The Office of Global Affairs can be classified as a centre of excellence for international engagements. The office has redefined its approach to developing new spaces for global engagements and access to financing to support the work of this region, its diaspora and the wider world. Over the period August 2022 to July 2023, the Office of Global Affairs (OGA), began to redefine its work and internal relations with the primary aim of enabling The UWI in achieving its wider strategic agenda. The office welcomed its new Pro Vice-Chancellor Global Affairs, Ms. Sandrea Maynard, in January 2023. PVC Maynard has sought to streamline the office’s organisation and functions, refine team member roles, and improve internal relationships which would anchor the OGA’s external relations and priority areas of work. While the Office remained steadfast in its focus to access resources, it also began to rationalise and deepen partnerships, with an increased focus on engaging in activities that are sustainable and anticipated to yield measurable impacts for the wider society.

ACCESS

With its focus sharply on The UWI’s Triple A Strategy, the OGA continues to pursue engagements with a range of partners including development agencies, international universities, philanthropic foundations, and governments.

Caribbean Development Bank

The Digital Transformation Project loan operation, which was signed in 2021, is currently in execution and the Office of Global Affairs has been integrally involved in the overall project management since June 2023, with PVC Maynard chairing the Project Steering Committee and with Dr. Shakira Maxwell assigned as the project officer for its overall implementation. Both the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dr. Maxwell have had face-to-face and virtual meetings with the members of the CDB and UWI project teams and coordinated the project meeting mission of the CDB team to the Regional Headquarters during the period October 31 to November 2, 2023 to review progress.

International University Climate Alliance

Given the continued importance of Climate Action for The UWI as an activist university and climate focused institution, in February 2023 the Office had introductory meetings between new Pro Vice-Chancellor Sandrea Maynard and colleagues at the International Association of Universities (IAU), Hilligje Van’t Land, the Secretary General of the IAU and IAU Programme Officer, Ms. Isabel Toman.

During the discussion both UWI and IAU shared ideas and plans that would be developed further in 2024 to ensure that the climate agenda remains a key priority area for our partnership. The discussions also elaborated on recognizing the importance of climate advocacy and diplomacy. This discussion proved pertinent as it demonstrated the importance of language in climate focused programmes going forward. Much of this work reinforced the already present reliance and perspective of the IAU on the regional institution as a Higher Educational Institution (HEI) that is a leader on climate action.

Inter-American Development Bank

The OGA coordinated its work with the IDB however, with the changes in IDB President and several changes to its Caribbean management structure in 2023, work was delayed. The Office plans to re-engage the IDB in 2024 to review the existing MoU and discuss the way forward in terms of advancing our work.

IDB-INVEST

The UWI and IDB-Invest continued to work closely in 2023 and The UWI was able to successfully launch the International School for Development Justice. After a series of meetings and engagements IDB-Invest supported The UWI via a consultancy that would help shape the marketing and financial models to support the sustainability of the new School. This engagement was managed by the Office of Online Learning under the Pro Vice-Chancellor Global Affairs.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

In September 2023, The UWI and UNDP signed a new partnership MoU. This signing was led by our Office and signed by the Vice-Chancellor at the UNDP Headquarters in New York. This renewed MoU continues to demonstrate the strong relationship between our institutions. In January 2024, OGA and UNDP met to discuss the work plan for 2024 and the operationalisation of the MoU.

The Caribbean catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF)

Per discussions following the renewal of the MoU between The UWI and CCRIF in 2021, the OGA continued to serve as the focal coordinating point for the UWI- CCRIF work programme. This work programme consisted of scholarship support, internship placements, and support for one research project. CCRIF awarded three postgraduate scholarships valued at US$11,000 each to UWI students in 2022 (two at Mona and one at Cave Hill). In addition, seven undergraduate scholarships were awarded valued at US$4,000 each to three students at Mona and four at St. Augustine. This amounts to a total of US$61,000 in scholarship support from CCRIF in the 2022/2023 academic year.

OGA also facilitated the execution of two internship agreements with CCRIF in September 2022 and July 2023 to coordinate The UWI hosting 14 CCRIF funded interns. Hosts included the Global Institute for Climate Smart and Resilient Development (GICSRD); Department of Geography, UWISTA; Department of Geography and Geology, Mona; the Disaster Risk Reduction Centre, Cave Hill; and the Mona Climate Studies Group.

CCRIF also executed a new grant agreement under its Small Grants Programme on December 22, 2022 with the Centre for Biosecurity Studies based at the Cave Hill Campus. The award was in the amount of US$24,250 for the 18-month long research project entitled “Understanding the Impact of Climate Change and Wildfires in Barbados”.

Caribbean Airlines Limited

The Office brokered an MoU between Caribbean Airlines and The UWI for a regional internship programme. The two premier regional institutions signed off on the MoU at the St. Augustine Campus in October 2023. The programme started at UWISTA in March 2023 with a pilot cohort of ten undergraduate students engaged for six months, working on projects in the functional areas of Marketing and Revenue Management. The Office established a cross campus working group comprising representatives from the Faculties of Engineering, Social Sciences and Science and Technology as well as the Division of Student Services and Development to facilitate getting the pilot off the ground and institutionalizing arrangements to respond to similar industry requests in the future. The pilot successfully concluded in September 2023 and six of the ten interns were offered a further six-month extension.

Global University Consortium

During the 2022/2023 academic year, members of the Global University Consortium had the opportunity to meet with the new Pro Vice-Chancellor during a series of bilateral meetings. During the discussions we were able to brief each other on our work in the area of climate change and other related SDGs. As we continue to work with the GUC we are collaborating to identify sustainable projects and funding.

ACCESS

Future Earth

The OGA secured a US$300,000 grant from Future Earth, financially supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, for the project “Engineering the Design of Nature-Based Solutions for Sustainable Development”. The grant provides funding over a period of two years from May 2023 to April 2025. Future Earth is a global network of scientists, researchers and innovators collaborating to accelerate transformations to global sustainability through research and innovation while focusing on a systems-based approach.

The grant is funding much needed research in Trinidad and Tobago, USA, Barbados and Jamaica aimed at generating a more universal approach to the design specification of nature-based solutions, making them more widely applicable. The project is led by Principal Investigator Dr. Deborah Villarroel-Lamb, Faculty of Engineering, UWI St. Augustine Campus.

Future Earth additionally sponsored the project’s first stakeholder meeting which was held as part of the Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress 2023 (SRI2023) in Panama. The workshop, “Effective Implementation of Nature-Based Solutions for Sustainable Hazard Mitigation in Coastal Zones”, took place at the Convention Centre, Panama City, Panama on Tuesday June 27, 2023 as a hybrid event. Registered participants were from 28 countries and represented 57 institutions inclusive of academia, state agencies, regional institutions, multilaterals, philanthropic organizations, private sector and civil society.

International Telecommunications Union

The Office was approached by the St. Augustine, Cave Hill and Mona Campuses to coordinate negotiating a partnership with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to establish a regional ITU Academy Training Centre (ATC). The OGA successfully facilitated a One-UWI approach by coordinating the campuses and negotiating with the ITU to establish one regional UWI ATC, with the OGA serving as coordinating focal point. Negotiations were completed in July 2023 and the agreement was fully executed in September 2023.

l’Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF)

To further The UWI’s mandate to support the digital transformation of education and enhance the language competencies of students, the Francophone Digital Campus (CNF) and Employability Centre (CEF) was established on the Mona Campus. To date, it has executed several activities including a forum on careers in diplomacy held in February 2023.

Canadian High Commission

The Office of Global Affairs, keenly focused on creating and securing opportunities for the global mobility of our staff and students, together with NorQuest International, coordinated the visit of two UWI faculty to NorQuest College in Edmonton, Canada. This visit was facilitated by Global Affairs Canada with the support of the Government of Canada under the Short-Term Exchange Programs scholarship (SEP).

Open Society University Network (OSUN)

As part of efforts to deepen The UWI’s engagement with OSUN, the OGA arranged for Prof. Aldrie Henry- Lee, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Board of Graduate Studies and Research, to participate in OSUN’s in-person meeting for Chief Academic Officers (CAO). The meeting was held at Central European University in Vienna, Austria from June 19–21, 2023.

The OGA arranged participation for a UWI student in the OSUN Get Engaged Conference in Budapest Hungary. This conference, which brought together students from around the world, was aimed at developing their leadership skills while collaborating on projects aimed at tackling local and global issues. Pro Vice-Chancellor Maynard, who served as a coordinator at the conference, facilitated student group activities and discussions.

Canada-Caribbean Institute (CCI)

After two years following the onset of the pandemic, the office supported the planning and coordination of the second CCI symposium. Held February 26–28, 2023, at the Cave Hill Campus, the symposium brought together more than 50 academics and students from across Canada, the US and the Caribbean to discuss issues related to “Decoloniality; Past, Present, and Future Trends.” During the period under review, the OGA also supported the execution of an online forum titled “Optimising Canada-CARICOM Trade Relationship” which was held on June 29, 2023.

Office of Online Learning (OOL)

The Office of Online Learning (OOL) collaborated with other units to plan and coordinate inter-campus arrangements leading to the development and delivery of online programmes/courses to global markets. In addition, the OOL provides support to entities such as BUS, BGSR, CETLs, the eLearning Committee and others, as needed to enhance the efficiency, quality and throughput of online courses and programmes. Dr. Lora Pilgrim was the acting Director of OOL. The main high- level project implemented was the development and launch of the International School for Development Justice. The OOL was disestablished on 31st July 2023 and the staff members remain in the OGA with the principal focus of supporting the ongoing International School for Development Justice.

The Latin American-Caribbean Centre (LACC)

The Latin American-Caribbean Centre (LACC) has been advancing the strategic globalisation agenda of The University of the West Indies (The UWI) by building bridges, opening doors and fostering relations with institutions and networks of higher education throughout the Americas and across the Atlantic to Ibero- American countries of Europe. The Centre has introduced new avenues for joint research, mobility and targeted collaborations.

Given the regional and international scope of the work carried out by LACC, it contributes to the development of partnerships and to the expansion of tertiary education as envisioned under the Agility and Access pillars of The UWI Triple A Strategy 2017–2022. Its new venture into coordination of research projects is also contributing to The UWI’s “Revenue Revolution”, as envisioned in the Strategic Plan 2023–2028.

Prime among its accomplishments in increasing The UWI’s inter-institutional engagement at the highest level, stands the establishment of two unprecedented partnerships for sustainable development with top universities in Latin America: University of Los Andes, Colombia and University of Havana, Cuba. Similarly, LACC spearheaded the formalisation of relations with the University of Miami (UM) and played a pivotal role in promoting The UWI’s participation in the Hemispheric University Consortium (HUC).

On April 26, 2023, the LACC was notified of its successful bid to be the Regional Community Convenor (RCC) for the region of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in the global project, Connecting Climate Minds.

This project, managed by Imperial College London and funded by Wellcome, was undertaken to ensure that the global climate and mental health community can become strongly connected, with a shared understanding and vision across diverse disciplines, and develop into a thriving global eco-system better equipped to respond to barriers and opportunities.

This project has committed £84,000 to The UWI as Regional Community Convenor for LAC.

LACC successfully negotiated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico through the Embassy of Mexico in Jamaica, an MoU Renewal of the Mexican Chair at The UWI Mona. Under the Memorandum, a scholar would offer classes and conduct research at the Mona Campus of The UWI in one of seven disciplines: Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences and Sports. Since its inception in 2016, two professors have held the chair in History and in Climate Change Resilience. This has now been expanded to cover other academic disciplines. The MoU was signed by The UWI Vice-Chancellor on May 15, 2023 and on July 3, 2023 by the Director of the Mexican Agency for Cooperation (AMEXCID), Ms. Laura Elena Carillo Cubillas.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

The UWI Office of Global Affairs and The UWI Quality Assurance Unit (QAU) continued initiating and establishing collaborative arrangements with regional Tertiary Level Institutions (TLIs) through the facilitation of franchise and articulation arrangements.

During this academic year, the Quality Evaluations continued to be held virtually with a return to face-to-face evaluations in the upcoming academic year 2023/2024.

Renewed Franchise Arrangements

• Brown’s Town Community College franchised BSc Nursing with The UWI School of Nursing (UWISON)
• St. Vincent and The Grenadines Community College franchised Bachelors in Education and Postgraduate Diploma in Education with The UWI Cave Hill School of Education – June 21–23, 2023 Franchise Agreements Signed The following agreements were fully executed during the academic year under review.
• Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College and Faculty of Social Sciences, St. Augustine Campus
• Knox Community College and Faculty of Science and Technology, Mona Campus
• Brown’s Town Community College and UWI School of Nursing (UWISON)

IDB and Clara Lionel Foundation

In December 2023, The UWI closed its first project with the CLF. However, through the work of this Office, we were able to secure new grant resources in an estimated sum of US$600,000 to facilitate a new project between UCLA and The UWI. This is the first grant that is programmatic in nature which means it will comprise two separate projects spread over a two-year period. The start date for the new project is January 2024.

AGILITY

Global Institute for Climate Smart Resilient Development (GISCRD)

The Office completed the operationalisation of GICSRD in the 2022/2023 academic year. Assistance was provided to complete the operational guidelines, the convening of the full management committee and the advisory board, the development of a workplan, the development of a call for project ideas, sharing of potential opportunities and partner identification. While operations were fully assumed by GICSRD in December 2022, the OGA continues to provide strategic support per the request of the Director and the Vice-Chancellor.

Database of Agreements

During the year under review, the OGA continued to maintain the database of agreements between The UWI and other institutions. At present, the database includes more than 500 agreements with other institutions including educational, governmental, development agencies and private companies.