Making waves

“Curious like the ocean; warm like the island sun; every voice, every shoreline; many currents, one sea; give generously, receive graciously.”

A wave of calm washed over the room as UDI Design Facilitator Tamara Christensen set the tone for a spirited discussion of higher education’s role in island nations with a list of island-themed affirmations. But the group she was addressing — composed of experts, policymakers and education leaders — were not on a sandy beach but in the nation’s capital.

“What is said here will not stay here — it’s not Vegas,” said Safiya George, president of the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), in an introductory speech. “What is said here is meant for us to take that, run with it, build on it.”

The event, in partnership with Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of the Virgin Islands, was convened by ASU’s University Design Institute. UVI is the sole institution of higher education in the U.S. Virgin Islands, making its role especially vital in workforce development, leadership, education and the economy of the territory.

“UVI’s visit to ASU is part of UDI’s larger engagement with them, as we focus on strengthening capacity and supporting the transformation of regional public institutions in the country,” said Lisa Foss, Senior Director for U.S. Practice at UDI. "This is an opportunity for the University of the Virgin Islands to play a stronger role in the future of its community," said Foss. "Universities have a tremendous impact on the communities they serve through economic advancement, workforce development and skill building, and overall community improvement. As the only university on the island, this is a big responsibility for the University of the Virgin Islands, but as UDI has worked with its team through this process, we know they're up for the challenge."

The two-day program consisted of four “lightning talks” instead of conventional panel discussions, with experts from the World Bank, USDA, Pan-American Health Organization, the University of Guyana and more. Each talk discussed the role and potential impact of higher education within Small Island Developing States (SIDS) on a unique topic.

The focus of the day: not just talking but getting tangible ideas on the table.

“As academics, we do spend 95% of our time preaching to the choir,” said George. “We now need to spend more time either listening to the audience that usually sits in the choir, or preach to other choirs, so that we can do things differently.”

The University Design Institute plans to release a report on universities in Small Island Developing States and their role in contributing to social and economic impact as part of The Co-Lab@UDI.

It’s hard to talk about economic diversification of SIDS without discussing tourism.

As an industry, tourism is fragile, said Global Sustainable Tourism Council CEO Randy Durband in his lightning talk. Because it’s at the whim of natural disasters, political unrest, or environmental change, an economy dependent on tourism is vulnerable to sudden economic shocks.

“There's really opportunity in general for growth of tourism on islands,” said Durband. “So, tackling these challenges is certainly worth the effort.”

This growth could be found in a focus in skills like entrepreneurship, the public sector, destination management and policy development at the university level. Since jobs in tourism may also be seasonal, increasing opportunities for workforce development or stackable credentials in transferable skills will benefit island workforces.

“If there are local minds that are creative, that can step out of their own cultural norms to figure out what the visitor wants, where and when they want it, there's real opportunity for some economic growth for themselves and for their community around more jobs,” said Durband.

When natural disasters strike, how do SIDS recover their energy grid? Due to the small physical area of SIDS and the unique needs of rural areas within them, there is a special process of thought, skill and partnership required to address energy needs. Attendees discussed how universities could provide industry-level training to students interested in a career in energy, with training tailored to the unique needs of the area.

ASU’s Gary Dirks presented on the Energy Forward framework, a program within ASU’s Global Futures Laboratory. According to Dirks, more than 200 students have self-identified to join the program, from a range of different colleges and focuses across ASU. Such a program could be beneficial at an island nation university so that students across all studies could get involved in using their major towards solving energy-related problems and innovating new solutions.

“[Energy Forward students] affiliate because many of them want to be involved in the energy question, but they don't have the breadth or the depth to take it on themselves,” said Dirks. “They can't do this themselves, and that's what we do, is we have the ability to draw threads together.”

According to Peter Edwards of the Pew Charitable Trusts, what a blue economy is depends on who you ask.

“If you check the Internet and other definitions, a blue economy revolves around this idea of leveraging ocean resources for economic benefits while ensuring sustainability and ecological health,” said Edwards. “I really want higher education to really hold the feet to the fire that blue economy is not just a rebranding of exploitative behaviors, but it really should be this more holistic definition.”

For Edwards, university support of blue economy could take a variety of forms, such as encouraging students to get involved in ocean-related degrees or creating a pipeline of science, technology, engineering, arts and math students into ocean solutions careers.

From serving as a pipeline to train more students, providing accurate and reliable continuing education resources, producing research that reflects the unique challenges of an island nation, and bridging the gap to public health, universities can touch every part of health care access, said Sandra Mayol-Kreiser, assistant dean and clinical professor at the ASU College of Health Solutions, in her lightning discussion.

But addressing health — mental and physical — can carry significant stigma. Normalizing the existence of mental health issues and non-communicable diseases while working with universities to staff realistic solutions could help break down some barriers. But equally as important is the training that health care professionals need — and so attendees also explored how to incentivize students within island nations so that they want to stay and use their skills in their nation, while advancing trust with community members.

“Members of the community have to be part of the team and part of the solution,” said George. “Until we have members of the community as part of our teams, equally – even getting paid in some cases, even if it's a stipend – only then does that build trust.”

Though the day was full of thought-provoking conversation, a throughline was that work was just beginning.

As UVI’s president, George specifically shared that her focus was to do things differently, actually enacting change rather than talking about change. Although not even a year into her position as president, George has already conducted 65 interviews that UVI completed in collaboration with ASU to gather information on what changes the university could make to improve. These interviews were with people at every level — from trustees to custodians.

“I think that servant leadership is powerful,” said George. “I'm president, but I can give voice to someone who doesn't have voice.”

That narrative was echoed throughout the day, from presenters and attendees alike.

“If you’re working with your community partners, shut up and listen,” said Neil Calfee, Executive Director of Economic Development and Innovation Zones for ASU Knowledge Enterprise. “Let them be the smartest people. Learn from them, because that's how you're going to know how to make the impact you need to make, and be able then to adjust, learn, come back.”

The event helped serve ASU and UDI’s greater purpose of developing bold, innovative ideas to continue to transform higher education to become catalysts for social and economic impact.

“This is how ASU is,” said Calfee. “When President Crow says, ‘go save the world,’ he means it. And I can say that with a straight face, and that we are here to transform the world.”