Williams, KGN, GCMG, KStJ was among the many well-wishers drawn from government, academia, and industry who were in attendance. A Steering Committee has been established, led by the Minister of Education, Sports, and the Creative Industries, Daryll Matthew, to drive the expansion projects. Ground is expected to be broken during the second quarter of 2024.

The UWI Five Islands Campus/Calvin Ayre Foundation 75 Financial Care Project, arguably the most impactful and transformative initiative of the Five Islands Campus in celebration of The UWI 75th Anniversary which runs from January 1 – December 31, 2023, was conceptualized to provide a financial lifeline to our students. The Calvin Ayre Foundation partnered with The UWI Five Islands Campus on this initiative to provide scholarships and bursaries to students to cover the cost of their studies. Ambassador Calvin Ayre believes that priority access must be given to the most disadvantaged and talented students. The Foundation donated US$200,000 to seed fund the project which will allow over 200 students to receive financial awards over two years. A legally binding agreement for the award of the funds was also signed by Campus Principal, Professor Densil A. Williams and Chairman of the Calvin Ayre Foundation, Ambassador Calvin Ayre to concretize the partnership. The launch was held on March 22, 2023. Prime Minister Gaston Browne officially launched the programme.

The Board of Graduate Studies and Research approved the FIC’s MBA programme at its meeting on May 18, 2023. The programme will be offered in September 2023.

As part of the Five Islands Campus’ Research thrust, The UWI Five Islands Campus Research Ethics Committee (approved by the Board of Graduate Studies and Research) was recently established to approve, review, and monitor research, inter alia, behavioural research, educational research, and research involving human participants. This Committee is chaired by Dr. Sandra Sookram, Senior Lecturer in the School of Business and Management.