Caption: UWI students participating in the CariSurg exchange programme at the University of Leeds, UK, pose with the St Lucian High Commissioner to the UK Anthony B Severin, below right. Also in photo from top left are Nehal Wadhwani, Yenver Caezar, Justin Sooknanan, Abishua Johnson, Samiya Allen, Angela St Denis. And from below left are Dr Jonathon Noël, D. Nikita Greenidge. Photo: Dr Nikita Greenidge
By Alicia Chamely
THE University of West Indies is advancing students’ access to surgical robotics to develop both engineering and medical solutions tailored to address healthcare challenges in the Caribbean.
This is being done through the university’s CariSurg initiative and collaboration with the University of Leeds, based in the United Kingdom.
In a release from UWI Regional Headquarters in Jamaica on August 28, the University marked the first exchange opportunity for students through the CariSurg summer surgical robotic research programme.
The release stated a group of students had recently returned from an eight-week summer school programme at the University of Leeds. The programme focused on surgical robots giving students first hand experience at the STORM Lab at Leeds.
“During their time in the STORM Lab at Leeds, the students engaged in a variety of projects, including the enhancement of AI tools for the da Vinci surgical robot, the design of magnetic vines for endoscopic procedures, and the development of affordable cancer screening technology,” UWI stated.
They continued, “Under the guidance of Professor Pietro Valdastri from the University of Leeds and Dr. Carl Beckford, Lecturer and researcher from The UWI Department of Computing, these students cultivated both engineering and medical solutions tailored to address pressing health challenges in the Caribbean.”
Additionally, students were given the opportunity to observe a live robotic-assisted prostatectomy performed by Dr. Jonathan Noël, a Barbadian urologist and UWI alum, at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London.
Recounting his experience, Trinidadian student Justin Sooknan, who was set to graduate with a BSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UWI, St Augustine, said, “Initiatives like this help to promote research and the journey should not stop here. I am motivated to help the programme grow. Together we can spread the movement further. We need to keep pushing the ceiling higher to create more room for everyone else to grow.”
Discussing the exchange, facilitator of the CariSurg programme Dr Nikita Greenidge said, “I started CariSurg because I know how much talent exists in the Caribbean, even though opportunities in research are often limited. My dream is for the region to become a leader in healthcare innovation, and this first cohort has shown what’s possible—ambitious students from across the Caribbean, eager to create solutions that matter both locally and globally. They were a pleasure to host.”
