Launch of UWI Optical Expands Access for Central and South Communities
March 18th, 2026 | Related To: The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine
A growing “south medical artery” in Trinidad and Tobago could significantly expand access to essential health services for communities across the southern and central regions of the country. Campus Principal of The University of the West Indies (The UWI) St. Augustine Campus, Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, believes the newly opened UWI Optical Store at the Couva Hospital and Multi-Training Facility which was opened on February 27, 2026, represents an important step toward that vision.
In explaining the significance of The UWI Optical store in supporting the ongoing clinical training students receive, Professor Antoine noted that the optometry dispensary and retail outlet, UWI Optical, extends The UWI’s eye health services delivered through the Optometry Unit of the Faculty of Medical Sciences. The facility reflects the University’s commitment to making professional optometric care and affordable eyewear more accessible to students, staff, and the wider community. At the same time, the store strengthens The UWI’s teaching mission by creating opportunities for hands-on clinical training, allowing students to apply their knowledge in a real-world setting where academic learning and professional practice intersect.
Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine further explained that the clinic represents a clear example of commercialisation with purpose, demonstrating how the clinical expertise for which The UWI is widely recognised, combined with its strengths in research and teaching, can be translated into practical services that generate revenue, support the expansion of academic programmes, and create opportunities to reinvest in student development.
Head of the Optometry Unit, Dr Kingsley Ekemiri noted this addition to optometry services represented a milestone for his unit and the faculty as it reflects a continued advancement of our academic, clinical and service commitments and most importantly, it chronicles our institutional dedication to excellence in medical education and service delivery”. He also pointed out the integration of academic learning, with direct clinical service such as the UWI Optical, is essential in health profession education.
In his feature address, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at The UWI St. Augustine campus, Professor Hariharan Seetharaman, underscored the need to balance revenue generation with a strong social mandate, noting that medical students are trained to practise medicine without profit as their primary motivation. He explained that greater emphasis should instead be placed on the social value created, highlighting that when profits are reinvested to produce positive societal outcomes, entrepreneurial activity moves beyond a conventional business model into social entrepreneurship. In such cases, he noted, financial returns are deliberately channelled back into initiatives that benefit society, with this reinvestment serving as the defining characteristic of the approach.
Dr Ravi Maharaj, Department Head of Clinical Surgical Sciences echoed similar sentiments, mentioning that The UWI Optical should be viewed as a service to the community and the public. “Having the ability to see should not be a luxury to any citizen in this country, and we need to offer accessible, high quality health care,” he said.
Mr. Sunil Moonasar, Managing Director of Eye See You Ophthalmic and a key partner in the initiative, also affirmed his company’s commitment to advancing education and professional training. Reflecting on the value the store will bring to students, he noted that the facility strengthens the practical dimension of their training by pairing clinical instruction with real-world retail experience. “The UWI has now complemented the learning of clinical skills with hands-on refraction within a retail setting,” he said. “We are proud to support this initiative.”
Before its official launch, UWI Optical began serving patients through a pilot phase in July 2025, during which more than 100 pairs of spectacles were dispensed to staff, students, and members of the public. Among those helped was an 11-year-old primary school student from Moruga, who received his first pair of glasses through the initiative. For his parents, the programme made it possible to afford the eyewear he urgently needed to correct a severe vision problem, an intervention that is expected to significantly improve both his learning experience and overall quality of life at school.
Mrs. Koscina Quintal-Sooram, Optical Store Manager, noted that fully realising the long-term vision for UWI Optical will require the completion of the facility’s in-house dispensing laboratory. She explained that this next phase of development will allow the clinic to move beyond simply supplying eyewear to producing and managing key aspects of the finishing process on site in Couva. According to Quintal-Sooram, establishing the laboratory will significantly strengthen the operational capacity of the clinic while creating valuable hands-on training opportunities for students, particularly in the technical skills involved in cutting, assembling, and fitting spectacle prescriptions.
She added that the initiative also supports broader plans to introduce a dedicated course for dispensing opticians, which would help build a pipeline of trained professionals capable of serving the region while raising standards in vision care. As part of the clinic’s future development, a structured contact lens programme is also planned as UWI Optical continues to expand its services and training opportunities.
Furthermore, the store carries fashionable high-quality frames and lenses, partnering with ARG, Eye See You, and Lens Tech Labs for professional dispensing standards.
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