Trust Director welcomes distinguished Trust alumna & member of the Cambridge Caribbean Scholarship selection panel, Professor Verene Shepherd

Helen Pennant, Director of the Cambridge Trust, had the pleasure of meeting with distinguished Trust alumna Professor Verene Shepherd from Jamaica during her recent visit to Cambridge.

Professor Shepherd, a world-renowned historian, and one of the Caribbean’s pre-eminent scholars and advocates for gender justice, racial equality and non-discrimination, played an important role in advising the Cambridge Trust on setting up the ‘Cambridge Caribbean Scholarship’.

This scholarship for students from the Caribbean region is offered in partnership with the University of Cambridge and Trinity College, is tenable at any Cambridge College and open to applicants at Masters or PhD level in any discipline. It is hoped that alumni from the programme, which recognises the historic disadvantage of the region and the potential of young people to act as catalysts for change, will form a cohort of talented people who contribute to the future development of the Caribbean region.

The Trust were delighted when Professor Shepherd, a past recipient of a Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholarship, agreed to serve on the first selection panel for the scholarship. She is joined on the panel by Professor Richard Drayton from King’s College London (Professor of Imperial and Global History), Professor Johnhenry Gonzalenz (Professor of Caribbean History at the University of Cambridge) and Dr Natalia Buitron (Professor of Socio-Political Anthropology at the University of Cambridge).

Helen Pennant said “we are most thankful to Verene and to all the members of the panel for the time and expertise they have given to support this crucially important programme”.

Helen met with Professor Shepherd at Lucy Cavendish College her alma mater where she undertook her PhD in History with the support of the Trust. They were joined by one of the inaugural recipients of the Cambridge Caribbean Scholarship, Brian Walker from Jamaica who is undertaking a PhD in Criminology at Homerton College, and heard about his experience so far with his PhD studies and just how welcome the scholarship is to the Caribbean.

Brian began his studies in Michaelmas term 2023, and was joined in Lent term 2024 by the other inaugural recipient, Philip Oneal from Barbados who is studying for a PhD in Land Economy at Christ’s College.

The selection process for next academic year has now been completed, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming to Cambridge:

Mr Kesna Fairclough, Jamaica, PhDMPhil in Scientific Computing, King’s College

Mrs Myriame Francois, Haiti, MPhil in Multi-Disciplinary Gender Studies, Emmanual College

Mr Brandon Sambrano, Barbados, MPhil in European & Comparative Literatures & Cultures, St. Edmund’s College

Miss Felicia Collins, Guyana, MPhil in Conservation Leadership, St. Edmund’s College

Outreach has been carried out across the Caribbean to raise awareness of the programme and we are looking forward to an even greater field of applicants in the next cycle.

The application window for applying for study at the University of Cambridge for the academic year 2025-26 opens in September 2024.