ALIGNMENT with INDUSTRY
Alignment strengthens the innovation capacity and provides practical, integrated solutions to the multi-dimensional development challenges faced by regional economies. Even more, it creates higher levels of growth through entrepreneurial activity. One feeds the other. Commercialisation of the University’s research is being energetically pursued as part of the strategy to establish an I&E ecosystem by creating relevant value-added relationships with alumni and wealth generators, and collaborating with governmental, non-governmental, entrepreneurial and international partners to ensure that the University’s offerings fulfil the needs of all the communities that it was established to serve. The UWI’s campuses have embarked on a central mission: create a Caribbean-focussed entrepreneurial ecosystem with an effective pipeline that transforms ideation to product.
Strategic Objective ALIGNMENT Increase and improve academic/industry research partnerships
TAKING RESEARCH into the COMMERCIAL SPACE The regional University is moving the excellence of its research into the commercial space and each faculty and department at each campus has a remit to “spin off” companies to take their research to market. Exploitation of these Intellectual Property (IP) assets is critical to international competitiveness, and to the growth of a sustainable future economy. Pro Vice-Chancellor, Graduate Studies and Research, Professor Stephan Gift notes that the establishment of an entrepreneurial committee structure across the campuses has progressed extremely well. “Staff and students display open enthusiasm about the prospects ahead regarding the generation, patenting, and commercialisation of intellectual property in all aspects of human creativity. The UWI has indeed entered a wonderful and exciting phase of its development.” Professor Gift leads an Entrepreneurial Steering Committee, coordinating the building of an entrepreneurial eco-system university-wide. At the campus level, Campus Entrepreneurial Committees support the framework and treat relevant nuances and issues in their respective territories. Further, in each faculty, on every campus, there are staff/student Faculty Entrepreneurial
Committees which explore and implement plans and programmes that promote Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
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