UWI grad, 21, wins UTC innovation competition

Evan Trim, a 21-year-old UWI graduate, is the winner of the Unit Trust Corporation's 2022 Internovate competition.

An intern at the Advisory Services Department, Trim was awarded a six-month contract and $2,000 in units for his idea and creativity.

In 2021, when the competition was hosted for the first time, an intern approached UTC executive director Nigel Edwards with the idea that aligned with the corporation’s strategic vision. Internovate allowed UTC interns to go through two rounds of pitching innovative and strategic ideas to a panel of UTC’s senior management. The presentations this year spanned ideas of mobile applications and a financial product for Gen Zs.

With four interns declaring their intent ­– Jacob Mackay, Sameer Hosein, Renata Moonasar and Trim ­– three ideas made it to the finals.

Trim got the approval of the judges, including vice president, marketing and operations Natasha Davis, assistant vice president, investments, Karen Guyadeen-Gosine, manager, corporate business systems – ICT, Jonathan De Souza, assistant vice president, compliance, Betty-Ann Greenidge and digital strategy manager Akil Edwards. As part of the winning prize, Trim will work with a cross-functional team for six months to execute a mobile application.

“This was a great opportunity to present my idea and bring it life, because I always admired the UTC as the leader in the financial industry,” said Trim, adding he was looking forward to the application’s impact and working with the team.

The UTC closed the 24th year of its internship programme for young leaders – ages 18-25 – with the innovation competition, at its head office in Port of Spain, which tested their creative ability and business insight.

Sonya Le Maître, head, human resources, in her feature address, told the interns that they were at the start of their professional journey.

“As you begin your journey, the world of opportunities awaits you; go out there, develop your skills and become the best version of yourself.

“You have everything you need inside of you to succeed,” she said, urging them to see themselves as future leaders who can make a difference in the lives of others.

She added that the internship programme allowed UTC to harness the energy and creativity of young leaders, which in turn, helps the corporation build its investment footprint.

At the graduation ceremony, the interns expressed the collective view that they learnt invaluable lessons during the two-month internship.