Scotiabank has committed to funding fifteen (15) new scholarships for students attending the University of the West Indies (UWI) as part of the renewal of its sponsorship of the UWI Toronto Gala Scholarship.
The bank has been the lead sponsor for the UWI Toronto Gala Scholarship for 10 years and has recommitted to the fundraising event for another five years from 2020 to 2024. The sponsorship commitment is CAD$75,000 annually, which amounts to approximately $37 million over the five years.
In January 2020, senior administrators at the university’s Mona campus in Kingston hosted a courtesy tour for Scotiabank executives.
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Among those in attendance were Brendan King, Scotiabank’s Senior Vice President of International Banking along with local Scotiabank executives, Audrey Tugwell Henry, Scotiabank Jamaica’s Executive Vice President of Retail Banking; Dr Adrian Stokes, Senior Vice President of Wealth and Insurance; Perrin Gayle, Senior Vice President of Corporate and Commercial Banking and Yanique Forbes-Patrick, Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications all of whom are UWI alumni.
The Scotia team got a close-up view of recent developments at the Mona campus including the Mona School of Business Management Bloomberg Financial Lab and the new Faculty of Medical Sciences building.
Following the tour, the Scotiabank executives met with students who are currently attending university with scholarships from the UWI Toronto Gala. The executives shared some insights into their career journeys and offered advice to the students.
In his remarks to the students, King reaffirmed Scotiabank’s commitment to youth and education.
“At Scotiabank, we believe in the importance of investing in the youth of our communities to help them reach their infinite potential through the Scotiabank scholarships. Over our 185 year history, we have been focused on making these investments, and that is not changing. We know that how we support young people today can help them for tomorrow, and that’s why we want to help them thrive.”
welcoming King to the University’s Regional Headquarters in Jamaica, Executive Director of The UWI’s Institutional Advancement Division, Elizabeth Buchanan-Hind drew attention to The UWI’s strategic intent to continue nurturing industry-academic partnerships, as these she said, not only yielded tremendous results for the parties involved but also for the wider Caribbean community.
She noted in particular that the Toronto Benefit Gala, a fixture on the Toronto social calendar, enjoyed tremendous support from corporate Canada and had raised close to CAD $2 million and awarded 500 Scotiabank scholarships across the region since its inception.
Speaking during the visit to The UWI Mona Campus, Professor Dale Webber shared that The UWI’s strategic goals are focused on access, alignment and agility. He said, “This commitment from Scotiabank to support our students will certainly improve the University’s capacity to provide access.”
He added that it comes on the heels of donations from the University’s Chancellor, Mr Robert Bermudez and Prime Minister Andrew Holness towards the end of 2019.
“We are grateful that different entities are coming forward to support our students. It shows great confidence in them. This I believe will be instrumental for them to achieve their full potential.”
The new Scotiabank scholarships will be available to CARICOM Nationals who are registered full-time in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Humanities & Education & Social Sciences in Jamaica, Barbados or Trinidad and Tobago.
Eligible students must be entering at least level two of their degree programme.
SOURCE: LOOP Jamaica
