Barbados Independence Celebrations Come Early for UWI’s software engineering students in China
Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. Wednesday, November 27, 2019—Barbados Independence celebrations came early for some students of The University of the West Indies (The UWI) studying software engineering in China. On November 8, Barbadian students enrolled in The UWI-China Institute of Information Technology (UWI-CIIT) were guests at an Independence reception hosted by His Excellency François Jackman, Ambassador to the People's Republic of China. This coincided with the official visit of the Honourable Indar Weir, Barbados’ Minister of Agriculture and Food Security for the China International Import Expo.
Speaking to the students, Minister Weir encouraged them to recognise that China’s success in technology came through hard work, sacrifices, and strategy in the face of adversity. He urged them to take full advantage of this educational opportunity, challenging them to return to Barbados as nation builders for future generations.
UWI Assistant Registrar based in China for the BSc in Software Engineering, Justin Seale noted the importance of highlighting the students’ experiences and interactions in China, to encourage others to follow suit so that the Caribbean can be fully participative and leaders in the fourth industrial revolution.
Producing a generation of software engineers for the Caribbean is the primary goal of The UWI-CIIT, a collaboration with the Global Institute of Software Technology (GIST). These students are part of a larger complement comprising 36 Caribbean students, some of whom are now in the final year of The UWI-CIIT’s BSc in Software Engineering (Mobile Application Technologies), who are based at GIST in Suzhou, China. This unique four-year degree, offers Years 1 and 2 of study at a UWI campus in the Caribbean, and Years 3 and 4 in China where students benefit from classroom teaching, project training, and practicum, as well as research, software technology and foreign language application abilities.
Currently, applications are open for the September 2020 intake. Visit www.uwi.edu/softwareengineering for more information.
END
- L to R: UWI Assistant Registrar based in China for the BSc in Software Engineering, Justin Seale, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, the Honourable Indar Weir and His Excellency Francois Jackman, Ambassador to the People's Republic of China.
- UWI BSc in Software Engineering Students in China: Joshua Alkins, Donté Callender, Antonio Workman, Jason Charles and Sekaji Maynard together with Barbados’ Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable Indar Weir (centre).
About The UWI
For over 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 five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and an Open Campus. As part of its robust globalization agenda, The UWI has established partnering centres with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Africa including the State University of New York (SUNY)-UWI Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development; the Canada-Caribbean Studies Institute with Brock University; the Strategic Alliance for Hemispheric Development with Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES); 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. The world’s most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education, has ranked The UWI among the top 600 universities in the world for 2019 and 2020, and the 40 best universities in Latin America and the Caribbean for 2018 and 2019. The UWI has been the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists. For more, visit www.uwi.edu.
