Free White Papers
Ask the experts
Got a question? Put us to the test
A different spin on consultancy
With apologies to any non-cricket fans
By Phil Hawkey and Bryan Loughrey
You may have seen many 'Where in the World' type magazine competitions. The prize in this one is our complete admiration if you get the answer before point three below. And if you can come up with a university that is more 'unique' we will have to think of a real prize!
This university:
- Has 32,000 enrolled students;
- Has three campuses and 12 outreach centres in 15 countries and territories;
- Was established as an external College of the University of London in 1948, becoming fully independent in 1962;
- Counts amongst the alumni of just one of its campuses, six of the seven current regional Prime Ministers (and the other one is of an era when university attendance was not a realistic option);
- Is the only academic institution in the world to include a Cricket Research Centre;
- Has a first class cricket ground at the geographic heart of one of its campuses, along with the graves of two of the world’s legendary batsmen and a monumental ‘walk of fame’ which recognises the achievements of all the region’s international players;
- (you must have guessed by now but if not, here’s the final clue) Two of its campus cricket grounds were used for warm-up games in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
Yes, it is The University of the West Indies! (Wisden readers may wish to go straight to the footnotes)
So the reader may reasonably ask “What has any of this got to do with management consultancy?”
The answer is
Academic institutions the world over provide consultancy services on both formal and informal bases. Unfortunately it is only a small minority which are successful in properly leveraging their phenomenal assets. UWI has recognised this and a key plank of its Strategic Plan is to establish formally a University Consultancy Company (UCC) which will:
- Improve the competitiveness of the region’s economies by knowledge transfer and its application;
- Keep the curriculum at the cutting edge via the reverse flow of knowledge;
- Engage academics and students in innovation and the real world application of knowledge;
- And by getting this right, generate income for the university.
Oakleigh Consulting is proud to have been selected through an international competition, to work with the university to translate its strategic vision into practical reality. We are currently supporting UWI in all aspects of the design of the UCC.
About the authors:
Phil Hawkey is a Director of Oakleigh Consulting and Managing Director of Oakleigh International. Bryan Loughrey is a Director of Oakleigh International, a former University Research Director and Professor of Literary Studies. And oh yes, they are both passionate about cricket! Phil and Bryan are leading our project with UWI.
Phil can be contacted by email at philhawkey@oakleigh.co.uk or on +44 (0)7866 767 446
Footnotes:
The CLR James Cricket Research Centre is at UWI, Cave Hill, Barbados.
The Cave Hill campus is built around the 3Ws Oval and includes the tombs of Sir Frank Worrell and Sir Clyde Walcott. A monument below the graves commemorates those West Indies players who have scored centuries or bowled ‘fifers’ in test matches.
The campus grounds which featured in the Cricket World Cup were the:
- Sir Frank Worrell Field, St Augustine, Trinidad
- 3Ws Oval, Cave Hill, Bridgetown, Barbados
Sir Frank Worrell, as well as being one of the greatest cricketers of all time, was also following his retirement from international cricket, a Warden and Dean of UWI.
UWI teams have played against India, New Zealand, Australia and England touring teams at the 3Ws Oval.