Jamaica’s Winston Quest made history when he was awarded the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship in Germany. Quest, who attended Black River High School and Munro College, is the first Jamaican architect to receive this award, besting 42 other candidates from 19 countries to win the award. He will start his one-year participation in the fellowship in March 2018. He will also receive an intensive two-month language course beginning in January 2018. While the fellowship is scheduled to end in February 2019, it can be extended by three months if Quest can demonstrate that he can achieve more with the additional time. Quest is an architect planner with the National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA) in Jamaica, where he has worked since September 2014. He studied architecture in Santiago de Cuba.

The prestigious award is given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which provides fellowship grants under the International Climate Protection Fellowship Program, which gives as many as 20 international fellowships every year. It is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety’s International Climate Initiative. The fellowships permit grantees to spend a year in Germany to conduct a research-related project. The fellowships also facilitate long-term collaborations and contact with specialists in the field in Germany.

Photo Source: Markus Große Ophoff‏ @GrosseOphoff