New British envoy welcomes home Malaysian Chevening scholars
H.E Charles Hay welcomes back Malaysian Chevening scholars from the 2017/18 academic year and signs MoU with new Chevening partner in Malaysia - the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation.
British High Commissioner, H.E. Charles Hay MVO welcoming back Malaysian Chevening scholars from the 2017-18 academic year.
The new British High Commissioner to Malaysia, His Excellency Charles Hay MVO hosted a reception at his Residence today to mark a double celebration - to welcome back Malaysian Chevening scholars from the 2017/18 academic year who have completed their post-graduate studies in the UK; and to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Chevening Awards with a reunion of Malaysian Chevening alumni dating back to 1984. At the same event, Jeffrey Cheah Foundation also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to be a Chevening partner.
In his welcome remarks, Hay said:
Education continues to be a key pillar underpinning the relationship between the UK and Malaysia. This is reflected not only in the number partnerships between education institutions from both countries, but also the number of Malaysians studying for a British qualification in the UK and in Malaysia.
Malaysia is today the second largest Chevening recipient in ASEAN. Last year we sent 45 Malaysians to the UK to pursue their post-graduate studies for the 2018/19 academic year under the Chevening programme, and today we welcome back 44 Malaysian Chevening scholars from the 2017/18 academic year. They now form the 1,600 strong Malaysian Chevening alumni. This large number of Chevening scholarships is made possible by our local partners who provide additional funding to the Chevening programme in Malaysia. I am very pleased to welcome the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation as our latest Chevening partner.
Other Malaysian partners for the Chevening Scholarships for the 2019/20 academic year include The Prudence Foundation, Yayasan Khazanah, CIMB and UK educational institutions.
Jeffrey Cheah Foundation joins list of illustrious Chevening partners
At the event, Jeffrey Cheah Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to fund a Chevening–Jeffrey Cheah Foundation scholar from Malaysia for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years respectively pursuing a medical, physical or life sciences related Masters Course at University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, or Lancaster University.
The University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and Lancaster University are academic partners of the Sunway Education Group.
The MoU was signed by the High Commissioner, and Founder and Chairman of Sunway Group; Founding Trustee of Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah AO.
Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah added:
The Foundation aims to give back to society, and becoming a new Chevening partner allows us to support young, deserving Malaysians with leadership potential to hone their skills and gain invaluable experience in some of the best universities in the world. On returning to Malaysia they will be great assets to our pool of talented people, who will contribute to the betterment of our nation.
The Jeffrey Cheah Foundation is the largest education-focused social enterprise in Malaysia, which owns and governs Sunway Education Group and its 16 learning institutions. Through the unique not-for-profit structure of the Foundation, operating surpluses are ploughed back into the institutions or disbursed as scholarships, research grants and expansion of faculty and facilities to ensure quality education in perpetuity. As of 2018, the Foundation has awarded RM402 million worth of scholarships to thousands of deserving students.
Malaysian Chevening Scholars
The returning batch of Malaysian Chevening scholars from the 2017/18 academic year have graduated from various disciplines in prestigious institutions such as the University of Oxford, King’s College London and London School of Economics.
Shamini Darshini Kaliemuthu, who has obtained a Masters in International Politics at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) said:
My Chevening experience was a year of soaking in some serious learning, rigorous training in international politics and discovering new interests in the field of human rights, which I otherwise would not have found.
The returning scholars were joined by other Chevening alumni from previous years including Azril Mohd Amin, who studied for MA in Understanding and Securing Human Rights at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London (2004-2005). He said:
For me, the Chevening experience was a humbling and life-changing one. It gave me amazing opportunities for intellectual freedom, professional development and networking. On a personal level, I benefited immensely from the wisdom and support of my former teachers and fellow scholars who remain valued friends.
Other notable Chevening alumni in Malaysia over the past 35 years include former CIMB Group Chairman Dato’ Sri Nazir Razak, former Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar and WWF Malaysia’s Head of Policy & Climate Change, Lavanya Iyer.