Biotechnology emerged as a "powerful tool" toward the development of all aspects of human life around the world. Realizing the role which Biotechnology had to play in the national and regional development, the University of the West Indies took a lead role in establishing the Biotechnology Centre at the Mona Campus.

The Biotechnology Centre was financed by a grant from the European Communities. It was opened in 1989 with the mandate for teaching and training in order to encourage biotechnology-based enterprises. The Centre, which has maintained a high standard of training and research facilities, is a unit that registers only postgraduates intending to pursue the M Phil or Ph D for the award of a degree in Biotechnology.

Our graduates can be found locally and internationally. Apart from the University of the West Indies and other local Universities, graduates have taken up senior positions in organizations such as J Wray and Nephew, the Scientific Research Council, The St. Judes Hospital in Tennessee, USA, The University of Belize, Cambridge University, UK, and the Concordia University in Canada, just to name a few.