(Trinidad Guardian) Scotiabank has had a long and dedicated relationship with the University of the West Indies (UWI) and, for the past 10 years, has been the lead sponsor of the UWI annual Toronto Benefit Gala.
During this time, the gala has helped award scholarships to 500 deserving students.
Following this impact, the bank has recommitted its role to the gala for the next five years and has also increased its investment to CAD$75,000 per year, for a total of CAD$375,000 over the five-year period.
This sponsorship will now include 15 Scotiabank Scholarships per year designated to support students in need of financial aid.
Senior vice president of International Banking Brendan King visited Trinidad to showcase the bank’s support for the initiative and wider Caribbean, meeting with executives and scholarship recipients of UWI St Augustine Campus.
The meeting was followed by a tour of the campus, including the Cocoa Research Centre, that aims to promote Trinidad’s rich cocoa offerings and steelpan Lab, which has birthed the successful G-Pan.
UWI Gala Benefit scholarship recipients, in sharing their background and stories, thanked Scotiabank and the UWI gala for enabling them to attend university to fulfill their various pursuits.
Through the Scotiabank scholarships, more students will have the opportunity to experience the benefits from higher education. In his remarks to students, King shared advice and also reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to youth and education.
He said, “At Scotiabank, we believe in the importance of investing in the youth of our communities to help them reach their infinite potential. We know that how we support young people today can help them for tomorrow, and that’s why we want to help them thrive.”
The new Scotiabank scholarships will be available to Caricom nationals who are pursuing full time undergraduate programmes at UWI Campuses in Trinidad, as well as Jamaica and Barbados.
Eligible students must be entering at least level two of their B.Sc. degree programme in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Humanities & Education & Social Sciences.
