KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The University of the West Indies (UWI) Monday said it had taken “another high note” in its ongoing bridge-building agenda after successfully hosting a meeting of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCVU) last week.
It said that the meeting originated from a request by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) as part of its plan to expose emerging university leaders to the UWI’s success and legacy in addressing relations between national and global issues.
“All universities, especially in the Global South, are forging survival and sustainable strategies in the international higher education sector,” UWI said in a statement, noting that Nigeria has an estimated 40 public universities and a similar number of private institutions.
“The UWI is recognised as a highly successful and respected brand, ranked by the Times Higher Education (THE) among the top 3.6 per cent of the world’s 33,000 universities,” the statement said following the meeting here.
It said that the meeting “featured robust conversations…focusing on themes such as strategic planning, research for development, curriculum quality and teaching, preparations for global competitive ranking, achieving greater impact with less financing, and promoting visionary leadership”.
UWI Vice-Chancellor, Sir Hilary Beckles, described the meeting as a “spiritual moment,” reflecting on the deeply rooted ties linking the regions.
“Nigeria has had a profound intellectual impact on the development of this university,” he said, adding that the UWI “cannot tell its history without connecting to those fundamental moments.”
Secretary-General of the CVCNU, Professor Andrew Haruna, acknowledged both the opportunities and challenges within Nigeria’s system and referenced the longstanding contributions of Caribbean scholars to Nigerian intellectual life.
He expressed confidence that this engagement would spark new models of transnational education and deepen sectoral ties.
President of George Brown Polytechnic and a distinguished member of the West Indian diaspora in Canada, Dr. Gervan Fearon, called for advancing purpose-driven universities and strongly advocated for indigenous publishing, underscoring its critical role in amplifying research from the Global South on the international stage.
“The enthusiastic participation of all Principals and Pro Vice-Chancellors of The UWI throughout the three-day event reflected an unwavering dedication to the ONE UWI vision and cultivated a vibrant atmosphere of collaboration and meaningful dialogue, with each leader making a significant contribution to the exchange of ideas,” the UWI added.
Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal of the Antigua and Barbuda-based UWI Five Islands Campus, Professor C. Justin Robinson, underscored the strategic significance of the partnership, saying, “South-South collaboration is not a consolation prize.
“It is a strategic imperative…The solutions to the challenges facing developing nations will increasingly come from institutions like ours—working together, learning from one another, and refusing to wait for permission to lead.”
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