NY College offering Scholarship under ‘I BELIEVE’ Initiative

Qualified Jamaican students who wish to pursue a career in Information and Communications Technology at Monroe College in New York are being invited to submit their application for a four-year degree scholarship.

The scholarship, which is being offered under the ‘I Believe Initiative’ (IBI) in partnership with Monroe College, New York, and entrepreneurs James and Manuela Goren, will see one student receiving a scholarship to study at the institution, beginning August 2014.

Interested candidates must complete and submit an application form, which should be downloaded from the IBI website at www.ibelieveinitiative.org. Deadline for all submissions is March 15, 2014 at midnight.

The ideal candidate should have a strong sense of voluntarism, demonstrate a willingness to contribute to Jamaica’s growth and development, and possess a minimum of seven Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC)/Caribbean  Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) passes (Grades 1 and 2) and three Caribbean Advanced Profiency Examinations (CAPE) passes (Grades 1,2,3).

Interested applicants should also submit: standard Monroe admissions application online at: www.monroecollege.edu; along with high school transcripts; CSEC and CAPE results; and two letters of recommendation.

Speaking at today’s (March 6) launch of the programme, Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen informed that the selected candidate, upon completion of studies, will be required to return to Jamaica to work for a minimum of three years.

“He or she must contribute to the building up of our expertise in information technology. We are promoting training in information technology because we are convinced of its relevance to Jamaica’s development now and in the future,” he said.

Providing a breakdown of the partnership, he noted that Monroe College will be providing the tuition; the Goren family will provide the accommodation and related costs, while the IBI will interview and select the candidates with the assistance of Secretary of the Rhodes Scholarship Committee, Peter Goldson.

He commended both sponsors noting that the scholarship contributes to the continued development of the nation’s human resources to first world level.

The Governor-General noted that the IBI, since implementation has partnered with organisations to facilitate tertiary assistance “to a number of bright but financially strapped students”.

In his remarks, Minister of State in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Julian Robinson said the initiative is one of the ways towards making a shift in enhancing intellectual opportunities.

“We have to become as a country, producers of ICT. We are currently consumers, we buy all the devices, we import most of the things, in fact, many of the skills that go into developing the system comes from abroad but we have to make a quantum shift from being consumers to becoming producers of ICT, and in this regard this scholarship is an important enabler for us a country,” he said.

He also noted that this is crucial in ensuring that the requisite skills needed for the development of the logistics hub initiative is here in the island.

Director of Government Relations and Outreach for the Caribbean Region at Monroe College, Dr. Geneive Brown Metzger said the scholarship forms part of the college’s commitment to assist in achieving the educational growth of Jamaica. “For more than 25 years, Monroe has been a partner with Jamaica in training a cadre of professionals on the tertiary level,” he said.

In her remarks, Mrs. Manuela Goren reiterated her family’s commitment to the development of education in the country, through this, and previous partnerships.

In 2011, the Governor-General launched his ‘I Believe Initiative’ to encourage Jamaicans to aspire for excellence with the belief that “there is nothing wrong with Jamaica that cannot be fixed by what is right with Jamaica.”