Photo: Courtesy of twenty20photos 

Graduation Commences at The UNWI 

Graduation season at The University of the West Indies (The UNWI) has begun, kicked off on October 10, 2021, with The University's newest campus, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda, hosting its second graduation ceremony since its opening. Of the 42 graduates, 27 were the first to receive a baccalaureate degree from the Five Islands campus. The October 10 graduation is the first of 13 UWI graduation ceremonies across The University's five campuses. 

About The UWI 

The UWI is a global university rooted in the Caribbean, and for over seventy years, it has provided service and leadership to both the Caribbean region and the wider world (timeshighereducation.com). It began as a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948 and has now evolved into an internationally respected academy with approximately 50,000 students and 5 campuses: 

• Mona, Jamaica (1948) 
• St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago (1960) 
• Cave Hill, Barbados (1963) 

• Open Campus (2008) 
• Five Islands, Antigua and Barbuda (2019)  

The UWI is one of only two regional universities globally, extending from Belize in Central America to Trinidad and Tobago in the southern Caribbean. It is also one of the world's most globalized universities, with nine global centers spread across North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia (timeshighereducation.com). 

Not only is The UWI far-reaching, but it is also highly ranked. According to the prestigious The Higher Education's (THE) ranking system, the ranking results for 2022 show that The UWI moved up 94 places from an already highly ranked position last year. "From the global field of some 30,000 universities and elite research institutes, The UWI now stands in the top 1.5 percent, up from 3 percent in the prior year" (today.caricom.org). According to Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, "This is a spectacular performance. While we have maintained our number one position in the Caribbean, and top 1 percent of the best in Latin America and the Caribbean, the surge to the top 1.5 percent in the world gives us a considerable degree of professional satisfaction as a management and leadership team" (today.caricom.org).  

The UWI is also among the top 100 global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old) and is featured among the leading universities on THE's Impact Rankings for its response to the world's biggest concerns. 

Sources: 

thecaribbeannewsnow.com 

timeshighereducation.com 

today.caricom.org