Arlando Dunkley wins 2019 PCJ renewable energy scholarship
POSTGRADUATE student at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Ja) Arlando Dunkley has been awarded the 2019 Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) Renewable Energy Scholarship.
The award is a grant of $2 million, payable over two years to cover the full tuition for the Master of Science in Renewable Energy Engineering which he is pursuing.
Dunkley, who hails from Spanish Town, is a past student of St Jago High School where he earned nine Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects with a distinction in Mathematics. He then read for a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering at UTech, graduating with honours.
During his undergraduate programme, Dunkley was a member of the University Public Speaking and Debating Society as well as the Association of Chemical Engineers. He was also the winner of the Best Chemical Engineering Major Project in 2016.
“I am happy to be the recipient of the PCJ Renewable Energy Scholarship, which will enable me to fulfil one of my professional and educational ambitions,” Dunkley said on receiving the award last Wednesday. “A lot of technological innovations in energy are pioneered in academia, and I want to be a part of the team that changes Jamaica’s energy landscape.”
In her keynote address at the award luncheon at the PCJ auditorium, Minister of Science, Energy and Technology Fayval Williams encouraged Dunkley to use the knowledge gained not only for personal pursuits, but also to contribute to nation-building.
“In just the same way that energy is a driver of growth and development, education is also a crucial pillar in the development process,” she said. “This is why in 2017 the PCJ sought to widen its impact on education by expanding its focus to include advanced-level research and development activities.”
For his part, the PCJ’s acting Group General Manger Brian Richardson said he was happy to welcome Dunkley into the fold and wished him well in his quest to develop his intellectual capacity and contribute to the growth of our country.
“The PCJ is always seeking to engage youngsters to get their youthful innovation and ingenuity focused on solving some of Jamaica’s energy challenges,” Richardson said.
Utech said it will shortly be inviting applications for the 2020 scholarship.
