The Chevening Scholarship Programme is a prestigious awards scheme that supports international postgraduate students who want to study in the United Kingdom. Funded by the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office with contributions from the Higher Education Institutes in the UK, the private sector, and some other Whitehall Departments, the scheme operates in over 150 countries and annually provides funding for over 2,300 talented graduates and young professionals to become familiar with the UK and gain skills which will benefit their countries. In Bulgaria the scheme is administered by the British Council and Open Society Institute.

For more than 15 years since the introduction of the programme in Bulgaria, we have identified future leaders, decision-makers and opinion-formers, who have had the opportunity to travel to and study in the UK and make a real contribution to the future of Bulgaria. They have graduated from the UK’s most prestigious higher education institutions, studying across a broad spectrum of areas – from EU integration, economics and legal studies to environmental issues and minority rights. Bulgarian Chevening alumni currently hold leadership positions in Ministries, NGOs and business institutions. Two shining examples are the current Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev and the Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin.

Upon graduation, the students join the special group of Chevening alumni and have the opportunity to build upon the relationships they have made with other scholars and with the UK, and benefit from the membership of this unique network and, in turn, contribute to its richness.

On a local level, the alumni can join the Association of Bulgarian Chevening Scholars (ABCS) which was established in 2005 with the support of the British Council Bulgaria. The aim of the Association is to create a community and to provide opportunities for networking and cooperation between people of different professional backgrounds, united by common ideas and the desire to contribute to the development of their country, as well as to the development of contacts between the UK and Bulgaria. It works on various projects in the areas of civil society, the environment, culture, education. For more information, please check the ABCS website at www.bg-chevening.org.

For more information on the Chevening Scholarship Programme please contact Anna.Naumova@britishcouncil.bg