…UK envoy charges Chevening Scholarship awardees

By Abigail Brower

SIXTEEN Guyanese will soon wing out to the United Kingdom to pursue studies under the UK government’s international award scheme, the Chevening Scholarships.
The students were hosted at a reception on Thursday evening by Greg Quinn, British High Commissioner to Guyana who charged them to take full advantage of this unique opportunity so they could better contribute to Guyana’s future economic development on their return. “The key message from me is that we must have the courage to learn from others, and accept that none of us know everything,” the UK envoy said, adding, “If we get an opportunity to learn, then we should grab it with both hands; and that is what Chevening is all about. The students will all pursue post-graduate degrees in a range of fields.”

Held at the High Commissioner’s Bel Air residence, the reception was attended by Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Attorney-General, Basil Williams; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge; Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire, Acting Chief Justice; and Chevening alumnus, scholarship awardees and family members.
The High Commissioner said he has seen an increase in Guyanese participation in the Chevening programme since he arrived here in 2015, and that’s a great improvement. “We only sent two, and this is an indication of a significant increase in scholarships we have been able to award in the last couple of years.” He said he hoped that the scholars, who will be studying for their postgraduate qualifications in a variety of fields, would, upon their return, rise to leadership positions across different influential sectors across Guyana’s economy, for the fact that those subject areas are key to Guyana’s future and ongoing development.

Among subject areas in which the awardees will be pursuing their studies are: Public policy; renewable energy; energy studies; global health; petroleum and energy economics; anthropology and environment; transport planning; innovation management; environmental engineering; development finance; agriculture; and communications.
The scholars and their respective disciplines are: Kayla DeFreitas, MSc in Anthropology, Environment and Development; Sanasha Perreira, MSc in Renewable Energy Development; Jason Fraser, MSc in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship; Rovin Sukhraj, MSc in Global Health, Law and Governance; Tiffany Daniels, MSc in Systematic Reviews for Public Policy and Practice; Darcy Waldron, MSc in Environmental Engineering and Project Management; Michael Fraser, MSc in Communication and Signal Processing; Lidon Charles, LLM in International Law; Gopnauth Gossai, MSc in Petroleum, Energy Economics and Finance; Tricia Teekah, MA in Public Policy; Joel Joseph, MSc in Development Finance; Jacqueline Major, MSc in Transport Planning and Engineering; Dillon Clarke, MSc in Energy Studies with specialisation in Energy /Economics; and Jonathan Melville, MSc in Agriculture and Environmental Science.

Reacting to his being selected for the scholarship, 29-year-old Dillon Clarke, a former Bank of Guyana (B0G) staffer and Inter-Development Bank (IDB) Economist, said he chose Energy Studies with specialization in oil and gas economics not only because he believes that Guyana can benefit from a “green” economy, but also because it’s the programme that best suits him, seeing that he aspires to become an analyst and advisor in the economic, commercial and financial aspect of those industries.
Jonathan Melville, on the other hand, told the Guyana Chronicle that the scholarship is an opportunity to help him enhance his skills for a career in relation to sustainability in farming systems, environmental management, and rural development, and also understanding the synergy between agriculture and the environment.
Joel Joseph, meanwhile, would like to advise his fellow young people to seize whatever opportunity will help them broaden their horizon, and to always be a lifelong student.
The scholarship, worth G$102M, will enable the recipients to complete their post-graduate degrees in various disciplines in the UK.