标签： Dominica

The University of the West Indies (UWI) Global Campus has announced a key leadership appointment, confirming that veteran higher education administrator Dr. Roger Nesbeth will take up the post of Director of Human Resources starting August 1, 2026. The appointment marks the culmination of nearly a decade of service with the institution, and years of temporary leadership in the human resources department. A formal press release from the campus highlights that Nesbeth brings an unmatched 43 years of cumulative professional experience spanning education and general management, with 32 of those years focused specifically on higher education administration and human resource strategy.

Nesbeth first joined the UWI community in 2017, and has held multiple leadership roles across the university’s regional network before his permanent appointment. He has stepped into the role of Acting Director of Human Resources on several occasions in recent years, most recently covering the position from January to February 2025, and again from May 2025 through July 2026. Prior to taking on interim leadership at the Global Campus, he held roles in the Human Resource Management Division and Registry at the UWI Mona Campus, as well as a position at the Regional Coordinating Office of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies based at UWI’s Regional Headquarters.

Beyond his administrative work, Nesbeth has also contributed to the university’s academic mission. He has supervised graduate research for the Global Campus’ Doctor of Education program, and has presented his work at academic seminars and conferences across Jamaica, the broader Caribbean region, and the international stage. He holds a robust academic background aligned with his new leadership role: he earned his Doctor of Education in Higher Education Management and Organisational Change from the University of Sheffield, a Master of Arts in Heritage Studies and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History and Social Science from UWI, a Diploma in Human Resource Management from the Jamaican Institute of Management, and an honours teaching degree from Mico University College. His core research interests align closely with his professional work, covering human resource management, higher education administration, organisational transformation, managerialism, and public sector management in post-secondary education.

In his new permanent role, Nesbeth will lead all human resources operations across the Global Campus, with a core mandate to strengthen the institution’s organizational capacity and advance the university system’s long-term strategic objectives. Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal Dr. Francis O. Severin officially welcomed Nesbeth to the permanent post, praising his decades-long dedication to the UWI community and identifying him as a leader deeply rooted in the institution’s values and mission. The Global Campus Senior Management Team also issued a formal statement congratulating Nesbeth on his appointment, noting that they have full confidence he will deliver meaningful, lasting contributions to the institution’s growth in his new role.

One hundred and ninety Grade 3 to 6 students from six primary schools across Dominica have successfully wrapped up the 2026 Summer Disaster Preparedness Programme hosted by the island nation’s Office of Disaster Management (ODM), walking away with hands-on, actionable knowledge that will serve them, their families, and their wider communities for years to come.

Running from July 13 through August 5, the programme filled a critical gap in youth-focused disaster education for the hurricane-prone Caribbean island. Coordinated by Metin Brumant with support from Wendy Esprit, the initiative was structured to go far beyond the textbook learning common to public safety education. Rather than sticking to static lectures, organisers designed an interactive curriculum that used group discussions, live demonstrations, collaborative team challenges, knowledge quizzes, and creative hands-on exercises to engage young learners. These activities broke down complex emergency response concepts into age-appropriate, memorable lessons that aligned with how children learn best.

The curriculum covered all major natural hazards that pose a recurring threat to Dominica, including hurricanes, earthquakes, flooding, landslides, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. Students walked through step-by-step protocols for appropriate action before a disaster strikes, during an ongoing emergency, and in the immediate aftermath, gaining confidence in their ability to make safe choices when faced with a crisis.

A core goal of the programme extended far beyond the individual participants. ODM designed the initiative to create a ripple effect of disaster awareness across local communities. Students were explicitly encouraged to share the skills and knowledge they gained with their parents, siblings, friends, and neighbors, with the long-term aim of nurturing a broader island-wide culture of disaster readiness.

As a component of Dominica’s broader national strategy to boost climate and disaster resilience, the programme targets young people as key change agents. Building disaster awareness from an early age not only empowers children to protect themselves but also creates sustained, intergenerational change that strengthens the safety and resilience of entire communities across the island.

Since its founding on the Caribbean island of Dominica in 2023, the American Canadian School of Medicine (ACSOM), a non-profit medical training institution focused on clinically oriented physician education, has laid out an ambitious new plan to deepen its impact on local healthcare. The organization aims to grow its footprint across Dominican communities through a robust portfolio of public medical outreach initiatives, according to top leadership at the school.

Dr. Ray King, ACSOM’s interim dean and chief academic officer, who is a U.S.-board certified surgeon, outlined that the institution will prioritize scaling up accessible community health events. These efforts will include regular health fairs, widespread preventive screening camps, and grassroots public health projects, with a targeted focus on tackling widespread chronic conditions that affect many Dominican residents, particularly hypertension and diabetes. These conditions represent major public health burdens in many small island nations, and expanded screening is seen as a critical step toward earlier intervention and better long-term health outcomes for local populations.

Beyond direct community programming, ACSOM is actively working to forge stronger collaborative ties with Dominica’s existing local medical ecosystem. Dr. King emphasized that the school is eager to build closer working relationships with local practicing doctors, public and private hospitals, and other independent healthcare providers across the island. A key part of this collaboration includes creating pathways for qualified local physicians to contribute to ACSOM’s training and outreach programs, blending local expertise with the school’s educational framework.

In a personal commitment to deeper local engagement, Dr. King shared that he is currently pursuing a medical practice license through Dominican regulatory authorities. Once obtained, this license will allow him to provide direct clinical care to both ACSOM stakeholders and members of the general public, expanding the school’s ability to contribute hands-on support to the island’s healthcare system.

Dominica itself also plays a central educational role for ACSOM’s student body, Dr. King explained. The island offers a unique hands-on clinical training environment that lets medical students develop core patient care and clinical skills while gaining first-hand experience of how healthcare delivery operates outside of their home countries in North America. Dr. King drew a personal connection to this model, noting that his own early clinical rotation at Dominica’s Princess Margaret Hospital was a transformative experience that heavily shaped his decision to pursue a career in surgery.

As a non-profit entity, ACSOM has a stated institutional mission that extends beyond training the next generation of physicians: the school is broadly committed to expanding access to quality healthcare for both local communities in Dominica and underserved populations across the globe. The new expansion of outreach and partnership efforts marks the latest step toward delivering on that long-term commitment.

Residents of Dominica will soon have a chance to celebrate the hard work and growth of adult learners across the island, as the nation’s Ministry of Education has announced it will open the doors to the Adult Education Division’s much-anticipated Annual Skills Exhibition later this week. Scheduled for Friday, August 28, 2026, the free public event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Adult Education Division’s headquarters located at 22 Kennedy Avenue in Roseau.

This year’s exhibition will shine a spotlight on the diverse, practical skills that adult learners have built over the 2025–2026 academic year, featuring hundreds of original works and live demonstrations across a wide range of vocational disciplines. Attendees can expect to see projects and presentations from programs covering massage therapy, artisanal pastry making, custom garment sewing, traditional hair braiding, fine carpentry, and many other hands-on skill sets that prepare learners for employment and small business ownership.

Event organizers note that the annual showcase is far more than a simple display of finished work. Beyond highlighting the tangible technical abilities learners have gained, the exhibition is designed to center the creativity, relentless dedication, and transformative personal progress that participants have achieved over the course of their studies. For many adult learners, returning to education to build new skills represents a major life milestone, and the event creates a formal space to honor that commitment.

The Ministry of Education is actively encouraging all members of the public to turn out for the event, emphasizing that community attendance plays a key role in supporting participating learners and celebrating the valuable work being done through Dominica’s national adult education initiatives. Beyond celebration, the exhibition serves a broader purpose: it acts as a public platform to showcase the impact of accessible adult skills training, and to reinforce the widespread social and economic value of ongoing skills development and a culture of lifelong learning across all age groups.