On February 21, 2023, His Excellency Charles Hay MVO, the British High Commissioner to Malaysia, hosted a reception at his Residence to welcome home the 2021/22 cohort of scholars. The event was an opportunity to congratulate the returning scholars and to reflect on the importance of the Chevening Scholarship program, which has been supporting Malaysians to get a world-class education in the UK for the past 40 years.
The Chevening Awards are a UK government global scholarship program, funded and administered by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office. It is complemented by generous sponsorships from Malaysian corporate partners, including Yayasan Khazanah and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, as well as additional funding from British universities in support of the program. The scholarship program in Malaysia has grown from four awards offered in 1983 to 40 awards in 2021/22.
The returning batch of Malaysian Chevening scholars from the 2021/22 academic year graduated from a wide range of disciplines, including Environmental Technology, Gender and Development, International Studies and Diplomacy, and Public Health. They attended prestigious institutions such as the University of Edinburgh, King’s College London, and the University of Cambridge.
One of the returning scholars, Mohammed Irsad bin Hamelin, a Sabahan scholar who earned a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from Birkbeck, University of London, spoke about his Chevening experience, saying, “Professional growth and personal On top of the growth, the opportunity to meet and network with people from different countries and backgrounds has been the best part of my Chevening journey. Chevening brings together remarkable individuals from around the world who you can be inspired and learn from. . It has allowed me to broaden my perspective, and deepen my understanding of the world and different cultures.”
Fazira Kamilan, a scholar from Selangor who completed a Master’s in Environment and Sustainable Development at University College London, shared her experience of the COP26 conference, which she did not attend in person but followed closely. “The rallying cry surrounding COP26, ‘No climate justice without gender justice,’ has especially influenced my advocacy for sustainability. It serves as my guiding principle to fully and effectively include women and marginalized groups in climate change debate, research and policy-making to address harmful perceptions and promote more equitable climate interventions.”
Another scholar, See Juan Wen, who attended the University of Kent to obtain a Master’s in Social Psychology, spoke about the opportunity to connect with LGBTQ academics, researchers, and activists in the UK. “The bravery shown by UK non-binary activists and researchers in speaking truth to power, their commitment to changing existing research practices to include non-binary people, is something I look forward to taking into account in my work here in Malaysia would go.”
The Chevening Scholarship program has provided an opportunity for Malaysian scholars to gain a world-class education in the UK, as well as to engage with a diverse community of scholars from around the world. It is a testament to the strong partnership between the UK and Malaysia, and to the commitment of both governments to supporting the next generation of leaders.
Source: Gov[Dot]UK
