Presentation to The UWI Mona Campus Council for the academic year ending July 31, 2023
Annual Report 2022/2023
FUELLING NATIONAL AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Annual Report 2022/2023
FUELLING NATIONAL AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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Our Mission TO ADVANCE LEARNING, CREATE KNOWLEDGE AND FOSTER INNOVATION FOR THE POSITIVE TRANSFORMATION OF THE CARIBBEAN AND THE WIDER WORLD Our Vision TO BE AN EXCELLENT GLOBAL UNIVERSITY ROOTED IN THE CARIBBEAN Our Core Values IINTEGRITY | EXCELLENCE | DIVERSITY | GENDER EQUITY | STUDENT CENTREDNESS | FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY Our Strategic Pillars ACCESS | ALIGNMENT | AGILITY
CONTENTS
Chairman’s Statement / 4 Principal’s Overview / 6
Mentoring Services / 54 Student Accomplishments / 55 Celebrating Our Graduates, 2022/2023 / 57
01.
FULFILLING OUR RESEARCH MANDATE / 10 Increasing the Research Activity / 11 Research Output’s Alignment with Development Needs / 19 STRENGTHENING TEACHING AND LEARNING / 24 Increased Digitization of Campus Operations / 28 Enhanced Library Services / 31 Delivery of New and Strengthened Academic Programmes and Courses / 33 Developing Caring, Accountable, Motivated Faculty and Staff / 36 Recognizing and Acknowledging Excellence in Staff Performance / 40–43 SUPPORTING STUDENTS / 46 Orientation Exercises for New Students / 47 Addressing Student Hunger and Food Insecurity / 49 Addressing Student Financing of Higher Education / 49 Preparing Students for the World of Work / 53 Training Student Leaders / 54
04.
ENGAGING THE SOCIETY / 60 Showcasing Science / 61 Outreach in Medicine / 65 Building Relationships with Governments, Sport Governing Bodies and Sporting Entities / 66 Supporting National and Regional Legal Framework / 67 Supporting Women in Need / 68 Mona Social Services (MSS) Community Engagement / 69 UWI Onelife: Students Developing Community / 71 FUNDING THE ENTERPRISE / 74 Efforts to Curtail Operating Costs / 76 Initiatives to Increase Income / 77 Looking Ahead / 79 APPENDICES / 82 Appendix I: Senior Management Team, 2022/2023 / 82 Appendix II: Campus Council Members, 2022/2023 / 83 Appendix III: Obituaries / 85
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The Campus’s significant achievements during the year under review included: • expanded delivery of the blended modality by enhancing and improving access to, and the quality of teaching and learning
• organization of programmes to prepare faculty for transformational teaching
• introduction of new or improved academic courses and programmes to achieve better alignment with student and industry demands, and • roll-out of programmes to address student and staff welfare and needs. The increase in student admissions during this academic year is testament to the success of these seminal initiatives undertaken by Principal Webber and Mona’s committed faculty and staff. As expected, the return of students to the classroom in 2022/2023 led to an increase in operating expenses of $20 Billion over the $17.7 Billion in 2021/2022, returning a total deficit of $1.7 Billion for the year, which is in stark contrast to the net positive income of $1.55 Billion for 2021/2022. The new principal, Professor Densil Williams, and his team will be challenged to find creative ways to return The UWI Mona Campus to profitability and to make it the university of choice for all peoples of the Region and the Diaspora. Professor Williams is no stranger to this Campus, having served as executive director of the Mona School of Business and Management, chair of the Mona Strategic Planning Task Force (2012/2017), Pro Vice-Chancellor planning, and more recently, Principal, and Pro Vice- Chancellor of the Five Islands Campus. An accomplished academic and administrator with considerable knowledge of business success and wealth creation, he is perfectly positioned to lead the Campus along its national and regional development trajectory. It will be my pleasure to work with him.
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
DR THE HON. EARL JARRETT, OJ, CD, JP, The UWI, Mona Campus Council
D uring the second year of the operationalization of The UWI 2022/2027 Strategic Plan, the Mona Campus achieved several milestones towards the delivery of its foundational mandate to fuel national and regional development. The year was one of unprecedented challenges as the Campus reopened its doors for face-to-face operations following the two-year online modality occasioned by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Campus was faced with consistent yearly declines in student registration numbers, a concomitant reduction in student fees, and the continued downward trend in government contributions to the overall Campus income. Under the leadership of Principal, Professor Dale Webber, the Mona Campus faculty and other employees set about refashioning its research, teaching, and administrative processes to re-engage returning students and staff towards realizing the Strategic Plan’s stated mission to advance learning, create knowledge, and foster innovation .
Professor Densil Williams, and his team will be challenged to find creative ways to return The UWI, Mona Campus to profitability, and to make it the university of choice for all peoples of the Region and the Diaspora.
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This report highlights several during the review year that demonstrate sustained growth despite prevailing challenges, as well as the strategic coordination of activities, beginning January 2023, in celebration of The UWI’s 75th anniversary. In a constantly changing and challenging funding environment, The UWI, Mona Campus continued to devise new ways to deliver on the vision and mission as outlined in the UWI Triple A Strategic Plan 2022–2027 . The Campus continued to focus on building a globally competitive centre of academic excellence that produces graduates who will continue to impact the nation’s development; initiates programmes that continue to foster employee development and engagement; creates greater efficiencies in our internal operational processes; and implements strategies to improve our responsiveness to our constituents such as students, governments, employers, underserved communities, the developing economic sectors, external/international collaborators, alumni and donors. Some of the important highlights of these developments over the year include but are not limited to: There was central focus on increasing research activities. This included Faculties revitalizing units to support research, publication of major research booklets, and establishment of awards to support research. Critically, faculty amassed over J$607 million dollars in grant funding to support their research efforts. Further, there was significant partnerships forged which helped to enhance research. These include but are not limited to: collaboration with the SUNY-UWI Centre for Sustainable Leadership Development and the SUNY Global Health Institute
PRINCIPAL’S OVERVIEW PROFESSOR DENSIL A. WILLIAMS Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal
A cademic Year 2022/2023 was no ordinary one for the Mona Campus. It marked the first full year of operations post the COVID-19 pandemic. By all measures, it must have been an awesome task for the leadership to re-imagine the Campus to operate in the new normal of teaching and learning following a global pandemic. Professor Dale Webber and his team must be congratulated and celebrated for steadying the proverbial ship and ensuring that the Campus’s operations remained nimble as it tries to meet the needs of the community in those unsettled times. Despite the uncertainty of the new operating environment, the faculty and staff along with other stakeholders ensured that the academic vibrancy of the Campus returned, and the implementation of the Triple A Plan, The Revenue Revolution , took centre stage. It is these imperatives that occupied the focus of the management over the year. The UWI, Mona Campus in Academic Year 2022/2023 resumed face-to-face engagement, while continuing to deliver some courses/programmes and administrative functions online.
Faculty members participating in the tree- planting ceremony to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the University of the West Indies (UWI).
In a constantly changing and challenging funding environment, The UWI, MONA CAMPUS must continue unabatedly to devise new ways to deliver on our mandate to lead in the national effort to propel economic growth.
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which led to the 4th joint session of the SUNY-UWI Health Research Consortium and the SUNY Global Health Institute Workshop geared towards building research capacity through subgroups with specific interests. In the teaching and learning space, a significant body of work was undertaken in the use of multimedia technology to support teaching and learning, and online delivery of courses. Similarly, several new programmes were developed including the BSc in, improved Diagnostic Imaging (Radiography) programme and the Humanities Internship programme geared to aligning teaching in the Faculty of Humanities and Education with emerging industry demands. There are also ongoing efforts to develop minors in Digital Humanities and in Entrepreneurship in the Humanities , as well as an Associate of Arts degree for entrants on lower matriculation. These important developments will continue the revitalization of the Humanities. In terms of employee engagement, a strategic objective in the 2022–2027, UWI Strategic Plan, the Campus through the Human Resource Management Division (HRMD), launched UWI Moves , a
government, security, health and wellness, environment, education, and products and services developed through science and technology. The festival also provided a space for the public to engage with science and technology in an interactive, informative, and innovative way. This event attracted over 3,000 visitors over the two-days. As we look to the future, the Mona Campus will focus on opportunities in the higher education sector that will drive the growth and development of the enterprise. The Campus will focus on developing cutting-edge educational programmes to meet the needs of the various stakeholders within our population. It will focus on solution-oriented research to drive resolutions to major developmental challenges such as climate justice, economic and social inequality, non-competitiveness of industry sector and institutions, the changing technological landscape of the global environment, and chronic diseases, among other things. Similarly, the Campus will look seriously at its business and operating processes in order to drive greater efficiency in service delivery to its stakeholders. These are ambitious agenda items, but with the motivation of the faculty/ staff/ students /alumni and other stakeholders including our government partners, multilateral donor agencies, and private sector partners, the future will be exciting and bright. As we celebrate the successes of academic year 2022/2023 and project for the future, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge and pay homage to the stalwarts of the Campus who transitioned during the period under review. Those who were brought to our attention are listed in Appendix III. Among them was the beloved Professor Emeritus Edward Baugh, a former Dean of the then Faculty of Humanities, esteemed teacher and literary scholar, acclaimed West Indian poet, University orator par excellence , and dedicated family man. His legacy will continue to influence poetry and literary criticism in Jamaica and the Region. Our stalwarts have laid a strong foundation on which we will continue to build as we position the Campus to ensure that this light continues to rise from the West in perpetuity.
A multi-media enhanced lecture theatre
programme which is a spin-off from the national Jamaica Moves initiative out of the Ministry of Health and Wellness. This programme is geared toward improving the health and well-being of our faculty and staff – one of the initiatives towards building a more caring working environment. Outreach, a major part of leveraging our reputation as a globally reputable University to drive the revenue revolution, saw the Campus engaged in several activities to align its work with the development challenges of the nation. For example, The Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) hosted a Science
Professor Emeritus Edward Baugh
Festival as part of The UWI’s 75th Anniversary celebrations. The festival showcased science and technology in business,
“
As we look to the future, the Mona Campus will focus on opportunities in the higher education sector that will drive the growth and development of the enterprise. The Campus will focus on developing cutting-edge educational programmes to meet the needs of the various stakeholders within our population.
Minister of Education, Fayval Williams at the Faculty of Science and Technology Science Festival
”
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E stablished in 1948 as a research institution to serve as the intellectual centre of the region, the now University of the West Indies has demonstrated over these 75 years its continued commitment to this mandate – its critical research work being, in the main, centred on addressing pressing national and regional development needs, and emerging global imperatives. During the Academic Year (AY) 2022/2023, UWI Mona’s Faculties, Institutes, and Centres produced an array of research outputs in the form of books, monographs, book chapters, refereed journal articles, conference, and technical reports, and infused this knowledge though faculty and staff’s impressive advocacy as Chairs, Members of, and Consultants to government and private sector organizations and boards. Further, the practical application of this research activity, through the institution’s outreach programmes in areas such as medicine, education, science, community, and other national and regional transformation initiatives, continued unabated in the year under review.
INCREASING THE RESEARCH ACTIVITY
To boost research activity and output, Faculties and supporting Units initiated several undertakings, among them: The Faculty of Medical Sciences (FMS) re-engineered its Health Research Resource Unit (HRRU) to the Clinical Translational Research Unit ( CTRU) . This unit continues to grow from strength to strength. The Deputy Dean, Research met with all Departments in the FMS and created an outline of how they should restructure themselves to ensure that research is promoted within the Faculty. The Unit has also been strengthened by the employment of a research manager whose responsibility it is to oversee the research activities, ensuring that projects are completed on time and within budget, while also making sure that all research activities adhere to relevant policies and standards. This new employee has a comprehensive understanding of The UWI research processes, experience in all aspects of clinical research including but not limited to regulatory, data management, coordination, fiscal and project management, budget planning and development. The new Unit had several workshops for its faculty over the academic year. In one of these workshops the FMS Research Studies Toolkit – Design to Publication: A Practical Guide was launched. It is intended for use by student researchers and research supervisors as a practical guide to support the development of research work
FULFILLING OUR RESEARCH MANDATE 01.
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In the Faculty of Humanities and Education (FHE), Deputy Deans for Postgraduate Matters and for Marketing and Resource Mobilisation collaborated on an initiative, Towards a 21st century researcher-led Faculty of Humanities and Education, aimed at developing a model for collaborative, interdisciplinary research, and resource mobilisation. To this end, an on-line form was developed, which approximately 60% of staff completed, so that a Research Map could be compiled for the Faculty. To support its publication agenda, especially for early career researchers, faculty also collaborated on a Call for Authors and several activities for the respondents, including a series of writing workshops that were attended by some 18 staff members. The FHE also launched its inaugural Research Index of scholarly work, covering the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 academic years to increase access to, and enhance the visibility of the FHE’s scholarly work. To boost the research morale of the departments, the Office of the Dean in the Faculty of Science and Technology introduced a research award to recognize the department with the highest number of publications per capita for a given academic year. The Department of Geography and Geology received this award, having produced over 30 publications during the reviewed period (2021/2022). Notably, the Department took significant steps to enhance its research capabilities, including re-establishment of the Unit for Disaster Studies and the Marine Geology Unit.
in the FMS. This document is a resource and support mechanism for students pursuing Research Methods courses offered in the Faculty. Additionally, faculty members may find this document helpful in the course of their research programmes. This first edition of the research toolkit focuses on quantitative research procedures and outlines various stages of the research process, commencing at the critical Research Conceptualization Phase and culminating in the Research Publication Phase. This resource aims to simplify and clarify the research process across the various stages. It recognizes the translational science pathways, especially in relation to the multi-disciplinary nature of the training and research programmes in the FMS. From the ‘bench to the bedside’, the translational science principle supports applications for clinical research, clinical practice, and population health programming. This will provide a baseline guide for those at various stages in their research journey. This resource may also be informative for students, researchers, and staff members in other Faculties of the wider UWI. FMS also published the CARPHA Supplement for its Annual Conference during the 2022/2023 academic year. The journal resumed acceptance of new manuscripts, using online platforms, and continues to be very important for the FMS faculty, as many young researchers start their academic career and publishing through this journal. Collaborating with the Caribbean Institute of Health Research (CAIHR), the FMS re-established the Research Fellowships Programme to build research capacity in the Faculty.
Digitization to Build Research Capacity
To establish and maintain a Research Computing Capability, Mona Information and Technology Services (MITS) designed, implemented, and managed research computing to enable new areas of research including climate science , artificial intelligence and machine learning , renewable energy , material sciences , and biochemistry . This initiative sought to enable high impact academic research by providing advanced computing platforms, methods, and resources for faculty and research groups. MITS also provided the technical management and support of the SPARK High Performance Computing Cluster ( HPCC ) platform to drive research in several areas. This was funded through the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience ( PPCR ), a funding mechanism under the Climate Investment Funds ( CIF ) initiative for assisting developing countries to integrate climate resilience within their development planning and investment agendas. During the past few years, the use of HPPC at The UWI has been critical in developing many research projects, both fundamental and technological. Its use is also helping our students gain
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invaluable expertise in the field of computational physics. The Computational Material Sciences Group attributed support for an international collaboration with Taiyuan University of Technology and ten (10) peer-reviewed publications to computational work executed on the SPARK HPPC. Building on its history of enhancing the Campus’s research activity, the Library launched the Peter Abrahams Collection , and developed a Finding Aid that provides online access to the collection. The official launch of the collection highlighted the unique content, research value and opportunities for scholarship in areas that include media and communication practices in Jamaica and the Caribbean, African and Caribbean literature and writers, historical analysis of current affairs, political commentary, and racial inequalities.
by Dr Masami Ishida, Professor in the Department of International Development Studies at the Bioresource College at the Nihon University in Japan. • Partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Jamaica Office in hosting two lectures – one on Transformation of Global Heath Governance and Japan’s Role in it, delivered by Professor Kayo Takuma from Tokyo Metropolitan University, and the other, Educational Development in Modernization in Japan delivered by Dr Nobuko Kayashima, Senior Research Adviser at Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development of JICA. • Mona School of Business and Management initiated a partnership with the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) for final projects with graduate students. • Researchers within the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work finalized and validated a data appreciation tool for the UNFPA Data Appreciation Project. • Research Fellows at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) played a significant role: ° in the field of information and communication technologies in coordinating the publication of the proceedings of the AIS SIG GlobDev 2022 Workshop on ICTs and Global Development ; ° in the field of migration and development, participation in various events and working groups related to international migration and development , including attending stakeholder engagement sessions and stocktaking meetings organized by the International Organization for Migration, as well as participating in discussions on climate mobility and the 2023 World Development Report (Caribbean Background Paper on Migration); ° in the field of democracy research , serving as country experts for the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project, co-hosted by the University of Gothenburg and University of Notre Dame. The V-Dem project is a new approach to the conceptualization and measurement of democracy and is one of the largest social science research-oriented data collection programmes; ° in the field of criminal justice and corrections, serving as Technical Secretary and Chair of the Juvenile Working Group for The Bureau of Standards Jamaica’s Correctional Services Standards Technical Committee . Additionally, Fellows participated in webinars, meetings, and expert panels, such as the Howard League for Penal Reform and the International Corrections & Prisons Association Delphi Panel.
Partnerships and collaborations to increase research output
The Faculties increased and improved academic/industry research partnerships and collaborations through active engagements with various organizations and groups, among these, in the Faculty of Social Sciences: • The Department of Economics’ collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Sector to establish a Fiscal Research Centre/Institute within the Department of Economics with the GOJ’s promised endowment of $200,000,000. • The Department of Government’s Partnership with the Embassy of Japan in Jamaica to host two lectures – a lecture on the Free and Open International Cooperation ( FOIC ) Framework delivered by Mr So Umezaki, Director, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), and a lecture on Free and Open Indo-Pacific delivered
A Faculty of Social Sciences meeting with international partners
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• Collaboration with the SUNY-UWI Centre for Sustainable Leadership Development and the SUNY Global Health
Collaborating with the Office of Graduate Studies and Research (OGSR), UWI, Mona launched a year-long, free coaching programme at the Western Jamaica Campus, to ensure the completion and award of PhD theses. OGSR hosted its annual Getting Started Workshop for new research students. The workshop had approximately 55 students and six presenters joining via the Zoom Platform. The students were engaged in topics that covered getting started , all you should know about plagiarism , graduate regulations , tips for graduate schools , your supervisor and you and intellectual property. Graduate student progress tracking The throughput rates of our graduate students have been a source of concern despite the numerous efforts to improve these rates over the years. In AY 2022/2023 MITS Automated the workflow for graduate student to supervisor feedback and reporting . This facilitates: • Graduate students’ submissions of research progress reports • Supervisors’ reviews and comments for further action by the students, and • Oversight by the Graduate Studies Coordinator at the Department and Faculty levels.
Institute led to the 4th joint session of the SUNY-UWI Health Research Consortium and the SUNY Global Health Institute Workshop geared towards building research capacity through subgroups with specific interests. Collaboration between the two institutions continue to advance in AY 2022–2023.
Mechanisms to strengthen student research Initiatives
With leadership drawn from among postgraduate students across its departments, the Faculty of Humanities and Education (FHE) constituted an MPhil/PhD taskforce. Activities of the taskforce included a session titled, Sip and Write: The Literature Review; the launch of a new initiative – Ignite Sessions: Research in Progress – to create a space for research students to meet to offer peer support, critique, and share ideas; and creation of a WhatsApp group to facilitate communication among research students. The Faculty also introduced its first Postgraduate Networking Cocktail event.
Getting Started Workshop Programme
The Dean’s Office in the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) developed a Graduate Coordinator Reference Guide. This guide will serve as a valuable reference tool for Graduate Coordinators in the execution of their responsibilities. Research STATISTICS 2022/2023 RESEARCH DEGREE ENROLMENT MPHIL 2022/2023 314 PROFESSIONAL DOCTORATE ENROLMENT STUDENTS 2020/2021 58
EXTERNAL RESEARCH AWARDS – STAFF VALUE
CAMPUS RESEARCH AWARDS STUDENTS 2022/2023
41
2020/2021 $426M
VALUE 2021/2022 $1.6B
66
196
14
PHD 2022/2023
STAFF 2022/2023
STUDENTS 2021/2022
67
$18M
VALUE 2022/2023 $608M
67
VALUE 2022/2023
PROF DOCTORATE 2022/2023
STUDENTS 2022/2023
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prizes. Three Campuses (Mona, Cave Hill, and St Augustine) competed at The UWI Level for the coveted 3MT Trophy, cash awards and gift certificates. UWI, Mona capped both the first prize and the prize for research output of Library staff. Sponsorship for the prizes and awards came from industry partners.
Post-graduate research courses
Strategic initiatives aimed at driving the Campus’s research agenda were evident in new post-graduate courses, among them: • The Faculty of Science and Technology’s Faculty-wide research methods course titled, Research Method for the Sciences, approved for implementation in September 2024. The course will be a requirement for all new graduate students. • The School of Education’s change of the nomenclature of the MPhil/PhD in Curriculum Development to MPhil/PhD in Curriculum Instruction .
RESEARCH OUTPUT’S ALIGNMENT WITH DEVELOPMENT NEEDS
The research output of the UWI, Mona continues to demonstrate our university’s commitment to addressing pressing development issues in all sectors of our national and regional economies. In the review year, the Faculty of Medical Sciences produced some 211 refereed journal articles, made 208 research presentations at conferences and scientific meetings, published a book and seven book chapters, and submitted 17 technical reports to advance knowledge in medicine. And, contributing to the development of Sports, the most recently established University Faculty of Sport (FSP) published three peer-reviewed articles and more than 40 articles in two leading regional newspaper columns, Sport Matters and Sport Pulse , in the Trinidad Guardian and the Jamaica Gleaner , respectively. A significant accomplishment for the Department of Geography and Geology was getting the Late Cretaceous Rudist Bivalves of the Caribbean Province, Jamaica listed 38th among the First 100 International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) Heritage Sites. More than 250 specialists from 40 nations and ten international organisations participated in the collaborative process of selecting The FIRST100 IUGS sites. The IUG listing comprises geological sites from around the world that are iconic and recognized by the global geoscience community as a reference for their impact in understanding the Earth and its history. The Jamaican site is in the Rio Minho watershed of Clarendon and is the most diverse and thickest limestone succession with abundant rudist bivalves within the Caribbean Faunal Province. The first 100 International IUGS heritage sites are based on scientific classification derived from their geology. Jamaica’s site is within the sites classified under Paleontology. The nomination was prepared by Professor Simon Mitchell (Former Head, Department of Geography and Geology) and Dr Sherene James- Williamson (Head, Department of Geography and Geology). Dr James-Williamson presented the Jamaican site “to the world” at the IUGS Conference hosted in October 2022 in Zumaia (Basque Coast UNESCO Global Geopark), home of one of the most impressive stratigraphic outcrops on earth in Spain.
Communication Improvement efforts
The Mona Library collaborated with the Office of Graduate Studies and Research, EBSCO Information Services, and Pramoneng Engineering for the third year in a row to successfully host The Three Minute Thesis ( 3MT ) Competition: The UWI 75th Anniversary Edition . The 3MT competition is an international programme which challenges the research-degree student to effectively explain their dissertation/thesis and its significance to a non-specialist audience in three minutes. The aim is to increase researchers’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. In addition to the opportunities to promote their research project to a wider community and the academic benefits, the competitors benefited from awards and monetary
The 3MT Advertisement 2023
Ms Allison Facey, winner (front), left to right , Mrs Pauline Nicholas (Librarian), Professor Marcia Roye (Director, GRS), Professor Dale Webber (Principal) and Mrs Jessica Lewis Marshall (Deputy Campus Librarian)
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Further, in the Faculty of Science and Technology, the Earthquake Unit recorded a total of 407 seismic events between August 2022 and July 2023. This included 164 local earthquakes, 91 near-region events, 80 regional events, 48 distant events, and 24 blasts. And the year witnessed ongoing planning efforts toward the establishment of the Caribbean Centre for Research in Bioscience (CCRiB). This Centre will result from the merger of the Natural Products Institute (NPI), the Mona Institute of Applied Sciences (MIAS), the Biotechnology Centre, and the Pesticide Research Lab, and is set to be formally institutionalized in October 2023. At the International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences (ICENS) the academic year saw the continuation of projects aligned with Jamaica’s Vision 2030 and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Specifically, the national IAEA project, JAM5014 – Establishing a Self-Contained Gamma Irradiation Facility for the Introduction of Sterile Insect Technique and Experimental Mutagenesis and Diagnostic Technologies , addresses Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)#3, Good Health and Well-Being , targeting 3.3.3 and 3.3.5 which, according to the
WHO’s Keeping the Vector Out document includes vector-borne diseases such as Chagas disease, leishmaniosis, dengue, Zika and chikungunya. The crop mutagenesis component of the project addresses SDG #2 Zero Hunger , thereby targeting 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5 as well as 2.a. The work of the Paint and Surface Coatings Technical Committee of ICENS also continued to address the mitigation of lead hazard during the review year. This aligns with National Goals 1 and 4 of Vision 2030 . This is also the case with Jamaica’s representation at the Minamata Convention on Mercury where ICENS participated at The Group of Technical Experts on Mercury Thresholds meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. ICENS’s research into the feasibility of nuclear power in Jamaica, specifically as it relates to Small Modular Reactors ( SMR ), aligns with Vision 2030 goal #3 and with national outcome 10: Energy Security and Efficiency . The ICENS generates income through grant funding from several projects either entirely administered by the Centre or where the institute is the lead or participating organization representing the member state. These projects include:
Signing off on the delivery of the Gamma Irradiator. Standing from L–R: Dr Charah Watson and Dr Ryan Francis of the Scientific Research Council, Mrs Sherine Huntley-Jones of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Mr Saul Perez, Section Head, Division of Technical Cooperation for Latin American and the Caribbean (IAEA), Mr Dineth Dissanayake, Procurement Officer, Department of Management (IAEA). Seated, Ms Eunice Bepura, Acting Director, Procurement Services (IAEA), and Professor Charles Grant, Director General, ICENS.
Head of the Nuclear Analytical Laboratory at the International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences (ICENS), Johann Antoine (centre) , explains the features of the nuclear reactor at the facility. Listening (from left) are Principal Director, Science Portfolio, Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr Natwaine Gardner; Director General, ICENS and Professor of Applied Nuclear Sciences, Professor Charles Grant; Chairman of ICENS, Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr; and ICENS Reactor Engineer, Assistant Research Scientist, Haile Dennis. The occasion was an Open Day and Media Tour of ICENS.
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• CRP D52042 – Implementation of Nuclear Techniques for Authentication of Foods with High-Value Labelling Claims , running from March 2019 to March 2024 and earmarked to receive total funding of €35,000. • JAM1001 – Upgrade of Reactor Infrastructure at the University of West Indies SLOWPOKE Facility JM-1 – which has been ongoing since January 2016. The budget for this project is €810,000.00. • JAM5014 – Establishing a Self-Contained Gamma Irradiation Facility for the Introduction of Sterile Insect Technique and Experimental Mutagenesis and Diagnostic Technologies , a national project approved in January 2020 with an initial budget of €750,000.00. • RLA1022 – Improving the Satisfaction of Regional Demand for Products and Services of Nuclear Research Reactors (ARCAL CLXXX) with an IAEA budget allocation to date for this regional project of €625,525.00. • RLA5089 – Evaluating the Impact wof Heavy Metals and other Pollutants on Soils Contaminated by Anthropogenic Activities and Natural Origin (ARCAL CLXXVII) commenced in 2022 with a total budget of €1,393,800.00. • RLA9087 – Building Strength and Sustaining the National Regulatory Bodies which began in January 2020 with a closing date in December 2023. In the Faculty of Social Sciences, Dr Ruth Baker-Gardner’s book, Academic Integrity in the Caribbean: Plagiarism Policies, Perception, Prevalence and Possible Solutions (UWI Press), published in December 2022, was thrown into the spotlight as ChatGPT became publicly available early in 2023, causing both excitement and concern. In an indirect way, the research output of The University directly serves the nation and region through its faculty’s strong public service engagements and leadership in industry, government, and social policy. In the Faculty of Social Sciences alone, 64 faculty and staff members reported serving on approximately 194 boards, committees, and technical working groups.
Representation included the public sector, private sector, non- UWI scholarly/professional associations/entities or civil society/ NGO/Other. In an indirect way, the research output of The University directly serves the nation and region through its faculty’s strong public service engagements and leadership in industry, government, and social policy.
23 UWI MONA ANNUAL REPORT 2022/2023 The research output of the UWI, Mona continues to demonstrate our university’s commitment to addressing pressing development issues in all sectors of our national and regional economies.
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T here was consistent decline in student registration numbers, undoubtedly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, during the five-year period, AY 2018/2019– 2022/2023. We recorded 16,338 in total student enrolment in the review year, the first year of WHO’s declaration of the end of the Pandemic, down from 19,599 in 2018/2019. Therefore, with the resumption of in-person operations, our focus was to implement strategies to revive the declining admission numbers, improve student experience, support those remaining to stay engaged, enhance staff welfare, and restore campus infrastructure to full functionality for in-person engagement. To address declining student registration numbers, the Office of the Campus Registrar rolled out an extensive social media campaign to reach prospects we would not otherwise have reached through the traditional school visits. This resulted in a 23.5% increase in applicants and a 14% increase in new undergraduate student enrolment over the 2021/2022 academic year. The gender disparity on the Mona Campus is evident, as female registrants continue to outpace male registrants. Between the 2020/2021 and 2022/2023 academic years, the female to male ratio at the Mona Campus was ~ 2:1. The exception is in the Faculty of Science and Technology where the female to male ratio is 1:1, in the smaller Faculties of Engineering (1:4) and Sport (1:2) where the ratio, as is expected, skewed towards the male population. In the larger Faculties of Humanities & Education (3:1), Social Sciences (2:1), and Medical Sciences (2:1) the opposite is true where female to male ratio is skewed towards the female population. This is most prominent in the 4:1 ratio for the Institute for Gender & Development Studies.
The gender disparity on the Mona Campus is evident, as female registrants continue to outpace male registrants. Between the 2020/2021 and 2022/2023 academic years, the female to male ratio at the Mona Campus was ~ 2:1
STRENGTHENING TEACHING AND LEARNING 02.
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STUDENT STATISTICS 2022/2023
STUDENT STATISTICS 2022/2023
Enrolment at the Mona Western Jamaica Campus Faculty 2020/2021
Total Enrolment by Faculty Faculty/Institute
2021/2022
2022/2023
2020/2021
2021/2022
2022/2023
Humanities & Education
62
51
26
Engineering
331
322
305
Medical Sciences
100
102
102
Gender & Development Studies
93
76
46
Science & Technology
24
25
21
Humanities & Education
2,591
2,446
2,143
Social Sciences
679 865
579 757
464 613
Law
701
604
584
Total
Medical Sciences
4,261 3,179 7,785
4,185 3,004 7,113
4,129 2,875 6,153
Science & Technology
Graduate student enrolment at the Mona Campus by degree type as of June 13, 2022 Degree Total 2020/2021 Total 2021/2022
Social Sciences
Total 2022/2023
Sport Total
111
115
103
Taught MSc/MA
2379
2493
2248
19,052
17,865
16,338
LLM
16
21
22
M.Phil.
336 501
328 507
314 501 147 122 196
Total Enrolment by Programme
DM
Programme
2020/2021
2021/2022
2022/2023
Specially Admitted/Qualifying
92
65
Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma Undergraduate Certificate/Diploma
139
198
135
DIPG Ph.D. EDD Drph
126 195
119 217
39
19
77
First Degree Higher Degree
15,083
13,803
12,474
0
1
6
3,540
3,608
3,310
31 18 11
38 19
32 22
Higher Degree % of total
(18.6% of total)
(20.2% of total)
(20.3% of total)
DBA
Specially Admitted*
251
237
342
Clinical Fellowship
8
9
Total
19,052
17,865
16,338
Total
3,714
3,816
3.619
*Special admittance includes preliminary year Science students
Registration trend of new graduate students 2021–2023 Faculty 2020/2021
Total Enrolment by Delivery Mode Delivery Mode
2021/2022
2022/2023
2020/2021
2021/2022
2022/2023
Gender & Development Studies
7
8
5
Face to Face
17,734
16,358
14,812
Humanities & Education
459
466
325
Online/Distance
552 766
755 752
747 779
Law
31
28
34
Tertiary Level & Affiliated Institutions
Medical Sciences
224
279
203
Total
19,052
17,865
16,338
Science and Technology
88
73
93
Social Sciences
519
502
412
Number of Students with Disabilities* by Faculty Faculty/Institute 2020/2021
Sport
13
12
9 7
2021/2022
2022/2023
Engineering
0
6
Engineering
5 3
8 2
12
Total
1,341
1,374
1,088
Gender & Development Studies
1
Humanities & Education
43 10 31 48
42
52 13 57 62
New Graduate Students Registration June 2020/June 2023
First Year Student Retention Rate of First Degree Entrants
Law
9
Medical Sciences
36 46
76.2% 2022/2023 85.5%
Science & Technology
1,374
Social Sciences
107
103
132
1,088
1,341
Sport Total
0
1
0
77.3%
247
247
329
2021/2022
*Reported Medical Condition
2022/2023
2020/2021
2021/2022
2020/2021
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26 UWI MONA ANNUAL REPORT 2022/2023
Enhanced Course Experience Review The Planning Unit of the Office of the Deputy Principal, in conjunction with MITS, successfully improved access to the Course Experience Review ( CER ) for students. This enhancement was achieved through the integration of Qualtrics with the UWI Moodle platform, OurVLE. Prior to this integration, students were limited to accessing their course experience reviews solely through links sent to their email addresses. With the integration, students now have the option to access all their course experience reviews directly within OurVLE. This dual access approach provides students with increased convenience and flexibility in retrieving their course feedback. Increased accessibility has encouraged more students to engage in the feedback process, leading to a more comprehensive and representative understanding of their academic experiences. Online delivery of courses augmenting in-person (face-to-face) mode Prior to the pandemic, less than thirty (30) percent of courses had the benefit of some online content and electronic learning resources supporting the in-person delivery. The pandemic necessitated the use of both synchronous and asynchronous online delivery modes (and assessment) of the full content of all courses. This capability provided students with an expanded, anywhere, anytime learning experience across all courses. Survey findings indicated that students significantly benefitted from this enhancement. Upgrading multimedia-enabled teaching spaces The Campus established a budget of $J24M to assist in making all technology-enabled lecture theatres and other teaching spaces fit for purpose and operable for in-person teaching and learning. MITS completed the critical works for all teaching spaces on schedule, implemented additional technical infrastructure, and maintained and managed all teaching spaces throughout the academic year.
INCREASED DIGITIZATION OF CAMPUS OPERATIONS Digitization of the Campus’s operations, specifically, the use of digital technology and business process re-engineering (and digital data) to drive innovations and improvements in operational efficiency and the customer experience was a priority in the resumption of in-person operations. To this end, Mona Information Technology Services (MITS) rolled out: • Banner 9 Registration Online Portal – to improve the student registration experience; • Electronic Timetabling System (ETS) – to increase the efficiency of scheduling courses and teaching spaces; and • VMC Process Automation (Automation of the workflow and the approval process of the Vacancy Monitoring Committee (VMC)). This includes: ° Online submissions of applications to the VMC ° Tracking the status of the application and approval process ° Access to real-time student registration, faculty teaching load and staff cost data to inform VMC decision-making. MITS collaborated with Faculties to promote and maintain rich course content, electronic learning resources, online activities, and engagement via the Campus learning management system. This provided and expanded a blended delivery modality, enhancing and improving the quality of in-person (face-to-face) teaching and learning. Further, MITS expanded the services offered to online clients, providing greater opportunities for them to reach the Campus anywhere, at any time. This resulted in an increase in the uptake of virtual programmes. Online delivery of courses augmenting in-person (face-to-face) mode Semester I Course Containers Semester II Course Containers Year 2022/2023 1,480 2,035 Year 2021/2022 1,916 2,227 Year 2020/2021 1,842 2,049
MITS collaborated with Faculties to promote and maintain rich course content, electronic learning resources, online activities, and engagement via the Campus learning management system.
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ENHANCED LIBRARY SERVICES
Number of Multimedia Teaching Spaces Reviewed
Number Spaces requiring technical works to make ready for Semester I 2022–23
Area
Quality (LibQUAL) Survey
Faculty Social Sciences Faculty Medical Sciences Faculty Humanities and Education
38 45
7 8
The Library, the hub of any university, to improve its service quality conducted a survey to ascertain students’ satisfaction with its services. On average, respondents indicated that the library provides satisfactory services, and that the staff are generally knowledgeable and courteous. Of note, the audit brought to the fore the need for better infrastructure including electrical ports, chairs, and spaces for collaborative and individual study.
11
6
Faculty Engineering Faculty Science and Technology
4
3
18
10
Faculty Law
7 6
4 4
Western Jamaica Campus
Total
129
42
LIBRARY QUALITY (LIBQUAL) SURVEY
The table above indicates the number of teaching spaces reviewed and tested and where MITS implemented technical works and multimedia.
Curriculum Advising Planning Programme (CAPP)
To manage and execute the student advising process more efficiently, the Office of the Campus Registrar, through the Registry Information Systems unit, rolled out the Curriculum Advising Planning Programme ( CAPP ) tool in the Faculty of Science & Technology (FST). CAPP was piloted in the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) in the previous year and proved to be an effective tool in monitoring and reporting on student progression throughout their course of study. Further it enables the Faculties to provide academic advice and declare degrees more easily.
Student Assistant administering the survey
First Place Winner: Shane Curri
Second Place Winner: Kimberly McKenzie
The Library delivered 192 Information Literacy (IL) sessions to some 3,738 undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Increased digitization of the library collection
In AY 2022/2023, the library scanned some 33,567 pages and 466 items consisting of short-run periodicals, items from the West Indies and Special Collections, and exam past papers. In addition, the Peter Abrahams Collection , and approximately 70% of the P.J. Patterson Speeches , were uploaded to the library’s digital collections. To support its digitalization agenda, the Library delivered 192 Information Literacy (IL) sessions to some 3,738 undergraduate and postgraduate students.
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