In April this year, I spent an action packed week sitting on the Chevening interview panel at the British High Commission in Kigali. We met some outstanding candidates and it was a truly enlightening experience to meet potential Chevening Scholars.
One candidate that sticks out in my mind was a young man from the north of Rwanda. He was from a very underprivileged background but had been working determinedly in the field of conservation, earning himself a scholarship to study at the University of Rwanda in Kigali. Going to university was the first time he had left the village that he grew up in and he went on to achieve an undergraduate degree in Veterinary Science. Despite facing far more barriers compared to the majority of the candidates we interviewed during the week, his passion was contagious and it was the highlight of my week. Behind the computer in the office it’s easy to think of applicants as numbers, but this was a fantastic reminder of why we run this programme and the amazing opportunities it can provide.
The Americas Directorate has recently been very busy hosting a series of roundtable discussions for various Latin American scholar groups. I have been lucky enough to attend a few of these, including one for Argentinian scholars, another for Central American and Cuban scholars, and another for a large group of Brazilian scholars. The discussions largely focused on […]
Two Chevening officer regional conferences have recently taken place around the globe: the first in South-East Asia and the second in Sub-Saharan Africa. These are the third and fourth regional conferences that have taken place since the initiative was first launched in 2015. Both conferences were organised and attended by members of the International team […]
Meet Programme Officer – International, Natalie. Before joining Chevening, Natalie lived in Hue, Vietnam, where she taught English as a foreign language after falling in love with South-East Asia during a five-month long trip. Name: Natalie Keen Countries: ASEAN (ODA) and East Africa From: Surrey, England Joined the team: June 2016 Previous Chevening experience: I joined […]