The UWI is a regional university of higher education learning and research, which has been charged with the mission of advancing education and creating knowledge through excellence in teaching, research, innovation, public service, intellectual leadership and outreach in order to support the inclusive (social, economic, political, cultural and environmental) development of the Caribbean region and beyond. The UWI has its Centre Headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica and operates from the following Campuses: the Mona Campus situated at Mona in Kingston, Jamaica; the Cave Hill Campus situated at Cave Hill in Barbados; the St. Augustine Campus situated at St. Augustine and Debe in Trinidad and Tobago, the Five Islands Campus situated at St. John’s in Antigua and Barbuda and the UWI Global Campus, which serves seventeen countries within the Caribbean region inclusive of the four aforementioned territories. The Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, established in 1921 was the basis for the founding of the UWI, St. Augustine Campus in 1960. Over the last few decades, in addition to Agriculture, the UWI added several programmes in Engineering, Social Sciences, Humanities and Education, Science and Technology, and Sports.    

CATHALAC is an international organization based in Panama dedicated to promoting sustainable development through applied research, education, and technology transfer in water resources, environmental management, climate change, and disaster risk management. The Center serves countries across Latin America and the Caribbean and collaborates with governments, international organizations, and research institutions. 

CATHALAC operates as a Regional Support Office (RSO) of the UN-SPIDER programme, contributing to the use of space-based technologies for disaster risk reduction and emergency response.