A global village

A hub of teaching, research and public debate, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has always been far more than a mere place of employment for Hilary Beckles. For him, the university has long enabled conversations about independence, modernization, regional integration and the future of the Caribbean.

“I became addicted to UWI because it was much more than an academic institution,” he tells The CEO Magazine. “It was an engine of intellectual enlightenment.”

Beckles’ own journey had already been shaped by migration. His parents were part of the Windrush Generation – the thousands of West Indian workers invited to Britain after World War II to help rebuild the country. He joined them a decade later, leaving Barbados at the age of three and reuniting with his family in Birmingham as a teenager.

With the late 1970s a period of major social change, as a young activist, Beckles had considered spending time in Africa to better understand the continent’s post-colonial journey. But a simultaneous pull back to the Caribbean won out and he applied for a one-year position at The University of the West Indies in Jamaica.

Although he expected it to be a brief return before continuing his academic career in Britain, that one-year contract became 47 years.

“When I got here, I was so impressed with the enthusiasm about development, about decolonization, about social justice,” Beckles says.

He became fascinated by the challenge of building post-colonial economies and finding a way to balance economic growth with fairness.

“I figured there has to be a way to spread the wealth in a growth context.”

The activist university

Passionate about leaving a legacy of monographs and literature for future generations, Beckles threw himself into academic life, rising over the course of four decades to the role of Vice-Chancellor.

But unlike his counterparts at other universities, the remit is far broader, for he has the unique responsibility of having to report to 17 heads of state to ensure the voices of multiple Caribbean nations are reflected across the university’s councils and faculties.

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“The future of the Caribbean will be shaped by the institutions that invest in our people. GraceKennedy is proud to partner with The University of the West Indies to unlock our region’s potential. Together, we are connecting academic excellence with real-world opportunity to develop the talent, leadership and innovation needed to build a stronger, more resilient Caribbean.” – Frank James, Group CEO, GraceKennedy

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When he took on the position 11 years ago, faced with the task of creating a new strategic plan, he began by identifying the most significant issues facing the Caribbean. At the top of the list was economic development and modernization, followed by public health, food security, regional integration and the need to define a global identity for the region. As a public university, Beckles believed UWI’s focus had to remain squarely on the greater good.

“This is not a private for-profit university, this is a public university committed to the public good,” he explains.

A major part of this mission centered around changing perceptions of the Caribbean itself. While islands are often considered isolated, he argued that the region has always been global. From the arrival of Columbus, through the movement of people from Africa, Asia and Europe, the Caribbean had become “the world’s first global village.”

By embracing that identity, UWI has the power to prepare students for a global future, according to Beckles. A crucial step in line with this has been introducing non-English languages into the curriculum, with a policy that no student graduates without proficiency in another language, including Spanish, French, Dutch, Mandarin and Hindi.

“It wasn’t just about a theoretical idea, it was activism to implement precisely what is in our strategic plan,” he says.

This vision led to the adoption of the title of ‘activist university.’ Instead of simply discussing challenges, UWI acts on them. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) sit at the heart of this approach, spanning issues that include climate change, public health, food security, poverty reduction and gender justice.

Through its newly launched International School for Development Justice, the university has therefore positioned itself as the SDG University of the world, offering graduate programs across all 17 goals.

“Activism in this context really means that we don’t just talk about it. We talk about it, we theorize it, we have consensus and then we put programs in place to support these objectives,” Beckles stresses.

A revenue revolution

Decades of economic stagnation across the Caribbean have taken their toll on public investment, meaning UWI has had to adapt. Although historically, the 17 Caribbean governments had funded 90 percent of the university’s operating budget, today, that figure has plummeted to 48 percent.

“We had to learn the art of doing more with less,” Beckles says.

Embracing entrepreneurship is one such approach, with Beckles thinking of ways to tap into the university’s research, expertise and intellectual assets. The result? New revenue streams that also tap into and enhance the institution’s research and education programs. These range from an in-house television station to a dark chocolate brand. A diabetic drink is also on the cards.

“We are tackling this issue of alignment the best we can so as to create that platform of synergy between the university and the corporate community,” he explains.

“I am required to report all of my activity to the Council, which is equivalent to a Board of Directors. It’s like a corporation in that regard. The CEO reports to a board and the chairman of the board seeks to approve or not approve any initiative that is not properly funded or the revenue streams are not secured.

“So we have to persuade the board that these initiatives will succeed and to give us their blessing.”

With the help of this funding and partnerships with finance firms like Grace Kennedy Group, UWI has built its global reputation, achieving recognition among the world’s leading universities. It now ranks in the top 3.6 percent globally. But Beckles insists success must not come at the expense of access.

“We are now an elite university, but we cannot become an elitist university because we are here for the people,” he insists.

The next challenge is turning that reputation into impact by expanding that access further, commercializing knowledge and using the university’s expertise in areas such as climate change and sustainable development to serve both the Caribbean and the world.

“I’m not a traditional president who has a job to manage an institution,” Beckles says. “I’m managing a public institution at the center of the Caribbean civilization.”