Office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal. Tuesday, August 19, 2025 — The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Global Campus is proud to announce a significant enhancement to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Advanced Digital Skills Scholarship programme, a flagship initiative of the Caribbean Digital Transformation Project (CARDTP). Through our partnership with EON Reality, a world leader in AI-assisted Virtual and Augmented Reality (XR), scholarship recipients will have access to cutting-edge AI-powered technology to develop critical soft skills to enhance their workforce readiness in today’s rapidly evolving digital economy.
This innovative addition, focusing on the EON Roleplay Soft skills Module, will provide almost 400 beneficiaries from across eight OECS Member States with an immersive and safe environment to practice and hone essential interpersonal skills, such as communication, negotiation, leadership, and critical thinking, which are critical to successful outcomes in the workplace.
A Strategic Investment in the Future of the Caribbean Workforce
The OECS Advanced Digital Skills Scholarships, funded by the OECS Commission through an initiative of the World Bank, aim to create a cadre of specialised digital talent in member states. By integrating EON Reality’s immersive learning tools, The UWI is directly addressing the need for a well-rounded workforce equipped with both technical expertise and the crucial soft skills necessary to thrive in the modern workplace.
"We are proud to see this collaboration with EON Reality grow, and even more so to apply its innovative technology to such a vital project as the OECS Advanced Digital Skills Scholarships," said Dr. Karen Rosemin, Head, Digital Learning Innovation, The UWI Global Campus. “This strategic enhancement aligns perfectly with our commitment to preparing our students for real-world success. The ability to practice vital skills like communication and problem-solving through AI-driven roleplay will give our scholars a distinct advantage in the digital environment,” she added.
This enhancement ensures that scholarship recipients in fields such as Application Development, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, and Digital Marketing are not only technically proficient but also possess the adaptable interpersonal skills that are increasingly in demand.
About the OECS Advanced Digital Skills Scholarships
This initiative, a collaboration between the OECS Commission and The UWI Global Campus, offers full scholarships to citizens of participating OECS Member States. The project's goal is to enhance workforce readiness and foster inclusive economic growth by providing training in in-demand digital skills and fostering a digitally empowered economy. This project is implemented by the Special Initiatives Unit in the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, with direct technical support from the Digital Learning Innovation (DLI) team and additional support from the Enterprise Resource Planning Unit. The current cohort is expected to complete their training courses by December 2025.
Commenting on this positive development, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal Dr Francis O. Severin urges, “…the importance of ensuring that The UWI Global Campus persists at the vanguard of contemporary educational transformation in teaching and learning, while remaining purposeful in accomplishing winning interpersonal relationships that will ‘cause’ success for our learners. This is future-proofing at its best.” He expressed his gratitude to our collaborators while pointing out another success story for the Global Campus and indeed for SDG 17, that is, partnerships to achieve the goals.
A screenshot of the Eon Soft Skills platform, illustrating a module where learners participate in simulated interview scenarios by engaging in real-time vocal conversations with specialised AI-driven avatars. These avatars use natural voice interaction to facilitate the development of learners’ interview skills
About The University of the West Indies
The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development, residing at the center of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region for over 75 years. From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with nearly 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 Global Campus, and global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.
The UWI offers over 1000 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 the wider world.
The UWI has been consistently ranked among the best in the world by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE). Since The UWI’s 2018 debut in THE’s rankings, it has performed well in multiple schemes—among them including World University Rankings, Golden Age University Rankings (between 50 and 80 years old), Latin America Rankings, and the 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 Well-being; Gender Equality and Climate Action.
Learn more at www.uwi.edu.
