University of the West Indies Launches New Research Forum and Website for Public Access to Projects and Data

The University of the West Indies (UWI) has launched a new website and research forum to expand public access to its extensive research data and projects.

During the official launch of the website, https://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/research/impact, at the Cave Hill Campus on Thursday, Professor Clive Landis, Principal of UWI Cave Hill, described the digital platform as a hub where the public, industry stakeholders, and policymakers can explore research conducted by Cave Hill scholars. The initiative aligns with UWI’s commitment to enhancing research accessibility and fostering deeper community engagement.

“We want our research to be relevant to the needs of society, and what Cavehill Impact, the website, does is that it has collated about 60 of our research projects, and shows how they are shaping society and Barbados, and how they are helping to drive innovation in the country and economic development,” he said.

“We want to publicise all of our research. We think it’s important for a public university to communicate with the public, so that the public knows what’s happening without research.”

Professor Landis also highlighted UWI’s success in making research publicly available while generating economic value. He cited the West Indies Legislative Index Project.

“Under the direction of Junior Browne, the law librarian, we have created the West Indies Legislative Index Project, which is every single law, in every Caribbean country ever written, and it’s all in one place,” the principal said. “People pay for this…. We’ve put it on the same platform upon which the CariLaw Review exists, and the law library is making nearly $1 million a year from subscriptions from all over the world. That is exporting intellectual property.” (SB)