SBM Offshore Guyana has taken a significant step towards fostering education with the launch of its Scholarship Programme for Indigenous Women in STEM. The program, unveiled on July 19 in the new oil producing South American country, aims to provide indigenous women with an opportunity to pursue studies in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) at the University of Guyana.
This initiative aligns with the company’s commitment to supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals of Quality Education and Reduced Inequality.
Addressing the audience at the launch, SBM Offshore Guyana’s General Manager, Martin Cheong, emphasized the company’s dedication to nurturing the young talent of Guyana, allowing them to benefit from the burgeoning oil and gas sector. He highlighted, “Our wish is that the beneficiaries of this programme receive a quality education through the University of Guyana, giving them equal opportunity to contribute to the nation’s workforce and benefit from the oil and gas industry. We believe that nurturing the skills and talents of Guyanese youth will transform the country and encourage them to explore careers in this industry.”
Gwenetta Fordyce, Sustainability and Social Impact Programme Development Officer at SBM Offshore Guyana, expressed her enthusiasm for the scholarship’s potential to empower indigenous women. She stated, “Through this scholarship programme, Indigenous women will acquire an undergraduate degree, resulting in transformative leadership, improved livelihoods, diversified income generation, and job creation.”
The initiative aims to equip the beneficiaries with not only academic knowledge but also the skills and confidence to make a positive impact in their communities.
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Dr. Paloma Mohamed-Martin, Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, lauded SBM for promptly implementing this scholarship program. “I wish to immediately applaud SBM [Offshore Guyana] for the speed at which they actually acted upon their idea. It is remarkable that just a few months ago this year, they had this conversation with us, and today we are actually launching this,” the Vice Chancellor said.
Marti De Souza, Deputy Chief Education Officer with responsibility for Amerindian and Hinterland Development at the Ministry of Education, praised the program’s potential to contribute to Guyana’s human resources development. He stated, “This scholarship programme will be playing a great role in the development of Guyana’s human resources, more so, in the development of our indigenous women and girls.”
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To qualify for the scholarship, applicants must be Guyanese Indigenous women either entering the University of Guyana as first-year students or continuing students in their second year, majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics, with a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.2 and above. Interested candidates can submit their applications at https://womensstemscholarship.sbm.gy/. The application deadline is August 20, 23:59hrs.
SBM Offshore Guyana’s Scholarship Programme for Indigenous Women in STEM is just one of the various capacity-building programs the company has undertaken to develop the country’s human resources. Notably, the Graduate Engineers’ Programme and Trainee Technician Programme are among other initiatives contributing to building a skilled and diverse workforce in Guyana.
