UK increases ‘Chevening’ scholarships for Bangladesh

The UK government has increased “threefold” its ‘Chevening’ scholarships for Bangladesh.

British High Commissioner in Dhaka Robert Gibson made the announcement on Tuesday marking 30th anniversary of UK’s international flagship programme.

He said the number of scholarships for Bangladesh would be between 12 and 14 from the next academic year.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office funds the scholarships for the students who have the potential “to be influential leaders and decision makers to study postgraduate courses at British universities”.

“You are all members of an elite club,” Gibson told the alumni who gathered at his residence to celebrate the prestigious scholarship programme.

There are over 40,000 Chevening alumni from over 150 countries.

“The brightest and best, I like to think,” he said of the recipients.

He said the scholarships had been increased as the UK has “a special friendship with Bangladesh, with a common vision for a better world”.

“Part of that vision is together finding a way to face and combat the adverse effect of climate change.

“Both the countries oppose violence against women in war and more recently in London in June promised to stop child marriage in the next decade.

“This is all against a backdrop of an expanding South Asia,” Gibson said.

The envoy said the Britain was “firm in its commitment to help Bangladesh to seize the potential of growing number of people entering the workforce”.

Sonia Sardar received this year’s scholarship to study for an MA in Governance and Development at University of Sussex while Sarker Omer Faroque became will study for an MA in Applied Human Rights at University of York.

Mahmudul Hassan Sheikh received the scholarship to study for an MSc in Climate Change and International Development at the University of East Anglia while Sayam Uddin Chowdhury will study MPhil in Conservation Leadership at the University of Cambridge.

The deadline for applications for Chevening 2015-2016 is Nov 15.