Barbadian Michelle Wilson-Howard Among Five CARICOM Nationals Awarded Inaugural PISLM Postgraduate Scholarships

Barbadian Michelle Wilson-Howard is one of five Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nationals awarded the inaugural postgraduate scholarships from the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM).

Wilson-Howard, Damian Adjodha of Saint Lucia, Darron Williams of Grenada, Omali Dare of Guyana, and Abidas Ash of Belize were chosen from 20 people who submitted applicants when the scholarship programme was launched in May 2023.

Through the PISLM/CSIDS-SOILCARE Postgraduate Scholarship programme will see the scholars commencing their studies in soil and land management in September 2024 and January 2025, respectively. The scholarships are tenable only at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago but supervision of research can be provided by the University of Guyana and the University of Belize.

The awards are valued between US$50 000 and US$75 000 and will cover tuition, compulsory fees, books, and living expenses. Under the CSIDS-SOILCARE Phase 1 Project, PISLM seeks to provide innovative solutions through capacity building, to increase training at the academic level, as a means of addressing long-term capacity needs. It was against this backdrop that the scholarship initiative was conceptualised.

“The five scholarship recipients exhibited the aptitude and competence to complete their course of study. Moreover, they have exhibited exemplary dedication to their academic pursuits, community service, and future career goals,” PISLM said.

It added that it is confident the recipients will make significant contributions to their respective fields and countries, in the areas of sustainable soil management and sustainable land management, soil health, soil and land assessment/capability, land degradation, spatial modeling, GIS, carbon capture/sequestration, or any area being addressed by the CSIDS-SOILCARE Phase 1 Project. (PR/BT)