St. Lucian medical university offers scholarships to Guyanese

St. Helen University (SHU), based in Vieux Fort, St. Lucia, has announced it will be offering two full tuition scholarships to qualifying students from Guyana.

This announcement was made yesterday in a statement as the university starts registering students for its January 2013 opening.

“Like many other members of the Guyanese Diaspora, those of us who are building St. Helen University are committed to play our part in contributing to Guyana’s youth and development,” SHU President Oma Sewhdat is quoted as saying in the statement.

“Through these scholarships, we want to ensure that we make our high-quality programs accessible to Guyanese students so that they can be part of our innovative programs delivered by highly-skilled and experienced Physicians and Medical Educators from the US, Canada and the Caribbean,” he also said.

According to the statement, SHU Faculty heads come from the US, Canada and the Caribbean, and include Guyanese doctors Dr. Max Hanoman from Guyana, Dr. Richard Van West-Charles and Dr. Alden Chesney resident in Canada, Dr. Colwick Wilson and Dr. Vishnu Seodat resident in the USA.

Sewhdat, it noted, is confident of the quality of graduates who will emerge from SHU and the role they will play as they start their careers. “We are sure that Guyanese students who come to St. Helen will be assets to Guyana when they return, championing health as critical element in the development of people, communities and the country. In so doing they will be part of the change needed at national and international levels in the arena of Health and Development,”   he said.

He also noted that health is an integral part of development and said that the model at SHU will reflect and embrace that link as it aligns its program and curriculum model with standards set by the World Health Organization and other international organizations.

In addition to the two full tuition scholarships for qualifying Guyanese students, Sewhdat noted that SHU is also offering a 50% One Year tuition scholarship to all students currently enrolled in Medical Programs anywhere in the Caribbean, including Guyana, who would like to join the St. Helen’s program in January 2013. “This opens up the opportunity for many more students to become part of St. Helen University as they start to build an exciting career in Medicine,” he added.

Prospective students can visit the university’s website www.shu.com.lc to learn more about it and apply or contact SHU at info@shu.com.lc for more information, the statement added.