UWI REVAMP

CAVE Hill Campus is  in for a “complete” overhaul, which could include closure of some systems and departments.Principal Sir Hilary Beckles announced the plan yesterday, saying it was to make the institution more relevant to 21st century educational needs.The changes would see the University of the West Indies (UWI) developing programmes in medical technology and creating institutes for digital application.“We are now planning, as we speak, to restructure the university completely in the next two years,” the UWI Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal told business leaders in the UWI’s CARICOM Research Building.“We’ve gone through all of our departments and faculties one by one. We’ve stripped them down, looked at them . . . .” The departments of computer science, physics and electronics, which fall under the Faculty of Science, will be affected by the changes.“This is the digital age, and therefore computer science and physics and electronics must get together and form an institute for digital design and digital application  and transform those disciplines, spin out industries out  of the application  of those disciplines,”  Sir Hilary said.“So we are going to put them together, close down some of the old systems, departments, and create institutes for digital application, so that that knowledge we have in computer science and physics can now serve the private sector in terms of the application of that knowledge to industrial development.”Sir Hilary said the campus was looking for a professor of digital application.“We are combining medicine with electronics,” he added. “We are going  to develop programmes  in medical technology. We’re not just going to use medical knowledge  to create doctors. “They’re going  to spin that knowledge through physics, through electronics to create medical technology  and medical technology applications.” (TY)