For the first time in Malaysia, Five Malaysians who took their IELTS test with the British Council have been awarded The British Council IELTS Scholarship valued at US$17,500 (RM53, 375). The scholarship is awarded for them who are pursuing an undergraduate or a postgraduate programme outside Malaysia to assist them with the tuition fees.
The British Council Malaysia hosted a scholarship Award Ceremony at 5.30pm on Tuesday, 27th September 2011, at the Maya Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Among the invited guests and media representatives, the new Country Director of British Council Malaysia, Mr Gavin Anderson, who officially started on the 26th of September 2011, delivered his address on his very first official event in Malaysia. Also present was Mr Greg Selby, the IELTS Business Development Manager of East Asia who came for the award ceremony to give an update on the latest development on IELTS worldwide.
Meanwhile, Deep Adhikari, British Council Malaysia's deputy country exams manager explained that students may use the scholarship at any university in any country outside Malaysia that recognises IELTS (International English Language Testing System) for admission requirements.
“The British Council IELTS scholarship is another way we are offering value to our IELTS candidates. As this is the first time that the British Council Malaysia is offering the IELTS scholarship, it is a fantastic opportunity for the recipients to help fund their studies abroad and a great incentive for them to do well in the test,” he said.
A total of 20 applicants were short-listed after the application deadline on 31 July 2011 based on the written task upon application. The short-listed applicants presented the topic titled “Virtual Social Networking vs. Real Human Interaction” to the selection panel on 17 September 2011. The selection panel comprised of judges from the education sector and British Council management team in Malaysia.
The final five recipients who were selected based on the criteria set are:
- James Chow Kok Ho, 23, Ipoh (University of Bristol, UK - Master of Science in Economics, Finance and Management)
- Joshua Foong Chee Yan, 24, Puchong (King’s College London, UK - Master of Arts in Public Policy)
- Tan Ken Wei, 19, Kuala Lumpur (University of Warwick, UK - Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics)
- Tee Tze Phei, 23, Petaling Jaya (University of Warwick, UK - Master of Science in Information Systems and Management)
- Yee Z-Win, 21, Seremban (Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Germany - Bachelor of Science in Power Engineering and Renewable Energies)
To conclude, the scholarship programme directly benefits both individuals and countries from which they come, while at the same time promoting higher education links between Malaysia and the destination countries.