Thursday, 23 January 2025
Scholarships offered by the CARICOM Secretariat have allowed five Caribbean nationals to pursue a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Procurement Law and Policy offered by the University of Nottingham’s School of Law.
Following a successful open-call process in 2024, the fully-funded scholarships were awarded to the students – Vernecia Badal, Candice Callendar, Damion Edwards, Fericka Frue and Vanessa Jackson – who commenced study for the postgraduate law qualification in September.
CARIFORUM is a group of 15 Caribbean countries with various trade and other partnership agreements with the European Union (EU) and the UK. With the financial assistance of the EU, CARIFORUM launched the project – Capacity Building in CARIFORUM Countries in Competition, Public Procurement and Customs and Trade Facilitation – to facilitate specialist study at institutions including the University of Nottingham.
The Executive Programme in Public Procurement Law and Policy is an innovative part-time programme provided under the School of Law’s world-renowned Public Procurement Research Group. The programme offers a comprehensive grounding in the legal aspects of public procurement. Through the course, students gain an understanding of the nature of law and legal process, the principles and rules of public procurement law, the application of these rules in key national and international systems and models, and how to implement best practice in the context of a public procurement legal framework.
Olympia Bekou, Professor of Public International Law and Head of School, said: “The Executive Programme has longstanding connections with procurement professionals from the CARIFORUM region and we are fortunate to have benefited from their specialist insights on emerging issues in policy and practice. We are therefore delighted to welcome these five students to the programme and look forward to their valuable contributions.”
On completion of the course in 2025, the five postgraduate students will be required to continue in their roles as public procurement officials with their respective governments to enable internal knowledge transfer of public procurement law and policy and support efforts to implement the public procurement provisions of the CARIFORUM–European Union Economic Partnership Agreement.
The CARIFORUM Consultancy for Capacity Building in Competition, Public Procurement and Customs and Trade Facilitation project is funded by the EU under the 11th EDF Support to CARIFORUM States in furthering the implementation of their Economic Partnership Agreement commitments and in meaningfully reaping the benefits of the Agreement.
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More information is available from Vicky Taylor, Operations Manager in the School of Law, via vicky.taylor@nottingham.ac.uk
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About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 97 in the world and 17th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the third most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2024 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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