Government announced it is working on an agreement with a historically black university to allow Bermuda College students to complete their studies in the US.

And it was also announced yesterday that Government has entered into agreement with a Rhode Island-based university for renewable scholarships.

Minister of Finance, Paula Cox and Minister of Education, Randy Horton announced the initiatives at a press conference in the Cabinet office yesterday.

Mrs. Cox called it "the birth of an idea" to develop an agreement with Tuskegee University in Alabama for Bermudian students who have studied for two years at Bermuda College to transfer to Tuskegee studying either business or information technology.

Dr. Andrew Brimmer, consultant economy policy adviser to the Minister of Finance also spoke at the press conference. He is the chairman of the board of trustees of Tuskegee.

Mrs. Cox said: "Bermuda is a sophisticated jurisdiction. in order to sustain our prominence as a jurisdiction of choice for international business and our reputation as a select tourism destination, we must continually raise the bar in the level of service that we provide to our customers in the global economy."

She also explained Dr. Brimmer was recognised by the university by naming a new building on campus after him, Andrew F. Brimmer Hall: The Brimmer college of business and information science.

Mr. Horton said: "We count it a priority that students who move through our primary, middle and senior school system must be given every opportunity to dream big and realise those dreams and aspirations through diligent study and firm, parental academic reinforcement.

"Just last week, I can make you aware that we entered into an agreement with Johnson and Wales University that will see our students receiving $5,000 renewable scholarships for admission to the University along with an exchange of individual faculty members and the development of student collaborations."

He explained Dr. Brimmer is working with Dr. Duranda Greene to create the programme which would see in addition to students studying at Tuskegee, a possible faculty exchange.

Dr. Brimmer said he was excited about the opportunity to share the idea and to show the relevance of Tuskegee's advancements.

He explained some of the programmes students could study are financial services, business services, accounting, information science, hospitality management and more.

He also said the tuition for foreign students was the same as American students unlike many other universities and colleges in the US.

Founded by former slaves, Tuskegee earned a reputation for excellence under it's first principal, Booker T. Washington and reknowned scientist George Washington Carver.

The current Bermuda Government Veterinarian, Jonathan Nesbitt and a senior Government veterinarian, Susanne Smith are graduates of it's vet school.