The UWI and WhiteBoard Labs of India
Collaborate on Virtual Centre of Excellence in Industry 4.0
Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal. Thursday, April 29, 2021— The University of the West Indies (UWI) and WhiteBoard Labs (WBL) of India will sign a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as a commitment to advancing a mutually beneficial goal to improve access to tertiary education and training for the people of India and the West Indies through a Virtual Centre of Excellence.
The signing will take place on Monday, May 3, 2021 at 6:00 pm EC/5:00 pm JA/4:00 pm Belize at a virtual event which will be streamed live via Open Campus social media platforms at, https://www.facebook.com/uwiopencampuscaribbean, https://twitter.com/UWIOpenCampus and open.uwi.edu/livestream.
Messages will be delivered by the Honourable Jonel Powell, Minister of Education, Youth, Sports, and Culture, St Kitts and Nevis; Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies; Shev KR Tohan, Co-Founder of WBL and former Vice-Chancellor of Arni University.
Dr Luz Longsworth, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Affairs, The UWI and Principal of The UWI Open Campus and Dr Rohit Shipstone, Co-Founder and Managing Director of White Board Labs will each give remarks.
Dr Longsworth and Dr Shipstone will do the virtual symbolic signing of the MOU on behalf of both institutions.
“The joint collaboration with WBL will provide significant leverage to the Open Campus in helping to build the human resource capacity of the Caribbean with the skills for operating in an Industry 4.0 environment,” stated Dr Longsworth. “This relationship will also allow the Open Campus to reach students in India and Australia thus widening the reach of the Open Campus.”
“In the current era of globalization and industry 4.0, we expect this partnership to lead in the democratization of relevant education and relevant skills, across the global workforce, in terms of affordability, accessibility and availability,” explained Dr Shipstone. “This is the least understood and the most required aspect of inclusive employment in the current 4th industrial revolution or industry 4.0 and crucial for both our countries to be able to participate effectively in the new economy.”
This agreement, which will be implemented by The UWI Open Campus aims to enhance the entrepreneurial skills of students through virtual social business incubator centres known as the Virtual Centre of Excellence in Industry 4.0. The Centre will facilitate the delivery of joint programmes/services by The UWI and WBL. In the initial phase of the MOU, the areas of collaboration will focus on the exchange of training programmes and courses of Industry 4.0 skills, marketing programmes, establishment of virtual social business incubation centres and offering of business consulting services for Industry 4.0 to small and medium enterprises.
The agreement will also allow for collaboration in the organising of programmes and projects to facilitate capacity building, research and institutional strengthening of private and public sector workers; and provide support for the programmes and projects developed under the MOU.
The activities under this MOU will be implemented jointly by the staff members of The UWI Open Campus and, the staff members of WhiteBoard Labs.
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About WhiteBoard Labs
With the changing work and industry environment, we create readiness for the new way we will work. Our readiness processes and programs unlock unrealized value that can have a deep impact on markets, on the world, and on the individuals who participate. We believe that while knowledge is the engine of innovation and job readiness, connection and collaboration are the fuel. We believe that when you bring together the right mix of people, with shared intentions and similar values, remarkable things happen. We have designed the Industry Mentoring Program to connect students with industry professionals to explore their career options both in India and abroad.
We promote an innovation ecosystem that exists to support students and select potential entrepreneurs in their quest to explore the world of game-changing social entrepreneurship. Our service for a campus start-up lab for prospective or current entrepreneurs is open for participation by any university/college in India and abroad.
We unleash the power of individuals through a network of highly-curated advisors and mentors, peer collaboration and interaction, and comprehensive resource and programming support.
For more information visit www.whiteboardlabs.in.
About The UWI
The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development; residing at the centre of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region.
From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global 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 its Open Campus, and 10 global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe.
The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbean’s leading university, it possesses the largest pool of Caribbean intellect and expertise committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and wider world.
Ranked among the top universities in the world, by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education, The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists. In 2020, it earned ‘Triple 1st’ rankings—topping the Caribbean; and in the top in the tables for Latin America and the Caribbean, and global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old). The UWI is also featured among the top universities on THE’s Impact Rankings for its response to the world’s biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Wellbeing; Gender Equality and Climate Action.
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.)
