UNIVERSITY of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) student Ajani Savariau, a second-year scholar in the bachelor’s in electrical engineering programme, has been awarded the 7th AeroTel electrical engineering scholarship provided by Aeronautical Telecommunications (AeroTel) Limited to third-year undergraduate engineering students at the institution.

More than an academic milestone, the aspiring electrical engineer has declared, “This scholarship will be the fuel I need to navigate my academic and professional journey.”

The scholarship, valued at $1,385,500, was formally handed over at a recent ceremony at the UTech, Jamaica Papine campus. The award will support Savariau through the final two years of his degree.

Terry-Ann Rhule, scholarship officer, UTech, Jamaica, expressed gratitude to AeroTel for its continued investment in students through the scholarship programme over the years.

For Savariau, who is a Hanover native, the scholarship comes at a critical time as his family is recovering from the financial impacts of Hurricane Melissa.

“The first year of university was very challenging. My parents are solely funding my education right now…with the passage of Hurricane Melissa, they had to invest a lot of money just to keep things going, so this really helps to ease that burden,” he stated.

He shared that the financial aid will help him to extend his knowledge beyond hardware components to being able to generate power systems. He noted that his journey into electrical engineering was driven by a deep curiosity about how systems work.

“It started with my interest in computing, especially hardware…but then I realised that before computing, you need power,” he said.

That realisation has shaped his ambitions to contribute to Jamaica’s energy future, particularly in the area of renewable energy.

Vaughn Alexander, programme director, BSc Electrical Engineering in the School of Engineering, noted that equally important to education are those who choose to invest in it.

“Aerotel clearly understands and values this and that is precisely why we are here today to recognise that investment in action through the awarding of this scholarship,” he stated.

Howard Armstrong, general manager, Aeronautical Telecommunications Limited, highlighted the success of the scholarship programme.

“We have been pleased to execute this scholarship programme with UTech over the last several years and we have been the beneficiaries of that arrangement to a significant degree. Every one of our scholarship awardees has found permanent employment with us and has gone on to become very significant contributors,” he noted.

Armstrong also indicated that discussions are ongoing to expand the scholarship to include computer science and information technology so that more students can contribute to the engineering industry.

Savariau is now preparing to take up a summer internship role at AeroTel, which will further position him to contribute meaningfully to Jamaica’s engineering and energy sectors.