THE need for more coastal engineers locally is one of the push factors that motivated Janielle Hay to apply for the Erasmus Mundus master’s scholarship opportunity.

The 24-year-old — whose coastal and marine engineering and management programme started on August 12 — was the Jamaican selected for this year’s scholarship opportunity, while the other scholar was Amilcar Figueroa from Belize.

“Jamaica will need coastal engineers as the negative impact of climate change, global warming and sea level rise [has been], and will undoubtedly affect us severely in the coming years,” she said.

The two-year master’s opportunity features programmes in the fields of science, technology and engineering at leading universities across Europe. It covers the cost of students’ participation, travel, and living allowance.

In just a few weeks, Hay has already met classmates from Ghana, Vietnam, France, Mexico and Canada, which is one of the many benefits of the scholarship opportunity — cultural exchange.

“Outside of learning about coastal engineering and management at a graduate level, I am really looking forward to travelling across different countries. I’ll be able to sample different cuisines, learn Norwegian, Spanish and Italian languages, and meet students from all over the world with diverse backgrounds and experiences,” she said.

Hay, who did her undergraduate degree in civil engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had thwarted every overseas study opportunity she applied for.

She said she later applied and got accepted for the master’s programme after being informed about it by another Erasmus Mundus scholarship recipient.

“I feel overjoyed and extremely grateful. I left college feeling as though I had missed out on something vital. However, this programme gives me an opportunity to see the world while studying at some of the best institutions in my field. This will open so many doors locally and internationally in the industry and academia,” said Hay.

Hay will start her engineering programme at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Norway, further her studies at Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Spain, then move on to the University of Genoa in Italy.

She is now telling other students to take the first step of applying for the programme.

“I would encourage everyone to apply to the programme because when else will you have a fully-funded chance to study abroad? On top of that, there are no application fees so it is not cost prohibitive,” she said.

Hay added: “The first thing I would recommend as an undergraduate student or full-time engineer looking to go back to graduate school, is to connect with your professors or managers from early on. A great recommendation later can really bolster your application. Next, I recommend starting the motivation letter since this along with your letters of recommendations will form the basis of your character to the reviewer who is a complete stranger to you.”

The scholarship application period is open every year between October and January for courses starting the following academic year. Interested members can already consult the online catalogue available at https://www.eacea.ec.europa.eu/scholarships/emjmd-catalogue_es