ST. GEORGE’S GRENADA, 17 April 2024: The Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land
Management (PISLM) has awarded Postgraduate Scholarships to five (5) CARICOM nationals.
This initiative, through the PISLM/CSIDS-SOILCARE Postgraduate Scholarship program, 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. However, supervision of research can be
provided by the University of Guyana and the University of Belize. The awards are valued
between US $50,000 to US$75,000 and will cover tuition, compulsory fees, books, and living
expenses.
Twenty (20) applications were received for the scholarship programme when it was launched in
May 2023. The application process was conducted through an online platform where applicants
were required to submit a completed application form and supporting documents. The
applications were reviewed by a technical committee through a comprehensive screening tool
and short-listed candidates were subjected to an interview, after which the final decision on the
recipients was made.
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
conceptualized.
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. The 2024 PISLM Scholars are Michelle
Wilson–Howard (Barbados), Abidas Ash- (Belize), Darron Williams- (Grenada), Omali Dare
(Guyana), and Damian Adjodha (St Lucia). These scholarships were officially conferred at the
6th PISLM High-level Forum on April 11, 2024, in Grenada.
The PISLM is confident that the selected recipients will make significant contributions to their
respective fields and countries, in the areas of sustainable soil management (SSM) and
sustainable land management (SLM), 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. In this regard, we extend our heartiest congratulations
to the five (5) recipients of this inaugural award and wish them much success in their studies. .
-ENDS-
Michelle Wilson–Howard (Barbados)
Damian Adjodha (St Lucia).
Williams (Grenada)
Belize’s National UNCCD Focal Point, Michele Alvarez, on behalf of Abidas Ash- (Belize)
(Guyana), Mr. Calvin James PISLM Executive Director, Michelle Alvarez on behalf of Abidas
Ash(Belize) and Michelle Wilson–Howard (Barbados)
For more information, contact the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management at info@pislmsids.org or soilcarepagnd@pislmsids.org.
