Come September, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) will be home to its first landed campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

    OECS member state, Antigua and Barbuda will be home to the fourth landed UWI Campus. The announcement was made by the UWI’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles during a press conference at the university’s first campus at Mona, Jamaica. “I am honoured to report that Chancellor Robert Bermudez and the council of the University of the West Indies have formally approved the establishment of a UWI Campus in Antigua and Barbuda within the wider context of the country’s membership of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.” Professor Beckles says. Antigua and Barbuda’s Five Island Campus is set to open its doors in September 2019. Some 800 students will be welcomed to the institution.

“The majority of these 800 students are already registered in levels 1 and 2 of the University of the West Indies programs currently being delivered in Antigua and Barbuda under a franchise agreement at the Antigua State College and other tertiary institutions. Like its sister campuses at Mona, St. Augustine, Cave Hill and the Open Campus, the Five Islands Campus will begin in a modest fashion and will no doubt rise to magnificent heights in the years to come,” Continues Professor Beckles.

    According to the UWI Vice-Chancellor, it is left to all within the region to be meaningful contributors to the growth of an important Caribbean Institution.