The University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus will launch a Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering this August through a partnership with the Global Institute of Software Technology (GIST) in Suzhou, China. According to Antigua.news, the programme will see students spend two years in Antigua and two years in China, earning degrees from both institutions upon completion.
Campus Principal Professor Justin Robinson announced the new degree alongside a pipeline of additional academic offerings, including programmes in FinTech, Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, and Law — signalling a significant expansion of the campus's academic portfolio.
"We are very excited," Robinson said of the software engineering programme, describing software engineering as "the function of a modern economy."
Students who complete the degree will also receive a paid internship in China, adding a practical employment dimension to the qualification.
A Bachelor's degree in Financial Technology — which Robinson said would be the first such programme within the UWI system — is currently moving through the approval process, as are graduate degrees in Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence.
Robinson framed these programmes as directly responsive to the needs of the modern Caribbean economy, emphasising that many are designed with entrepreneurship and self-employment in mind.
"You're not going out and just looking for a job. This programme prepares you for some independence," Robinson said.
The campus also holds the distinction of offering the only Master of Science in Managing Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases within the UWI system. Robinson developed the programme in response to what he identified as a chronic NCD crisis across the Caribbean, where diabetes prevalence runs two to three times the global average and over a third of adults live with hypertension.
Robinson said the pace of programme development is deliberate, with the campus aiming to respond rapidly to market needs. He acknowledged the pressure this has placed on academic staff, but noted that the institution's position as a newer campus gives it an agility that more established universities lack.
The programme expansion forms part of a broader institutional strategy the campus refers to as its revenue revolution, driven primarily by new academic offerings at the graduate level.
