With broad smiles and absolute confidence the twenty three successful scholars received the award letters for the British Chevening Scholarship from the British Council representatives in their respective capital cities. Three candidates belonged to Sindh and Balochistan, nine from Punjab, five from Islamabad, two from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and three candidates from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir were successful in getting the scholarship out of 1569 candidates from Pakistan who applied for this prestigious scholarship. This is going to be the first ever trip to the UK for most of the candidates and they were all very excited.

“You should all be extremely proud for being successfully selected for the Chevening Scholarship and we welcome you to the Chevening family”, said Francis Campbell, British Deputy High Commissioner at Karachi at award distribution ceremony that held in Karachi “Wherever you are studying in the UK, you will experience a dynamic, vibrant and multicultural society that will provide a warm welcome”.

Similar ceremonies were held in Lahore and Islamabad where the candidates from the respective regions were awarded and also received visa and pre-departure briefings. Adam Thomson British High Commissioner to Pakistan hosted the scholars in Islamabad while Nishat Riaz, Head of Programme, British Council hosted the candidates in Lahore.

Nazia Ali a candidate from Karachi said “I hope to make a transition to the development sector by diversifying my skill set and broadening my perspective. After completing my Postgraduate programme in the UK, I intend to return to Pakistan and pursue a career in development with a focus toward finance”.

Similarly all other candidates were very enthusiastic about their studies under this programme and had many inspiring plans to aid in the development of Pakistan on their return from the UK.

Funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and administered by the British Council, the Chevening Scholarship is a prestigious award that enables talented graduates and bright young professionals from over 150 countries to study in the United Kingdom. It helps them become familiar with the UK, gain new skills or update current ones. The overall aim for these future leaders is to benefit their countries upon their return.

The scholarships cover the full cost of study in the UK; each scholarship is worth £24,000, out of which half of the 2 scholars’ funds were generously contributed by the HSBC Pakistan.

Each year the Chevening programme provides around 2,300 new scholarships globally for postgraduate studies or research at UK institutions of Higher Education.