The University of the West Indies (The UWI) in partnership with CaribVision, the regional cable service of the Caribbean Media Corporation and the RJR Group in Jamaica have launched UWI-TV, a new multimedia public information and education service.

UWI-TV went live on December 1, 2016 — initially for three hours per day — and offers a variety of programmes showcasing the scholarship and varied public events and activities that take place at the university daily.

The partnership with CaribVision will deliver UWI content to millions of viewers in 22 Caribbean country markets as well as the large Caribbean diaspora communities in New York, Toronto, Montreal, London and Europe. UWI-TV’s cable service will be complemented by a robust web and social presence, allowing users to view programmes in real time or on demand.

“We are now in a new phase of television,” said UWI Vice Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles.

“Technology has enabled us to view programming on a variety of platforms. It has compelled us to create programming more quickly and more efficiently. The UWI has decided to use the opportunity that these new technologies offer, to share ideas, to dig deeper, think broader, reach higher for our understanding of our region and our world, to forge ahead with a pantheon of ideas. For us, the medium is the message.”

TheUWI-TV initiative forms part of the Triple A Vision outlined in the university’s new strategic direction: alignment between industry and academia for wealth creation and distribution; expansion of access to tertiary education and increased agility to global opportunities.