NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (May 23, 2013) –An invitation was extended to Nevisian students, to apply for the two available Medical University of the Americas (MUA)/Nevis Island Administration (NIA) scholarships for the 2013/2014 academic year, for study from August 2013 to February 2014.
Word of the availability of the two scholarships came chairperson of the MUA/NIA Scholarship Committee Mrs. Nicole Slack-Liburd, when she made the announcement in an interview with the Department of Information on May 23, 2013.
“The MUA/NIA Scholarship has come this year for cycle 2013/2014 and we are proud to announce the scholarship for this year. The timeline for the scholarship [application] this year is May 21 to July 12th. This is our formal call for scholarships,” she said.
According to Mrs. Slack-Liburd, the cycle for 2013/2014 like the inception of the scholarship’s establishment, would focus on the priority areas of health, science and education.
“This year our priority areas are Bio-medical Engineering although that has been a priority on the list for quite some time, we have seen some renewed interest in this area even before the call was announced. Other areas include Pharmacy, Medicine, Nutrition, Mathematics, Chemistry and Special and Inclusive Education.
“The latter one is new on our list for this year and we encourage teachers out there interested in this area to apply for this scholarship,” she said.
Regarding eligibility for the scholarships Mrs. Slack-Liburd explained that applicants had to be 18 years of age; a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis and have at least five CXC/CSEC passes which include Mathematics, English and one Science. They also have to be active in community service.
The scholarships will be awarded for up to four years of study at the University of the West Indies or any four-year United States-based institution as well as the Medical University of the Americas on Nevis.
For further information and application forms for the MUA/NIA Scholarship, interested persons could contact Nicole Slack-Liburd at 469-5521 ex. 2022/2296 or 2012 or via email at min.health@niagov.com
Mrs. Slack-Liburd also noted that over the past two years scholarship recipients had been placed at learning institutions on and off the island studying medicine. At present there was one at the MUA in Pot Works; another at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus in Jamaica and one at the University of the Virgin Islands.
The scholarships were made available since the MUA came to Nevis in 1998/1999 and ever since their establishment students were given the opportunity to pursue university education. A committee was subsequently formalised three years agoto review the scholarship applications.