News Releases

The University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus has secured a regional partnership with the Government of Belize to support the training of nurses, in a move expected to strengthen healthcare capacity while generating economic benefits for Barbados.

Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Clive Landis, announced the $500,000 contract during a recent Campus Council meeting, describing the initiative as both timely and impactful.

Seventy-five per cent of Barbadians given free at-home colorectal cancer screening kits are not using them, a situation health officials have warned is a challenge in the fight against the deadly yet preventable disease.

They suggest the low return rate is contributing to missed opportunities for early detection, which allows the cancer to go unnoticed until it reaches more advanced stages.

Between 2022 and 2026, the Caribbean Colon Cancer Initiative (CCCI) distributed 1,500 of the non-invasive faecal immunochemical test (FIT) kits. However, only one in four recipients completed and returned them.

For the second time in three years, a Cave Hill Campus student has claimed top honours in the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) final examinations, reinforcing the campus’ tradition of excellence.

In the November/December 2025 examinations, Barbadian Liyee Su achieved the highest programme grade point average (GPA) among candidates from across The University of the West Indies. She topped both the written papers and clinical performance – Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) – securing the best overall score and graduating with distinction.

Her achievement follows the success of Nathan Lovell in 2023, who emerged as the highest-performing graduate among the May/June cohort. He also graduated with distinction based on his overall GPA.

Preparations are underway for the launch of a new innovation centre at The UWI Cave Hill Campus.

The Centre for Knowledge, Invention and Advanced Sciences (NEXA Cave Hill), as it will be called, was created through a strategic partnership between The UWI and the Ministry of Innovation, Industry, Science and Technology.

A call has gone out for employers to give mid-career professionals the time and space needed to continue their education. It comes as The UWI Cave Hill works to address a decline in mature and part-time student enrolment.

Speaking at a recent Campus Council meeting, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Clive Landis highlighted a growing imbalance in the student population.

“Our student numbers in the age group below 30 are higher than ever, but what we’ve lost is the older students. It is just shrinking and shrinking, and there’s an unprecedented number of students on our campus who are between [the ages of] 16 and 20,” he said.

What has long been seen as a frustrating invasion of Caribbean coastlines may soon become part of an exciting new environmental solution.

A research project at The University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus has secured international funding to transform sargassum seaweed into renewable bioplastic, opening the door to new possibilities for sustainable manufacturing in the region.

The initiative, From Marine Waste to Bioplastic: Sargassum-Derived Sodium Alginate for Sustainable Packaging and Plastic Alternatives, is led by Dr. Srinivasa Popuri, Senior Lecturer in Analytical Chemistry in the Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences.

The regional and international academic community is mourning the passing of Dr Tomlin Paul, a respected physician, medical educator, and academic leader and Deputy Principal, The UWI Mona Campus. His career spanned more than three decades of service to the health profession, education, public health, and institutional development.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, reflecting on his passing, said, “Our university was greatly enriched by the presence of this remarkable man. Humane, collegial, and decent to the core, Dr Paul was a pillar of the principle-driven institution we all hold most dear.  During troubling days when dark clouds threatened, he called upon us to see the bright light of hope. We are all beneficiaries of his enlightenment.”

Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal of the Mona Campus, Professor Densil A. Williams, said, “It is with profound sadness and a deep sense of loss that I eulogise my colleague and dependable deputy principal, Dr Tomlin Paul. Dr Paul was no ordinary member of the UWI family. He was a giant among us as he championed student success, a portfolio that was close to his heart. Deputy Principal for student success was not only a vocation but also a devotion he had. It was Tomlin’s life’s desire to ensure that all students who entered our beloved campus were able to succeed at whatever their hearts desired. He was painstakingly thorough as he built out the student success portfolio at the Mona Campus to ensure that we not only delivered a world-class teaching and learning experience to our students but also ensured the future competitiveness of the UWI brand in the higher educational marketplace.”

In the wake of the emerging CARICOM–African Union solidarity and commitment to deep economic and cultural collaboration, The University of the West Indies (The UWI) welcomed to its Regional Headquarters in Jamaica, a delegation of 23 newly appointed Vice-Chancellors from the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU). Over three days, The UWI Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles and his team of five Campus Principals, three Pro Vice-Chancellors and other executives engaged the academic leaders in wide-ranging discussions central to university management, including strategic planning, global partnerships, financial efficiency and accountability, programme quality, accreditation, and university rankings.

More than two decades after the Assembly of Caribbean Community Parliamentarians quietly faded from the regional landscape, a new generation of Caribbean leaders has revived its democratic spirit, this time from within the Cave Hill campus of The University of the West Indies. Launched in January 2026, the Caribbean Parliamentary Assembly (CPA) marks the first time in the history of The UWI that students are debating regional issues through a formally constituted parliamentary body.  Unlike debating clubs or mock parliaments, the assembly operates within a structured framework, complete with a speaker and deputy speaker, departments that mirror the machinery of government across the region, like Department of Health and Wellness and the Department of Labour.

As Barbados continues to face periodic fluctuations in egg supply linked to high temperatures and increased demand from the tourism and cruise sectors, a new initiative from the Centre for Agricultural Research and Innovation (CAGRI) at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus is aiming to put a measure of food production directly into the hands of households.

During AgroFest 2026, the research unit unveiled its Climate-Smart D-Frame Layer Cage System, offering Barbadians a practical method of producing their own eggs at home, even in small or landless spaces.

The introduction of the system comes as Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) and local producers continue efforts to stabilise production following recent heat-related output declines and shipment disruptions that have contributed to temporary shortages and increased reliance on imports.