As The University of the West Indies (UWI) continues expanding its coordinated regional higher education footprint, the student guild delegation from its Five Islands Campus is currently taking part in the final leg of the 2026 Inter-Campus Guild Council (ICGC) Conference. The week-long gathering, hosted by the UWI Global Campus in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, runs from May 10 to 17, 2026, and brings together top student leadership representatives from every campus across the UWI system to tackle shared priorities for Caribbean higher education.
Heading the Four-member delegation from Five Islands Campus is incumbent Guild President Kerron McKenzie, joined by Guild President-Elect Jake Taylor, Postgraduate Representative Kimon Drigo, and Shanese Archibald, who represents the School of Science, Computing and Artificial Intelligence. This group joins counterparts from UWI’s long-established Mona, Cave Hill, and St. Augustine campuses, as well as the hosting Global Campus, for collaborative dialogue focused on bolstering a unified, impactful student movement across the entire Caribbean region.
Widely recognized as the preeminent regional student leadership forum within the UWI system, the ICGC provides a structured space for student delegates to identify and address pressing challenges facing their peer groups, while drafting actionable recommendations and strategic frameworks to elevate the overall student experience across all institutions. This year’s conference agenda centers on key themes including expanding student welfare support, enhancing academic access and resources, deepening regional integration across campuses, streamlining cross-campus student mobility programs, growing emerging leadership capacity, strengthening student representation in institutional governance, and expanding collaborative partnerships between UWI campuses.
In opening remarks on the conference’s purpose and value, McKenzie highlighted the outsized role of cross-regional collaboration and youth leadership in advancing the UWI system’s mission across the Caribbean. “The ICGC Conference is far more than a series of scheduled meetings and talks,” he noted. “It is a dynamic space where young leaders from every corner of our region gather to share updates on campus work, confront the very real challenges our peers face, and co-develop concrete, practical solutions that will lift up the entire UWI community.”
As the newest addition to the UWI campus network, McKenzie emphasized that Five Islands Campus remains deeply committed to ensuring its student body has a strong voice at the regional table, while actively contributing to the evolution of student leadership, advocacy, and inclusive development across the Caribbean. “Our campus has already seen how engagement in student governance creates clear pathways for impact at both the national and regional level,” he shared. “Just recently, one of our former Guild committee members, Shaquan O’Neil—who previously served as Level 3 Representative for the School of Business and Management—was appointed to serve as a national Senator. His trajectory is clear proof that participation in campus student governance prepares young people to step into national leadership and public service roles.”
McKenzie added that regional collaborative initiatives like the ICGC push students to grow beyond their comfort zones, become active contributors to their local and regional communities, and build durable professional and personal networks that support long-term growth. “Student leadership is not just about showing up for your peers on campus,” he explained. “It is about培育 the next generation of leaders who will go on to make lasting, meaningful contributions to Caribbean society.”
He also extended public recognition to the hosting UWI Global Campus Guild of Students, as well as all participating delegations and campus guild presidents, for their sustained dedication to advancing regional unity, cross-campus collaboration, and intentional student development across the UWI system.
Over the course of the week-long conference, the Five Islands delegation is scheduled to contribute actively to policy working groups, leadership development workshops, community outreach initiatives, and long-term strategic planning sessions. For the growing Five Islands Campus, this participation marks another key milestone in its expanding role within the regional UWI community, and reaffirms its long-standing commitment to student-centered advocacy, innovative leadership development, and regional progress.