High Commission Welcomes the Establishment of the UWI, Five Islands Campus in Antigua
The Antigua and Barbuda High Commission welcomes the announcement by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Sir Hilary Beckles of the establishment of the university’s fourth landed campus in Antigua.
High Commissioner, Her Excellency Karen-Mae Hill noted that having a UWI campus in Antigua and Barbuda is one of the most significant developmental milestones since independence and applauds the government on such an outstanding achievement. High Commissioner Hill further noted that with a university campus also comes more extensive economic and social developmental opportunities such as the further democratisation of higher education; attracting the best in global talent and scholarship; incentivising innovation and entrepreneurship; fostering social mobility and aspiration; creation of jobs and further investment; advancing creativity and open debate; and an overall improvement in the country’s human development index.
Moreover, Her Excellency argued that the university campus has the potential to play a significant role in positioning the country to be highly competitive within the regional and global market. Through onshore knowledge exchange activities, Antigua and Barbuda will see an improvement in the quality of its human capital and resource potential which could improve productivity and output in critical sectors of the economy such as tourism, financial services, manufacturing, agriculture, and possibly the blue economy. Moreover, High Commission Hill projected that with the prospective acquisition of additional shares in LIAT, Antigua and Barbuda would be better placed as a regional academic hub for research and development, conferences, and specialised training.
The High Commission endeavours to support the UWI Five Island Campus by reaching out to key partners, including the Antiguan and Barbudan diaspora, in the United Kingdom and Europe to guarantee the development and success of the new university campus.
