On May 28, 2026, two leading Caribbean regional institutions — the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) — took a landmark step to deepen their decades-long collaborative relationship, signing a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management, located on UWI’s Cave Hill Campus in Barbados.
The new agreement codifies a strategic shift in the partnership, moving beyond the ad hoc cooperation that has defined the two organizations’ work for years to a structured, long-term framework aligned with the Caribbean’s most pressing digital priorities. Both institutions were founded to advance the collective interests of Caribbean nations, and the MoU reflects their shared commitment to more deliberate, coordinated action on digital development, regulatory policy, and regional digital resilience.
Under the terms of the partnership, the two organizations will work together across a broad portfolio of focus areas, including digital policy design and regulatory frameworks, evidence-based research to inform decision-making, workforce and institutional capacity building, multi-stakeholder engagement, policy advocacy, joint resource mobilization, and turning high-level regional digital strategies into tangible, on-the-ground implementation. The agreement builds on a long history of successful collaboration: UWI’s world-class academic expertise has already supported multiple CTU-led policy development and capacity building initiatives, including recent work on artificial intelligence governance and regional digital policy harmonization.
CTU Secretary-General Rodney Taylor emphasized the unique value of the combined strengths brought to the partnership. “This partnership brings together The UWI’s academic excellence and the CTU’s regional policy leadership to strengthen digital transformation across the Caribbean,” Taylor explained. “As we navigate emerging issues such as artificial intelligence, data governance, cybersecurity, and digital resilience, this collaboration will help ensure that the region not only responds to global developments but actively shapes them. Most importantly, this MoU moves us from dialogue to action, delivering tangible outcomes that advance sustainable development and benefit Caribbean people.”
The signing comes at a pivotal juncture for the Caribbean, where digital transformation has emerged as a core driver of economic growth, improved public service delivery, enhanced climate resilience, and regional global competitiveness. By aligning UWI’s deep pool of regional academic expertise with CTU’s established policy leadership across the Caribbean, the partnership aims to ensure that the benefits of digital transformation are shared inclusively and advance long-term sustainable development for all Caribbean people.
As a regional university with a physical presence across five campuses spanning the Caribbean — Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda, and its distributed Global Campus — UWI holds a unique position to support CTU’s mandate through cutting-edge research, specialized training, evidence-based policy support, and global stakeholder engagement. The MoU formalizes the transition from occasional, project-based cooperation to a forward-looking strategic alliance designed to proactively shape the evolving global digital landscape, rather than merely react to external changes.
Work on implementation began immediately following the signing, with four clear initial priorities already outlined. First, the partners will co-host a regional Artificial Intelligence Forum in Trinidad, scheduled for July 23–24, 2026. Second, they will advance work on regional digital governance and policy harmonization during CTU ICT Week 2026, set to take place September 20–24 in French Guiana. Third, the partnership will support the operational launch of UWI’s new Institute for Intelligent Systems, Governance and Human-Centred Technology (INSIGHT). Fourth, the alliance will address unmet regional capacity development needs through the UWI–ITU Academy Training Centre, UWI’s existing collaborative initiative with the International Telecommunication Union. These early action items make clear that the partnership is moving directly from agreement to delivery, with all work anchored in shared regional priorities and a focus on measurable outcomes.
For additional media inquiries, contact Lois St Brice at the UWI Office of Global Affairs.
Notes to editors: Accompanying photos are available with the following captions:
– Image 769A6138: Ms. Sandrea Maynard, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Affairs, The University of the West Indies and Mr. Rodney Taylor, Secretary-General, Caribbean Telecommunications Union
– Image 769A6140: Ms. Sandrea Maynard, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Affairs, The University of the West Indies and Mr. Rodney Taylor, Secretary-General, Caribbean Telecommunications Union
– Image 769A6147: Mr. Rodney Lewis, Business Development Specialist, Caribbean Telecommunications Union; Ms. Sandrea Maynard, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Affairs, The University of the West Indies; Mr. Rodney Taylor, Secretary-General, Caribbean Telecommunications Union; and Professor Clive Landis, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus
### About the University of the West Indies
For more than 75 years, UWI has been a cornerstone of Caribbean development, focused on advancing the well-being of all people across the region. Founded in 1948 as a small university college of the University of London in Jamaica with just 33 medical students, UWI has grown into an internationally respected global higher education institution serving nearly 50,000 students across five campuses and multiple international partnership centers across North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.
UWI offers more than 1,000 certificate, diploma, undergraduate, and postgraduate programs spanning a wide range of fields, from the arts, agriculture, engineering, education, and law to medical sciences, technology, social sciences, and sport. As the Caribbean’s leading higher education institution, it hosts the region’s largest concentration of academic expertise dedicated to solving the most critical challenges facing the Caribbean and the world. UWI has been consistently ranked among the top global universities by Times Higher Education (THE) since 2018, and is the only English-speaking Caribbean institution featured across four of THE’s prestigious ranking lists: the World University Rankings, Golden Age University Rankings, Latin America and Caribbean Rankings, and Impact Rankings, which assess contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This global recognition supported the launch of UWI’s International School for Development Justice, a global online graduate business school training next-generation leaders for sustainable development. More information is available at www.uwi.edu.
### About the Caribbean Telecommunications Union
CTU is an inter-governmental organization focused on supporting the sustainable development of the Caribbean information and communications technology (ICT) sector. It works to coordinate regional ICT action, identify and remove barriers to ICT growth, track industry progress, and respond to the evolving needs of the regional ICT ecosystem. CTU’s core mission is to build a cohesive regional ICT agenda that centers the needs of all stakeholders, expand affordable access to digital tools, and help Caribbean citizens use ICT to improve their lives and livelihoods.