New Sports Program at UWI Five Islands Campus Aims to Elevate Caribbean Athletes
The University of the West Indies (UWI) Five Islands Campus has launched a suite of new sports degree programmes designed to strengthen athlete development across the Eastern Caribbean and address the underrepresentation of male students in higher education.
The Academy of Sport—established as part of UWI’s regional Faculty of Sport—now offers four academic programmes at the Five Islands Campus, focusing on areas such as coaching, sport science, and sport management.
These offerings aim to upskill coaches, physical education teachers, and aspiring sports professionals, while also contributing to national and regional talent development.
“We want to help raise the quality of sports across the region from the ground up,” said Professor Justin Robinson, campus principal. “That means not only improving athletic performance but also creating a pipeline of trained professionals who understand the science behind sport.”
The initiative comes at a time when concerns have grown about the quality of athletic training and opportunities available to Caribbean athletes competing on the international stage.
By offering accredited programmes in the Eastern Caribbean—many of which can be completed through blended delivery—UWI Five Islands hopes to make advanced training more accessible to those already working in the field.
One of the university’s broader objectives is to increase male enrollment, which currently accounts for less than 25% of the student body.
The new sports programmes are expected to attract more young men, many of whom are passionate about athletics but may not have previously considered university education as part of their path.
“We’re not looking to reduce the number of female students,” Robinson noted. “We want to raise the number of males, and sport provides an important entry point for that.”
Education Minister Daryll Matthew, who also holds the portfolio for sport, welcomed the development and emphasized the government’s support for strengthening the island’s athletic framework through education.
He expressed optimism that the programmes will produce a new generation of trained coaches, therapists, and sport administrators capable of supporting local and regional athletes to higher levels of achievement.
Looking ahead, the university plans to roll out a flexible delivery model similar to its criminology programme, allowing PE teachers and coaches in the wider OECS to pursue sports degrees without having to leave their home countries.
“This is about regional impact,” Robinson said. “We want to raise the level of sport across the Caribbean and make Five Islands the go-to hub for training and research in the field.”
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Nice!!! UWI Stepping up
Is the programme only for “young men” or can young lady take part as well?
This a really good investment because the Caribbean is filled with talented individuals. Great Job!
Can someone apply for this programme already?
Is UWI watering down its programme’s or is it just after a dollar in any and every way?
I am surenthat UWI is offering more than a hundred different courses of study already.
Would it not have been better to get on track, stop riding on the coat tail of the itger campuses and then expand it’s offering?
Right now what i see is UWI just selling programs.
How far can some of its programme’s take one?
Who are the professors and what are their credentials?
Some of them have never been known.
I have never heard if some of those courses in the other campuses which have been there since my eyes were at my knees.
UWI Makenzie you have it right!!!!!!!!