Chevening Scholarship scheme marks 30th Anniversary

One of the events I always look forward to is our farewell reception to wish good luck to our latest Chevening scholar as he or she sets off for the UK to begin their studies.

The Chevening scheme is the UK Government’s flagship scholarship programme. It aims to provide postgraduate students and young professionals, identified as having high potential, an opportunity to develop their academic and management skills at well-known British universities. 2014 is the 30th anniversary of the Chevening scheme. Over the last three decades, over 43,000 Chevening scholars from more than 150 countries have studied in the UK, creating an influential global network.

Last month, I congratulated Siti Nurfateha Abdullah who will be pursuing a Master’s in Anthropology of Development and Rights at Goldsmiths, University of London. Employed as a Research Officer in the Prime Minister’s Office, Nurfateha selected Goldsmiths because its Anthropology Department is voted among the best in the UK. She is also co-founder of the non-profit organisation Bruneians:Read and webzine Songket Alliance.

Both the UK and Brunei Darussalam believe strongly in the importance of investing in education. In the UK, we are proud that our highly ranked universities attract so many foreign students, including from Brunei. This month’s QS ranking of world universities, regarded as among the most rigorous of its kind, ranks four British institutions in the top six of the world’s universities.

Our farewell reception was a really nice occasion to congratulate Nurfateha, with her family and friends, and meet up again with a lot of our former Chevening scholars who are doing well.

Applications for the 2015/16 Chevening Scholarships are currently open for citizens and permanent residents of Brunei Darussalam. The ideal candidate would be in early to mid career, with at least 2 years’ work experience and an excellent record of achievements which show evidence of leadership qualities. Applicants should be committed to returning and contributing to Brunei’s social and economic development.

Anyone interested should visit www.chevening.org/Brunei for more details. The deadline for applications is Saturday 15 November 2014. Perhaps it will be you I will be congratulating next year!