Five undergraduate students of the St. Augustine Campus were awarded bursaries of $5,000 each and one student was awarded the bpTT scholarship of $36,000 toward her research in Environmental Ecology as part of the UWIAA (T&T Chapter) annual Bursary Awards. The UWIAA has been distributing bursaries since 1991 and to date has contributed $310,000 in bursaries. The ceremony took place at the UWI Staff Social Club on Thursday, July 12.

To be eligible for a bursary award all courses must be successfully completed, the student must make significant contributions to campus life and must be in need of financial assistance. The recipients of this year’s awards were Omega Francis, Ann-Marie Maharaj, Justine Zephyrine, Renford Lorde, and Kimberley Baksh. Michelle Cazabon’s research on turtles won her the aforementioned bpTT scholarship.

Present at the presentation were UWIAA President Mr. Jerry Medford, Mr. Azim Ali, Learning and Development Manager bpTT and various members of the UWIAA and campus officials. The contributions made by the UWIAA prove it is committed to the T&T Chapter’s motto of “Giving something Back to UWI”.

Kezia Bradshaw, a Computer Science and Management Major at the St. Augustine Campus, was selected by the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Sciences to participate in the University of the West Indies Alumni Association (UWIAA, T & T Chapter) Apprentice Programme. The UWI Alumni Apprentice Programme (AAP) is a three to six week overseas internship programme for students who have just completed their second year in a full time three year UWI programme. The AAP’s objectives are to expose students to the cultural, professional and social fabric of their host country. The UWIAA is responsible for the students’ airfare, accommodation and incidental expenses.

This year’s project is the follow up of a successful pilot project undertaken by the UWIAA United Kingdom Chapter in association with the Institutional Advancement Division, which facilitated one Mona Campus student into the programme.

Negotiations between the UWIAA and the High Commission of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago in Ottawa have resulted in Methanex Corporation in Vancouver agreeing to partner with the UWIAA. Kezia will be placed in the company’s Information Technology Department during the period July 23 to August 24. While in Vancouver Ms. Bradshaw will be accommodated by the President of the T & T Cultural Society of British Columbia and from August 25 to 31 will be hosted in Ottawa by the High Commission of the Republic of T&T during their Independence celebrations.

A key benefit of the programme is for foreign corporations like Methanex to strengthen their links with the Caribbean, while all parties derive benefits from the multi-cultural interaction.