The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine

Located at St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus is a public research university. It, however, is but one of the five campuses that make up the University of the West Indies system.

Though the university's story didn't begin in Trinidad but, advisedly enough, in 1948, in Jamaica, such was the meeting out of The University College of the West Indies, as recommended through the Asquith Commission-a body constituted to assess the higher education needs of British colonies. As a concept, this institution was supposed to emanate into the Caribbean region, bringing together different cultures under one academic flag of a center of excellence; its establishment was a tremendous step toward the establishment of a collective academic identity for the English-speaking Caribbean nations. Initially a college with its roots in the University of London, the institution had produced, in its early stages, higher education for the English-speaking Caribbean. The college eventually became a fully-fledged university in i962, exactly at the time Jamaica became independent, thereby making the transition symbolic of the region's polarization toward self-governance and intellectual independence. The university still bears witness to the today its shining legacy of educational empowerment in the Caribbean.

The Trinidad campus was founded in 1960 and started rather differently. It emerged from the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, devoted to agricultural research and education. It is the transition into a university campus that signified the region's need to combine agriculture with education. Until today, the agricultural history of the campus has an important influence, particularly on the establishment of the Faculty of Science and Agriculture in promoting sustainable practice orientation. Over the years, the university has expanded to include other campuses in Barbados and other Caribbean islands. It has established itself as a cornerstone of higher education in the region with a vital role in research, innovation, and human capital development. The university's growth symbolizes the shared ambition of Caribbean nations to invent, develop and nurture their local talent while addressing global challenges. Contributions to social, cultural, and economic development of the region remain unparalleled.