A group of twenty-six students from The University of the West Indies (The UWI) recently completed the China component of a 2+2 Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering with a concentration in mobile application technologies. The group which spent the past two years studying at the Global Institute of Software Technology (GIST) in Suzhou, China is the inaugural class of The UWI- China Institute of Information Technology (UWI-CIIT).

Four years ago, The UWI established the UWI-CIIT, with a mission to produce a generation of software engineers for the Caribbean, to support the region’s much needed digital revolution. The Caribbean students spent their first two years of study at The UWI’s Cave Hill or Mona campuses, then continued their final two years at GIST. They began their journey in China in 2018 and benefitted from state-of-the-art software engineering training and research and development, studied mandarin, immersed in Chinese culture and pursued industry-related internships in with international clients in Suzhou, Italy and more.

Despite graduation ceremonies being cancelled this year at GIST, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Institute’s leadership hosted a modest event last month to mark the significance of the milestone for this first cohort. A dozen of the UWI-CIIT students of this first cohort who are currently still in China were in attendance, along with lecturers, administrative staff, the leadership of GIST and The UWI’s Assistant Registrar based in China.

In a video message to the graduates, Vice-Chancellor of The UWI, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, who championed the establishment of this unique programme, expressed his pride in the occasion. “This is a wonderful moment of historical celebration.” He said to the students, “You have been ambassadors and leaders of this programme and you have done very well. In the Caribbean at The University of the West Indies, and I am sure at GIST, we are very proud of what you have done.”

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