A new chapter in medical education and Barbados-Ghana relations was marked at the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill on Friday as Ghanaian medical student Fafa Hanson became the first student to complete the university’s Bachelor of Science in Preclinical Sciences before returning home to continue her clinical training.
Hanson received her pin and coat during a ceremony at the Jacqueline Wade Conference Room in the Hilary McDonald Beckles Administration Complex, symbolising the completion of the programme’s preclinical phase and making her the inaugural graduate of the partnership between UWI Cave Hill and the University of Ghana.
Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Dr Damian Cohall, described Hanson as the first of many students expected to benefit from the programme and urged her to embrace technological advances while remaining grounded in the core values of medicine.
“As you go forward, try to get as much exposure as you can within the digital interface because it will become an important part of practice,” he said. “We have no issues with technology being used to assist us… but our brains will not be replaced with AI. These tools are here to assist and to facilitate.”
While encouraging her to pursue excellence, he reminded Hanson to remain focused on the purpose behind her profession.
“I want you to continue to be grounded in your pursuit of academic excellence and also to hold on strong to your professional goals. Strive with purpose… your purpose should be central to making the lives of people around you better… Continue to be guided by empathy.”
Reflecting on the wider significance of the collaboration, Dr Cohall said the programme represents far more than an academic exchange.
“When we had an entrance committee meeting a month and a half ago, we had quite a number of applicants to the BSc Preclinical Sciences programme… based on the experience of Fafa and other students in the programme, and them sharing that experience, it has certainly encouraged other persons to consider taking this path.”
Deputy Principal Professor Winston Moore said Hanson’s achievement carried added significance because she was the programme’s pioneer.
“A first cohort carries a particular weight. There’s no precedent to lean on, no cohort ahead to explain how the examinations are run… You have to go through all of that yourself.”
He noted that Hanson had helped shape the programme simply through her experiences.
“Much of what the faculty now knows about this degree, it knows because of your experience.”
Professor Moore also linked her journey to UWI’s strategic objective of attracting more international students while strengthening the economy.
“Higher education is a tradable service. When international students enroll here… they not only pay fees, but they also contribute to the fixed costs of the laboratories, libraries and the university.”
He added that Hanson’s decision to study here demonstrated the UWI’s growing international reputation.
“She could have studied in Accra, in Britain, in North America. But that she chose the UWI Cave Hill Campus tells us something about the standing of this faculty.”
Looking beyond economics, Professor Moore said her decision carried historical significance.
“The Atlantic that separates West Africa from the Caribbean has carried people between these regions for 400 years, mostly under conditions no one chose. That a young woman from Ghana should now cross it by her own decision… is a small correction in a long history.”
Minister of Technological and Vocational Training Sandra Husbands described the ceremony as the beginning of a much larger vision linking Barbados and Ghana through education, research and development.
“The Bible tells us never despise the day of small beginnings because small beginnings will expand into big moments,” she said.
“For Fafa to be here, she is our beginning. The beginning of a river. A river that will allow us to do a number of things that are so important for this country and, more importantly, this world.”
Husbands said the initiative represents more than one student’s success.
“I want to today celebrate not only your remarkable achievement… but also the enduring value of the partnership it represents, the pursuit of excellence and the promise that education holds for transforming lives and strengthening our nations.”
She said Barbados intends to deepen its relationship with Ghana beyond education.
“We want to engage Ghana not only in education, we want to engage it in culture, we want to engage it in trade, we want to engage it in joint government policy, we want to engage it in foreign policy.”
The minister added that such partnerships form part of Barbados’ commitment to South-South cooperation and could eventually lead to collaborative medical research focused on diseases affecting people of African descent.
“This moment is not small, and this moment is not insignificant,” she said. “You have grasped the vision… you’ve seen beyond the Caribbean region, and you’ve started to look at how you’re going to define yourself in the wider space.”
Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology Dr Jeanese Badenock congratulated Hanson and acknowledged the work involved in establishing the programme.
“It was wonderful having you in our faculty,” she said. “Congratulations to all of the staff that were involved in this process of building this programme from the ground up… and we look forward to the next cohort of students.”
In an emotional response, Hanson reflected on how studying in Barbados had transformed her outlook.
“I now embrace the newness. I now embrace the foreignness. I now embrace… anything that keeps me from being small.”
She said every challenge had revealed new opportunities for growth.
“Every time I think I’ve cracked a wall in my mind or a wall in my capabilities, there’s always another shell underneath that can crack again and again and again.”
Hanson credited faith for carrying her through the programme.
“Working hard and staying focused is rewarding, yes. However, I have also come to learn that the race is not to the swift, nor is the battle to the strong… but time and chance happen to them all.”
(LE)
