VICE-CHANCELLOR’S REPORT TO COUNCIL 2022—2023
School for Graduate Studies and Research
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) AND COMMERCIALISATION
to strengthen their research abilities including exposure to cutting-edge research infrastructures at these European universities. A cross-section of the European universities’ partnerships with The UWI include, inter alia : University of Valladolid, Spain; University of Thessaloniki, Greece; Masaryk University, Czech Republic; Riga Technical University, Latvia. Research Projects Won: The SGSR won six collaborative International Research Projects during the reporting period, valued at over US$5.5M. Both recurring and new donor agencies funded these grants. The Research, Administration, and Financial Teams continued to demonstrate a highly admirable commitment to The UWI in spite of the ongoing pandemic, and their tremendous work outputs and quality performances are appreciatively acknowledged. Research Projects Implemented: The EU-LAC Museum Project entitled, “Museums and Community: Concepts, Experiences and Sustainability in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean” was an EU-funded project involving eight partner institutions, seven from Europe and one from the Caribbean (The UWI, Cave Hill Campus). Project implementation was highly successful, with the project winning the Europa Nostra Ilucidare Prize for Cultural Heritage-led International Relations, which is coordinated through the European Commission. The project was also selected by ICOM and Europa Nostra to be featured at the Best in Heritage Conference held in Dubrovnik, Croatia in September 2022. The UWI team worked collaboratively with the partners to implement the project and develop the presentation for the conference, which was delivered by the lead partner, St. Andrews University.
in the current Policy as a pre-requisite for guiding the revision and updating of the Policy. The School paid the annual subscription for access to the CITI Program which is used across The UWI for training of all UWI personnel submitting a proposal to their Campus Research Ethics Committees for ethics approval; and facilitated the application for, and was granted renewal of, the Federal Wide Assurance registration verifying that the Research Ethics Committees at The UWI were operating with internationally acceptable protocols and maintaining internationally acceptable standards. RESEARCH FUNDING AND GRANTS MANAGEMENT Donor-funded Projects Research Proposals Developed and Submitted: The Office (at St. Augustine) worked with research staff across the campuses to identify funding opportunities and prepare and submit thirteen international research grant applications, valued at US$7.7M, to several international donor agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (USA), the European Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA), and the Medical Research Council (UK). With research teams working with one another using mainly ICT platforms, the Office significantly strengthened the One-UWI vision, continued to expand The UWI’s international research partnerships, exposed researchers to new cutting-edge technologies that would not ordinarily be available in the Caribbean, and provided multiple financial opportunities for The UWI’s research landscape. Mobility Proposals Developed and Submitted – European Union’s Flagship Education and Training Mobility Programme (Erasmus+): Through directed interventions of the SGSR, research projects were twinned with mobility projects, ushering in a new range of opportunities for researchers
The School (at Cave Hill) continued its responsibility for the management of registered patents at The UWI, which included monitoring the status and payment dates of registered patents; assisting with identifying funds to cover patent costs when required; monitoring progress towards commercialisation of the patents against the time limit identified in The UWI IP Management and Commercialisation Policy and communicating with patent holders in this context. The Office continued to emphasise the need for The UWI to design and implement a system to support researchers in their efforts to commercialise their IP. Following the WIPO workshop, entitled “An Advanced Course on IP and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean”, the Office (at Cave Hill) collaborated with the Cave Hill Campus RICCH Office and the Deputy Principal’s Office to develop a series of workshops to raise awareness of The UWI IP Policy, with an emphasis on the development of potential commercial ventures. THE UWI RESEARCH ETHICS COMMITTEE The School (at Cave Hill) continued to serve as the Secretariat for the University Research Ethics Committee. The Committee facilitated the development of the Five Islands Campus Research Ethics Committee by formally appointing the members and identifying training requirements. The St. Augustine and Cave Hill Campus Research Ethics Committees also required formal appointment of new members and reappointment of others, with recommendations for the training required for new members. The University-wide Committee established to revise The UWI Policy and Procedures on Research Ethics is in the process of identifying gaps
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