Chevening scholars hosted to farewell reception |03 September 2016

Six scholars who have attained Chevening scholarships to study in Britain for the academic year 2016/2017, were hosted to a farewell and alumni reception earlier this week by the British high commissioner Caron Röhsler at her Bel Air residence.

The scholars, who will be leaving the country in the coming weeks, will be following a one-year master’s degree in various fields at UK universities of their choice.

They are expected to leave the country in the coming weeks.

During the ceremony, HC Röhsler also awarded the scholars with their certificate of recognition.

She said the reception was for two main purposes – to wish them ‘Bon Voyage’ as they head off undoubtedly to an informative and a fun year in Britain and to celebrate a network team of alumni in Seychelles urged the scholars to make the network more active and vibrant.

She said as an alumni programme, which started in 1983, the Chevening scholars are members of an elite global network of almost 50,000 leaders, influencers, innovators and decision makers who benefitted from the experience of a study for master’s degree at world class universities across the United Kingdom.

“The scholarships awarded to Chevening scholars in Seychelles alone represent an investment by the British government of over 2 million pounds. This is an indication of our long-term commitment to this beautiful forward-thinking and interesting country,” she said.

She noted that among the scholars are chief executives, managing directors and even ministers who are driving forward Seychelles’ economy and whose work supports good governance and the rule of law.

“We want to create an active Seychelles alumni group, run by you, supported by us,” the British HC said, adding that a Facebook page has been set up to get things started.

Ms Röhsler said the calibre of applicants this year was very high and the scholars are very competent.

Ms Röhsler urged the departing scholars to enjoy their time in Britain, work hard and make sure they get to see the country and make friends.

The scholars and their fields of study are Edward Rose (Banking and Finance at the University of Sterling); Maria Payet (Social Statistics, Research Methods at the University of Southampton); Adolphe Nourrice (Quantitative Financial Economics at the University of East Anglia); Michel Marguerite (LLM in Mediation and Conflict Resolution at the University of Strathclyde); Sofie Bonnelame (Science in Climate Change and Environmental Policy at the University of Leeds) and Fabianna (Human Rights and Cultural Diversity at the University of Essex).

The 2017/2018 Chevening scholarship is already open and interested candidates can apply on www.chevening.org/apply