The National Commercial Bank (NCB) Foundation launched its Innovative, Creative, Outstanding and Nationalistic (ICON) Scholarship on August 18.

The scholarship aims to provide opportunities for students pursuing non-traditional fields of study, such as Engineering, Fashion Designing, Computer Science, Agricultural Science, Animation, Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

It will also target students doing teaching degrees with majors in Mathematics and Science at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) levels.

Manager of Corporate Brand, Communications and Philanthropy at NCB, Belinda Williams, told JIS News after the launch at the Courtleigh Hotel & Suites, that the Foundation began the scholarship programme because of an increase in applications for its popular NCB Foundation Scholarship and to support students who have chosen to pursue studies in emerging vocation and skills areas.

“We wanted to set these persons apart because we wanted to give them a fair chance among themselves and their peers. So, the reasoning behind that is to say to them that you are [brilliant] and bold enough to step forward to go into an area of discipline that is not popular and that is required for the future, and we are here to support you,” she said.

The ICON Scholarship programme is divided into three categories, namely the ICON Gold Scholarship, valued at $120,000 and awarded annually for the duration of study. There are also the ICON Silver Grant, valued at $100,000, and the ICON Bronze Grant, totaling $75,000. Both are awarded once.

Fifteen students received the ICON Scholarship, while another 56 will benefit from the grants.

Source: Jamaica Information Service