Antiguan Government hosts UWI Budget Meetings
The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. Thursday, 21 February 2019—The University of the West Indies (The UWI) is pleased to share that the Government of Antigua and Barbuda is hosting the University’s Annual Meetings of its Technical Advisory Committees (TACs). These meetings, during which the budgets for the biennium 2019–2021 for the University’s four campuses, its Vice-Chancellery and the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) will be reviewed and recommendations made to Grants Committees, are rotated annually across The UWI’s 17 contributing countries. This year, the TACs will gather from February 21–22, 2019 at the Sandals Grande Antigua Resort & Spa.
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda was host of The UWI meetings in 2011 and the University welcomes its commitment for 2019. At the Opening Session on February 21, Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister, the Honourable Gaston Browne is the keynote speaker, while Minister of Education, Science and Technology, the Honourable Michael Browne and The UWI’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, are also anticipated to give remarks.
Over the two days, participants of the various committees will include permanent secretaries and other senior government officials in the ministries of tertiary education, finance and health across the region. Also in attendance will be The UWI’s Executive Management Team including the vice-chancellor, principals, pro vice-chancellors, university bursar and university registrar as well as the deputy chief financial officer, campus bursars and campus registrars; along with the senior management team of the UHWI, including the chief executive officer, the senior director of clinical services and the senior director of finance.
In preparing its annual budget, as a regional University, The UWI takes into consideration its developmental needs, anticipated inflation rates, and the outlook of the region’s economies. It places critical importance on its financial efficiency and accountability, especially given its regional configuration with operations that span multiple governments which have the responsibility to significantly fund the institution’s annual operations. In this regard, The UWI adheres to the most rigorous budgeting processes. These yearly deliberations are testament to the highest standards of financial accountability adopted in The UWI’s stewardship of its operations.
The UWI is particularly grateful for the support it continues to receive from its contributing nations in the form of subventions, and especially for the efforts made in settlement of arrears to the University and towards keeping their accounts current.
Following these TAC meetings, the University’s Grants Committees (UGCs) are expected to review and approve the TACs’ recommendations and advance them to The UWI’s Annual Business Meeting of Council for final approval on April 26, 2019.
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About The UWI
For the past 70 years The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has provided service and leadership to the Caribbean region and wider world. The UWI has evolved from a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948 to an internationally respected, regional university with near 50,000 students and four campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, and an Open Campus. As part of its robust globalization agenda, The UWI has established partnering centres with universities in North America, Asia, and Africa such as the State University of New York (SUNY)-UWI Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development, the UWI-China Institute of Information Technology, the University of Lagos (UNILAG)-UWI Institute of African and Diaspora Studies and the Institute for Global African Affairs with the University of Johannesburg (UJ). The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Social Sciences and Sport.
As the region’s premier research academy, The UWI’s foremost objective is driving the growth and development of the regional economy. Times Higher Education has ranked The UWI among the top 1,258 universities in world for 2019, and the 40 best universities in its Latin America Rankings for 2018, and was the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists. For more, visit www.uwi.edu.
(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)
