Submitted by E.M. Williams on Fri, 09/09/2016 - 11:13
9 September 2016 – We are delighted to announce that Marcela Ponce, who has joined 37 other students on CISL’s Master’s in Sustainability Leadership this month, has been selected as the first recipient of the Mentis Cleantech Futures Bursary.
The bursary was established early this year by Pravin Rodrigues who is one of CISL’s alumni and a previous Master’s student, to offer some additional financial support to deserving Master’s candidates. It has been named under the banner of his company, Mentis Solutions. Mentis Solutions is a Canada-based management consulting firm, which supports organisations achieve large-scale change, including change for sustainability and has a growing practice focused on clients in the clean technology and social enterprise spaces.
Speaking about the bursary, Mr Rodrigues, explained: “Through my studies at Cambridge, and especially my dissertation, I learned about the unique challenges and opportunities experienced by the cleantech sector, which has the potential to play a significant role in the transition to the green economy”. He continued, “I wanted to encourage applications from and offer support to those working in that space or related roles, especially candidates who are self-funded or self-employed”.
Marcela is based in Columbia and works to promote sustainable finance, including designing and offering green finance credit products, and promoting energy and resource efficiency measures in financial sector infrastructure. Speaking of her achievement she said: “The funds will support me in deepening my knowledge, building a greater network, and strengthening my skills to continue leading initiatives to drive the sustainability agenda forward”.
The Mentis Cleantech Futures bursary is being offered again for the 2017 intake of the Master’s in Sustainability Leadership. Applications open on 13th September 2016 for this interdisciplinary part-time programme, designed to equip business professionals around the world to respond to sustainability challenges and opportunities.
