Student enrollment at The University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus is at approximately 866 and that figure is expected to increase, when the new academic year commences in September.

UWI FIC Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor C. Justin Robinson, said the newest campus of The UWI has made significant progress since opening its doors almost five years ago with just over 100 students.

Speaking on state television on Sunday evening, Professor Robinson said in addition to the approximately 866 students who are enrolled, another 610 prospective students have applied to join the university.

“Applicants are almost close to our enrollment, so, I actually want to take this moment in the middle of carnival to encourage those who have applied, but not yet sent in their documents, please do, because we want you down there,” he said.

As they seek to expand the institution of higher learning, focus is also being placed on introducing new programmes.

“We just had Hurricane Beryl [and] all the persons assessing the damage from the storm were coming from overseas. We are now working on programmes that we can build some capacity locally to do assessments of storms,” The UWI FIC principal added.

Earlier this month, The University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus successfully hosted the Caribbean’s first Artificial Intelligence Conference. Professor C. Justin Robinson related that the inaugural event surpassed expectations.