TOKYO (Press Release) — A National Weather Service officer in the Marshall Islands has been awarded a full-ride scholarship to pursue graduate study at Sophia University’s Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies in Tokyo, Japan. Nover Juria is currently completing his studies in the Social Sciences of Ocean at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. He earlier earned two Associate of Arts degrees from the College of the Marshall Islands.
Juria has been with the Marshall’s National Weather Service since 2010. He has completed a number of training programs. Before joining the weather service, Juria was a government budget officer.
Juria is the tenth Micronesian to be awarded the highly competitive scholarship. The graduate scholarship program has supported nine Micronesians at Sophia University. Six have earned master’s degrees in environmental studies, while three are currently graduate students in Tokyo
Juria said he has a strong interest in studying how national climate change policy is developed and implemented. In particular, he is interested in studying the National Climate Change Policy Framework. “It’s aim is to foster and guide a national plan of action to address current and short-, medium- and long-term effects of climate change, ensuring to the greatest possible extent that the quality of life of the people of the Marshall Islands and opportunities for sustainable development are not compromised,” he said.
The highly competitive scholarship is funded by Sophia University, the Association for Promotion of International Cooperation or APIC, a Tokyo-based private foundation, and the Micronesia Conservation Trust’s Bill Raynor Micronesia Challenge Scholarship.
APIC, Sophia University and MCT partner to select current professionals from the Micronesia region to pursue graduate level degrees. Sophia University has committed to providing full tuition scholarships, APIC covers travel, room and board and a monthly allowance, and Micronesia Conservation Trust, through the Bill Raynor Micronesia Challenge Scholarship Fund, covers the cost of internships for the scholars, which includes costs for students to return home during their breaks to work with their host institutions and mentors.
The scholarship aims to produce professionals who contribute to the development of effective conservation of Micronesia’s biodiversity, climate change adaptation and mitigation, among other environmental issues contributing to the promotion of sustainable livelihoods across the region. The scholars focus on developing leadership and technical skills and/or majors that enhance their ability to carry out work in conservation, climate adaptation and sustainable development in Micronesia. So far, all the student scholars have returned to their home countries and assumed leading positions in the workforce.
