Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. Wednesday, 25 September 2019—Following its official opening, The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Five Islands Campus will host its inaugural Matriculation and Welcome Ceremony for new students this Friday, September 27, 2019.

The Matriculation Ceremony, a longstanding tradition at which new students are formally recognised and accepted as members of the University, is marked by the signing of the Matriculation Register and taking of the Academic Vow. A total of 147 students are expected to participate in the Five Islands Campus’ first-ever matriculation ceremony. They will represent the Schools of Humanities and Education, Management, Science and Technology, and Health and Behavioural Sciences.

Newly appointed Director of Administration and Finance, Ms Daniella Hickling, will chair the event, which will include messages from the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal (Interim), Professor Stafford Griffith, and the Representative of the Guild of Students, Mr Caleb Gardiner. In addition, the Campus’ top matriculant for the 2019-2020 academic year will be introduced, who will symbolically sign the academic register on behalf of the new student body. The Matriculation Ceremony will be streamed live via UWItv Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/UWITv from 5:00 p.m. Eastern Caribbean time.

During his remarks at the ceremonial campus opening earlier this month, Vice-Chancellor Beckles said,

“We always wanted to do more for the OECS in the area of capacity building for more students at lower cost; to enhance the academic culture and radically upscale the professional training system for development.” He added, “Be assured that the students of Five Islands will receive the best education that we can deliver to them here.”

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, the Hon. Gaston A. Brown, called the opening “a great day” in the country’s history and noted, “The awesome significance of the Five Islands Campus to the OECS citizens and residents, should not be lost on any of us. No country can expect to achieve its full potential, or to compete with the rest of the world, unless it recognizes the value of giving the highest level of knowledge to its people.”

Addressing the estimated 300 persons who attended the opening, Professor Stafford Griffith, Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal advised that, “Admission of students to programmes will take place in two phases. The first phase is for those starting their programmes in this first semester…However, there will be a second phase of registration for programmes that begin in the next semester, that is, from January 2020.”

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Related News:

Celebrations to mark The UWI Five Islands’ formal opening

Vice-Chancellor’s statement on New UWI Campus in Antigua

Vice Chancellor Beckles travels to Antigua

The UWI appoints Professor Stafford A. Griffith as Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor

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 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.

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)