BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Friday said that Trinidad and Tobago national Samantha Marchan had become the first recipient of Tofu’s scholarship to complete the International Master in Public Procurement Management (IMPPM) at the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
It said the scholarship, funded by the Italian government, provides Marchan with the full tuition fee for the postgraduate program, travel costs to and from Italy, and an allowance for living on the University campus and for living costs.
“There was an internal competition at work where the eligible staff was invited to submit a 700–800-word essay stating why they should be selected and how the qualification will contribute to the immediate and long-term development of the OPR and nation-building in public procurement. An Evaluation Committee evaluated all applications, and the selected person was nominated to the CDB for consideration,” said Marchan, employed with the Office of Procurement Regulation (OPR) in Trinidad and Tobago.
She has described the scholarship award as an invaluable opportunity.
“Being awarded this scholarship is one of my most outstanding achievements. This scholarship will play a significant role in assisting me in achieving my goals, which are to promote, champion, enable and support the OPR’s change implementation and work effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
“Additionally, obtaining this Scholarship means I escape the burden of having student debt at the end of my studies at the University of Rome Tor Vergata.”
The head of the CDB’s Procurement, Doug Fraser, in congratulating Marchhan said there is a high level of interest with over 60 applications being received from 15 different countries. He added that CDB’s support was part of the bank’s more comprehensive support to enhance the region’s public procurement capacity and systems.
Director of the International Master in Public Procurement at Tor Vergata University in Rome, Professor Gustavo Piga, said, “We are proud to welcome a procurement professional of great value in our IMPPM venture, the first candidate from Trinidad and Tobago in our long history of 11 years of activity with 300 graduates coming from 50 countries.
“The precious institutional collaboration with Caribbean Development Bank testifies to the growing focus of academic institutions and multilateral development banks on capacity building in the field of public procurement as an essential tool for countries’ national progress across the world,” said Professor Piga.
The Trinidadian joins two other Caribbean nationals pursuing their IMPPM at the University of Rome Tor Vergata: Maureen Baynath from Suriname and Francine Brown from Jamaica.
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