New Fortress Energy Awards Full Scholarships to Five UWI Students
New Fortress Energy on Wednesday awarded scholarships to five students of The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus. The students, who are from Clarendon, St Catherine, Kingston, and St James, will each receive $325,000 per academic year, beginning in 2017-2018 and throughout their tenure at the university, if they continue to demonstrate a high level of academic performance.
The scholarships are among the commitments New Fortress is making in its partnership with The UWI, as the company recently signed a contract to provide Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) to fuel the engines of The UWI’s Co-Generation Plant, which the university will be expanding under a separate agreement with another entity.
The introduction of LNG will not only reduce the fuel costs for the Mona campus by $52 million annually, but also make it a more environmentally friendly campus by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 16 per cent.
“Jamaica is an exceptional country with some of the brightest and most talented people in the world. We are committed to the education and advancement of the next generation,” said Wes Edens, chairman and founder, New Fortress Energy. “Everyone deserves access to quality education. It is our privilege to help students with financial need and a desire to excel to reach their fullest potential.”
Among the awardees are two students from the Faculty of Medical Sciences, two from the Mona School of Engineering, and one student from the Faculty of Law. Recipients include Jordan Hayles, a first-year student from Spanish Town, St Catherine, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in electrical power engineering; Rickel Williams, a final-year student from Bogue Village, Montego Bay, St James; pursuing a degree in civil engineering; Jade McGann, a first-year student from Bushy Park, St Catherine; and Crystal Duncombe, a third-year student, both from the Faculty of Medical Sciences; and Gary McDonald, final-year student from Washington Gardens, Kingston, who is pursuing a law degree.
Pro vice-chancellor and Principal of the university Professor Archibald McDonald praised New Fortress Energy for the scholarships, saying that the company has shown that it is on board not only to lend support to The UWI through the LNG purchasing contract, but to accelerate the development of Jamaica through investment in education and training, which are at the core of economic development.
“We receive hundreds of applications from outstanding students each year who face financial challenge and are extremely happy that these students have received funding, thanks to New Fortress Energy and their commitment to education in Jamaica,” Shana Hastings, manager of the Office of Student Financing at The UWI, said.
New Fortress Energy has also committed to provide grants to The UWI staff and assist in the training of more than 100 electrical power engineering students. The training programme is expected to increase to over 300 in the next two years, with the Government of Jamaica and the university’s goal to dramatically increase the total number of graduating engineers to over 1,000 per year.
This will strengthen and build further competence and capacity for the growing LNG industry workforce in Jamaica, throughout the Caribbean and North America. Additionally, members of the university’s academic staff will benefit from new research programmes in cryogenics, the study of the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures.
Source: The Jamaica Observer Careers
