The UWI Cave Hill Campus Annual Report to Council 2021/2022

142 | Campus Events

Software Engineering student Andrew Lewis (left) in conversation with Head of the Department of Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics at Cave Hill, Dr Mechelle Gittens during the UWI Cave Hill–Private Sector Forum held at the historic Mutual Building in Bridgetown in March,2022 Students Praise their Hi-Tech Experience in China

They spoke of overcoming challenges to enjoy the benefits of immersing themselves in the Chinese culture, including learning the language and keeping abreast of the fast-paced living environment in China. “We realised…what we could achieve in the programme by developing similar applications and similar technolo- gies [that are] available in China. Even the language barrier seemed to fade away as we learnt a bit more Chinese and we used the main app, WeChat to translate,” Lewis said during a conversation with the Head of the Department of Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics at Cave Hill, Dr Mechelle Gittens. New career opportunities “When I came back home I realised that everything seemed to open up, the opportunities and the careers, based on what we learnt…A lot of companies are grasping for new employees with that knowledge.” Despite the disruption and fear of the initial outbreak of COVID-19, Lewis and John graduated in 2020 and were able

Stories of triumph and self-fulfilment have been shared by current and former students in the BSc Software Engineering programme offered by The University of the West Indies (The UWI) and the Global Institute of Software Technology (GIST) in Suzhou, China. The programme requires students to complete their first two years at Cave Hill or other UWI participating campus and the remaining two at GIST in China. In their final year, students are afforded the opportunity to intern at busi- nesses in that country. Barbadian Andrew Lewis, Vincentians Shanice Cato and Tessa John, and Dominican Clem Francis who all completed their initial two years at Cave Hill, recounted their expe- rience during a UWI Cave Hill-Private Sector Forum held at the historic Mutual Building in Bridgetown on March 31, 2022.

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES CAVE HILL CAMPUS ANNUAL REPORT TO COUNCIL 2021/2022

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