Seventeen Guyanese will be heading to the United Kingdom (UK) to pursue a higher degree of education under the Chevening Scholarship Programme.
Chevening is the fully-funded global scholarship programme that offers future leaders the unique opportunity to study in the UK.
These scholarships are awarded to outstanding professionals to pursue a one-year master’s degree in any subject at any university in the United Kingdom.
The British High Commission in Guyana Friday evening hosted a farewell reception for the Guyanese scholars as well as one person from Suriname who will be departing next month to begin their new educational journey.
The awardees are Mikhail Amsterdam, Kemptorne Daly, Zylenna Darson, Cilandell Glen, Makini Hackett , Gregory Harris, Nichole Haynes, Sonya Lord , Maria Paul, Gavinash Persaud , Yolander Persaud, Nicholas Peters, Sachin Ramsarran, Dave Saran, Deron Saul, Stacy Weaver, Monique Williams and Adoniyah Benjamin .
They will be pursuing their masters in areas of oil and gas, human rights, media, maritime planning, environmental policy, among others.
British High Commission to Guyana, Greg Quinn noted that there has been an increase in interest showed in the scholarship programme and as such a hike in the number of persons benefiting from the initiative. For this year, 298 applications were received from Guyana.
Ambassador Quinn urged the scholars to utilize their time in the UK wisely, to build networks, make friends, promote their culture and develop themselves.
Most of all, he urged them to return to Guyana with their newly acquired skills and knowledge to invest in their homeland. He noted that the UK Government is not “spending money” to have the graduates invest their skills elsewhere.
“We are spending money to help people develop Guyana,” the UK envoy said.
A former beneficiary, Jermaine Grant, shared his experience with the Chevening Scholarship Programme, noting that it changed his life for the better.
Describing this kind of investment in education as “invaluable”, Grant noted that Guyanese should see the initiative as an opportunity to develop a pool of local experts who can transform their country which has become heavily reliant on foreign expertise.
The application for the 2019 scholarships is opened and available at http://www.chevening.org/guyana/.
