Alicia D. Nichols
From May 27th to 29th, 2025, I commended my ability as an academic to participate in the main summit of the World Sustainable Islands Summit (GSIS). The third edition of this GSIS, hosted by Island Innovation, was co-hosted with the government of the St. Kitts and Nevis Federation. The event welcomed over 200 representatives who come as far as the Marshall Islands and Tubal, mainly from the Caribbean and island states and territories around the world!
In this article, we will unfold some of the key points raised as speakers. Day 2 Panel “Identifying opportunities to strengthen relations between the Global Islands.” I focused on the important role of education, an economic asset that is essential to boost both trade between the island economy and both. To this end, I provide at least three interconnected ways in which education can contribute to the promotion of the island economy. It generally plays a role as a business-capacity building, improving trade capabilities, and trading services.
Building human resource capacity
For the economy of many small islands, their most valuable resource is human contributions. Countries like Barbados and Mauritius, for example, have had poor natural resources and have invested heavily in providing universal access to education since political independence in the 1960s.
Investing in education not only will it help to develop strong happiness, but it will also promote national development and develop a high-educated population that can adapt to global change. A well-skilled, educated workforce is essential not only in the local private sector, which relies on a robust domestic talent pool, but also as a draw for foreign investors interested in finding the talent they need locally.
As trade becomes more and more digital and technology-driven, the island’s economic and territorial education system must evolve to cultivate not only literate but also technologically literate citizens. A system of education that addresses these trends can drive the valuable growth that the Caribbean island economy strives to pursue.
Improve your trade capabilities
Education generally contributes to trade competitiveness by building the country’s human resources and the ability to engage in trade policy making.
Currently approaching its 23rd cohort, the Masters in International Trade Policy (MITP) program at the University of the West Indies Sridas Ranfal Centre has played a key and often modest role in developing executives of highly skilled trade experts throughout the Caribbean and beyond these coasts. Many MITP alumni sit in the highest ranks of government (including the Barbados Cabinet), international organizations, donation agencies, business support organizations, and private sector businesses. In fact, on the panel I spoke to at GSIS 2025, three panelists (including myself) were MITP alumni and all women.
Understanding trade rules and standards and implementing market information is fundamental to Caribbean companies converting market access that is featured on paper through trade agreements and other trading agreements. Expanding education in areas such as sustainability standards, logistics and compliance will allow the region to fully utilize the benefits of trade and regional integration as it seeks to integrate CARICOM’s single market with the economy (CSME).
Education as a trading service
Education is a tradeable service in itself, and the Caribbean island economy has already participated in four modes of service supply defined by the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
In Mode 1 (Brotherly Supply), Caribbean educational institutions are increasingly offering online courses. Some of these are recruited by students from overseas and are effectively exporting educational services. Mode 2 (Overseas Consumption) will bring both students, both students who travel the island for higher education and foreign students, to attend offshore medical colleges. In Mode 3 (Commercial Entities), foreign universities, particularly medical schools such as the University of Ross and St. Georges, have established physical campuses, bringing a commercial presence/foreign direct investment. In Mode 4 (Temporary Movement of Natural Persons), Caribbean experts physically provide lectures or courses on other campuses and other countries, thereby providing physically temporary educational services in other countries.
As certain countries tighten access to universities for international students, this provides an opportunity for Caribbean universities to not only serve local students who intend to go abroad, but also strengthen their value proposition to attract more international students from the Southern and Global North of the world.
Despite the appeal of the global North University for their honorable name and globally recognized faculty, Caribbean universities like the West Indies already have several advantages. It promotes history that contributes to Caribbean development and well-recognized faculty in many areas, programs tailored to small states and history that promotes real concerns. A record of research in many fields such as climate change, regional integration, development economics, and cultural studies. Don’t forget that we are a region that has produced many thought leaders, including Sir W. Arthur Lewis, one of the world’s most important development economists!
In other words, there is a need for a paradigm shift in thinking that choices for Caribbean students are not limited to global Hokkaido University, but only global North University provides quality education. Many universities here in the Caribbean have educated people who are at the highest level in their field, including current and former politicians, but there are many global tropical countries that offer scholarships annually to our citizens to study at university. By supporting each other’s universities, we can also contribute to boosting the North-South trade in educational services!
Towards the knowledge economy
To maximize the role of education in trade, it must be embedded in the broader ecosystem of knowledge ecosystems. During the summit I was particularly intrigued. the study How SIDS builds a robust knowledge economy is shared by colleagues from the ODI Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI). Their findings underscore the importance of prioritizing the role of innovation and education in this. Building these ecosystems requires stronger connections between universities, governments and industries, greater investment in research, intellectual property protection, entrepreneurship and support for start-ups.
Ultimately, the role of education is not merely to promote trade itself. It is to ensure that the transactions we are involved in are inclusive, sustainable and redundant for the benefit of our society. It has not been identified as one of the seven pillars St. Kitts & Nevis Sustainable Island State Agenda (SISA)), education is key to achieving this government-setting roadmap in its admirable quest to become the world’s first sustainable island nation.
Final Thoughts
If the island’s economy boosts trade and promotes a future based on sustainable growth, inclusion and transformation, education is a strategic pillar, not a later idea. We would like to thank Island Innovation and the government of St. Kitts & Nevis for holding a highly engaging and future-looking summit and for the opportunity to contribute to these conversations.
Alicia D. Nicholls, B.Sc., M.Sc., LL. B. He is an international trade specialist and founder of the Caribbean Trade Law and Development Blog.
