Central Bank Welcomes Summer Interns

Fourteen tertiary level students recently began a three-month internship at the Central Bank of Barbados.

"Janis Marville, Director, Human Resources (fourth from right) and Heather Grimes, Senior Human Resources Administrator (centre) with 12 of the 14 Central Bank interns"

The students hail from four institutions – University of the West Indies, Cave Hill; University of the West Indies, St. Augustine; Barbados Community College, and McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.

Among them are Quinn Weekes, recipient of the 2016 Roland Craigwell Memorial Scholarship, which was previously known as the Central Bank of Barbados Scholarship, and Nicholas Stapleton, who received the same award in 2015. They are two of five interns assigned to the Central Bank’s Research and Economic Analysis Department (READ).

“The idea is to give these students the opportunity to apply what they’ve been learning in the classroom to practical research, so that by the end of the summer, they will have explored and addressed a research question related to the functioning of our small open economies,” explained Michelle Doyle-Lowe, Director of Research and Economic Analysis Department, speaking of her department’s plans for its interns. “They will be collaborating on working papers, honing their presentation skills, and attending our monthly economic meetings.”

While the budding economists have been placed in READ, the other nine students, whose majors range from Accounts to Theatre Arts, have been assigned to departments based on their field of study.

Katrina King, a final year Mass Communications student at the Barbados Community College who will be working in the Bank’s Public Affairs Unit, is excited about gaining real-world experience. “I’m looking forward to learning more about Public Relations, having the opportunity to organize events and learning about the entire news production process.” The Bank produces a monthly internal news programme.

The Central Bank’s summer internship programme was started in 2002. Over the years, several former interns have gone on to become permanent employees of the Bank.

2016-06-16