Speaker's Profile

Ishenkumba Kahwa served as a Professor of Supramolecular Chemistry at The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Mona Campus. He held several leadership positions at the University including Dean, Faculty of Science and Technology (formerly Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences) from 2008 to 2013 and Deputy Principal, Mona Campus from 2013-2018. He served The UWI for 31 years and following his retirement in 2018, the title of "Professor Emeritus" was conferred upon him for the significant contributions he made to the development of the Department of Chemistry and The UWI as a whole.

Professor Emeritus Ishenkumba Kahwa, among his many achievements, established a laser laboratory at The UWI Mona, which at present includes powerful lasers, super-cold facilities and associated electronic and computational instruments. In addition, he led the development and establishment of a new suite of B.Sc, M.Sc, M.Phil and Ph.D. programmes in Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health (OESH). The programmes began in September 2006 at Mona  and at the St Augustine Campus in 2009.

Prof. Emeritus Kahwa is very much engaged in the development of science, technology and innovation (STI) in Jamaica and the Caribbean and co-led the  STI policy review/development in Jamaica. He also served as a member of the CARICOM STI Committee established by the Dr. the Rt Hon. Keith Mitchell, the CARICOM Prime Minister in charge of STI, to chart out the strategies needed by CARICOM to achieve rapid economic and social development using STI. He is the co-author of the CARICOM STI Chapter of the UNESCO World Science Report (2020), published every five years, since 2005.

Prof. Emeritus Kahwa is also Honourary Consul for Tanzania in Jamaica.

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