Students benefit from JPS Foundation’s STEM scholarship programme

At the start of the new academic school year, around 28 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students across the country have benefited from a new JPS Foundation Power Up Scholarship Programme.

At a recent awards ceremony and luncheon held at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St Andrew, 28 secondary and tertiary students walked away with grants and scholarships totalling over $7.5m.

Head of the JPS Foundation, Sophia Lewis, shared that the new scholarship programme forms part of a revised five-year strategy which sees the foundation expanding its support for STEM education. “STEM education has always been an important area of focus for us at the foundation. Previously, we provided funding for one electrical engineering student, and the investment was worthwhile,” she said.

She continued: “Because of this, we wanted to reach more of our young people who are pursuing studies that will equip them with the requisite skills to boost innovation at the macro level and bring us closer to actualising a ‘technology-enabled society’, as per Jamaica’s Vision 2030 - National Outcome 11.”

The grant awards included 12 Power Up Community Renewal PEP grants valued at $60,000, and two Power Up STEM grants valued at $500,000 each for one first-year STEM student and one teachers’ college student of STEM. Also included among the grants were six Power Up EWP STEM grants valuing $500,000 for final-year students of engineering at the University of Technology, (UTech). This award was made possible by Korea East West Power, a key JPS Foundation partner and shareholder.

AWARDS

Among the scholarship awards were the Power Up STEM Tertiary Scholarship for three first-year STEM students and two teachers’ college students, valued at $500,000 each and is renewable for up to four years of study. Closing out the scholarship awards was the employee-funded JPS VOLTS (volunteers on location to serve) Scholarship, awarded to the top three PEP performers from Cornwall, Middlesex and Surrey, with a value of $60,000, renewable annually for up to five years of their secondary school journey.

The ceremony, held under the theme ‘Power Up and Thrive’, also featured remarks from the acting chief education transformation officer of the TREND Programme at the Ministry of Education and Youth, Sophia Forbes-Hall.

“With these grants and scholarships, the JPS Foundation is helping to reduce the financial barrier to entry so that our young people can enhance their skills, improve their efficiency in the classrooms, ultimately resulting in greater outcomes for STEM education,” she said.

The keynote address, delivered by JPS Communications Director Winsome Callum, charged awardees to be cognisant of the responsibility they have for their own learning and development, and to have fun on the road to success.

“With these grants and scholarships, JPS Foundation has placed the power in your hands to achieve success; it’s not an option,” she said. “We will be there with you along the way, but you have to do the hard work, you have to take the risks, you have to innovate, and most importantly, you must ensure you have fun while doing it.”

The JPS Foundation received over 1,500 applications for its scholarship programme. Established in 2012, its main areas of focus include climate change, community development and STEM education.