A collaborative delegation bringing together industry leaders from the SubOptic Foundation and digital infrastructure researchers from the University of California, Berkeley has arrived at The University of the West Indies (UWI) to launch a regional recruitment drive for an ambitious new professional development program: the Resilient Global Digital Infrastructure Fellowship.
The multi-institutional partnership is targeting more than 40 selected students and early-career professionals across the Caribbean to participate in the program, which centers on building critical technical skills, nurturing local leadership capacity, and strengthening long-term resilience for regional digital infrastructure systems. According to an official media release from UWI, the recruitment tour has already included stakeholder meetings across Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, with a public information session scheduled for April 21 at 5:00 PM at the UWI Global Campus in Dominica to answer questions from interested applicants.
This initiative grows out of a years-long deepening partnership between academic and industry stakeholders designed to expand public and professional understanding of the physical and policy systems that power global internet connectivity. Core focus areas of the program include subsea communications cables, terrestrial data networks, Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), data center facilities, and the regulatory frameworks that govern these critical digital assets. Working across UWI’s multiple regional campuses, the partnership’s outreach team is actively engaging prospective participants from a wide spectrum of academic disciplines, including engineering, law, and business, with outreach activities scheduled to continue through the rest of the calendar year.
Funded through a grant from the Internet Society Foundation, the fellowship is delivered in close collaboration with a network of regional partners including the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organizations (CANTO), the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), local Internet Society chapters, other regional universities, and private sector telecommunications and technology firms.
Unlike many specialized technical programs, the Resilient Global Digital Infrastructure Fellowship does not require prior professional or academic technical experience to apply. The 12-month structured learning curriculum combines rigorous technical instruction with on-the-ground practical insights tailored to the unique needs of Caribbean nations. Selected participants will gain access to one-on-one mentorship from industry veterans, guest lectures from global digital infrastructure leaders, and collaborative project opportunities to develop context-specific solutions for regional digital resilience challenges.
Sandrea Maynard, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Affairs at UWI, emphasized that the partnership aligns directly with the institution’s core mandate to build homegrown regional expertise in critical emerging technology sectors. “The Global Digital Infrastructure Fellowship creates valuable pathways for UWI talent to engage globally while ensuring that Caribbean perspectives help shape the systems that underpin our digital future,” Maynard said.
Nicole Starosielski, a leading professor of digital media at UC Berkeley and a lead researcher on the project, echoed Maynard’s comments, highlighting the outsized strategic importance of the Caribbean to global digital infrastructure. She noted that resilient, far-reaching digital infrastructure depends not only on cutting-edge technology, but also on centering local knowledge, investing in regional education, and fostering sustained cross-sector collaboration.
The current fellowship initiative builds on years of prior foundational research that mapped digital infrastructure resilience gaps across the Caribbean, incorporating input from multiple island nations and more than 70 regional public and private stakeholders. That earlier work identified a clear need for a coordinated, region-wide approach that integrates technology planning, energy infrastructure alignment, policy development, and community engagement to strengthen digital resilience. The fellowship represents the first major step to translate those research findings into actionable impact through targeted workforce development and institutional partnership.
Applications for the 2026 cohort of the Resilient Global Digital Infrastructure Fellowship are open now through May 1, 2026, and are open to both enrolled students and working professionals across all academic and professional backgrounds.